SIKORSKY VS-44 SERVICE WITH AMERICAN EXPORT AIRLINES

References: SIKORSKY VS-44 FLYING BOAT, by Harry Pember
New England Air Museum website www.neam.org

Aircraft:
NC41880 "Excalibur" January 1942
NC41881 "Excambian" May 1942
NC41882 "Exeter" June 1942
Delivered to AEA in Navy wartime camouflage of sky blue top surfaces, light gray underneath.

Excalibur made first trans-Atlantic crossing May 26, 1942.
Began weekly round-trip service from LaGuardia to Foynes, Ireland June 20, 1942.

During World War II, the unarmed flying boats needed to use ports in neutral countries on the eastern side of the Atlantic.

Routes eastward:
New York, NY --> Foynes, Ireland
New York, NY --> Botwood, Newfoundland --> Foynes, Ireland
New York, NY --> Bermuda --> Foynes, Ireland
New York, NY --> Lisbon, Portugal
Baltimore, MD --> Lisbon, Portugal
Bermuda --> Port Lyautey (Kenitra), Morocco
Port of Spain, Trinidad --> Port Lyautey, Morocco

-Summer routes westward:
Foynes, Ireland --> New York, NY
Foynes, Ireland --> Botwood, Newfoundland -- New York, NY
Lisbon, Portugal --> New York, NY
Lisbon, Portugal --> Baltimore, MD
Port Lyautey, Morocco --> Bermuda
Port Lyautey, Morocco --> Port of Spain, Trinidad

-Winter routes westward:
Foynes, Ireland --> Port Lyautey, Morocco --> Bathurst, British Gambia --> Port of Spain, Trinidad --> New York, NY
-alternate stops for Trinidad were Belem, Brazil and San Juan, Puerto Rico

Excalibur crashed in October 1942.

Excambian and Exeter continued trans-Atlantic service under contract to the US Navy with AEA crews and markings throughout 1943 and 1944.

Notable passengers: Queen Wilhelmina, Eleanor Roosevelt, Humphrey Bogart, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Edward G. Robinson, General Omar Bradley

January 1945, Excambian and Exeter repainted in the original silver and black American Export colors.

Last trans-Atlantic flight October 22, 1945, from Foynes to New York.

VS-44s retired by American Export late 1945, sold to New Orleans/Tampico airlines for charter service.
Tampico sold VS-44s to Skyways International in April 1947.

Exeter was lost in August 1947 in Uruguay, leaving Excambian as the sole VS-44.

Dick Probert bought the Excambian in 1957 for Avalon Air Transport, later named Catalina Air Lines. He reconfigured the interior, removing the sleeping berths and increasing the passenger seating capacity to 47. The plane was used for the short hop from Long Beach CA to Catalina Island, 27 miles. It made 8,172 such trips in 10 years. Probert's wife Nancy was stewardess on 7,178 of those flights.

In 1967 Probert sold Excambian to Charles Blair, who owned Antilles Air Boats, an air taxi service around the U.S. Virgin Islands, which flew mostly Grumman Gooses. Excambian served from 1968 to 1969, when it was damaged in a landing incident. Blair found it unfeasible to repair the VS-44, and it remained parked on St. Thomas for years.

Captain Charles Blair had piloted the VS-44 Excalibur on its first flight January 18, 1942. He conducted the testing program for two months. Blair was in command of the first westbound passenger carrying flight from Foynes to New York on June 22, 1942. That trip was planned with a fuel stop at Botwood, but was made non-stop when Botwood was fogged in. Blair piloted the VS-44 to 5 record-setting flights across the Atlantic, setting marks for fastest trips by a seaplane. He also leased the Excambian for Skyways and flew a number of ferry flights from Minnesota to Iceland under the name "Associated Air Transport" in June 1947. Blair had a remarkable career in aviation, serving as a Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force and a senior pilot with Pan Am.

Charles Blair married actress Maureen O'Hara in 1968. She took a respite from acting and actively assisted in running the airline. She also published the Virgin Islander magazine in which she authored a monthly column. After Charles's death in 1978, Maureen O'Hara assumed responsibility of Antilles Air Boats and became the first woman CEO of an American airline. She was responsible for transferring the Excambian to the New England Air Museum where it is displayed today, following an 11-year restoration effort from 1987 to 1998.

Dorothy Bohanna was a stewardess and registered nurse for American Export Airlines, and made the first trans-Atlantic flight by a commercial stewardess on June 30, 1942.