The Douglas DC-6 at Liverpool

[viscount]

The Douglas DC-6 at Liverpool

This 'type review' was generated for Dave Graham's now defunct nwan co uk website around 6 years ago. The text has been kept and now repeated here, so now needs illustrating once again.

1960

The 8th June 1960 saw first visit of type with F-BIAM DC-6B of U.A.T. visiting f&t Le Bourget, Paris on a charter flight.

There were no visits by DC-6 aircraft recorded during 1961.

1962

LN-SUI(1) of Braathens visited on Grand National Day 30th March, routing Stavanger to Rotterdam. Braathen SAFE DC-4s, DC-6s and Fokker F-27 were frequent, if unpredictable, visitors to Speke throughout the 'Sixties, often on charters changing the crews of ships at the docks.

1963

LN-SUB of Braathens visited 14th May Oslo-Torp and LN-SUI(1) on 30th May when it arrived from Bergen having diverted from its original destination of Woolsington, and again on 12th November, when operated Amsterdam-Oslo. EC-AUC of TASSA on 28th June 1963 diverted into Liverpool due to being unable to contact Manchester on his radio without the correct crystals. It routed Palma-Manchester. Interestingly this aircraft was converted from a C-54G, as the sole XC-112A (the DC-6 series prototype) before being modified into a production standard DC-6.

1964

G-APSA of British Eagle operated the London Heathrow schedule in lieu of a Britannia on 27th January, the only time this aircraft called at Liverpool prior to ownership by Air Atlantique 24 years later, 1989 onwards. LN-SUI(1) visited on 18th February Amsterdam-Oslo, also 24/2, 8/4 Kristiansund-Amsterdam and 24/10 Woolsington-Stavanger. LN-SUB 27th April Oslo-Amsterdam, LN-SUK 7th June Oslo-Southend and 14/11 Rotterdam-Oslo. Passenger charter flights also brought in Sterling with OY-EAO on 14th July Copenhagen-Gatwick and OY-BAS 11/8 f&t Copenhagen. Icelandair DC-6B TF-ISC 'Skyfaxi' f&t Reykjavik 12-16th September with a football team for an early round of a European competition. Also European football related, with Anderlecht supporters on 25th November, were OO-ABE of BIAS (Belgian International Air Services), OO-CTL of Sobelair and OO-CTM of Sabena.

1965

LN-SUK of Braathens 2nd May Kristiansund-Malaga and LN-SUT 12/10 Amsterdam-Oslo with Sterling OY-BAS on 11/12 Gatwick-Hamburg.

1966

OY-EAN of Sterling visited 24th March Malmo-Gatwick, while Braathens brought in LN-SUD on 6th June Oslo-Gatwick, LN-SUM 15/8 Kristiansand-Rotterdam and LN-SUI(2) 6/11 Oslo-Palma. On strike diversion from Manchester, twice Adria of Yugoslavia brought in YU-AFC, on 20th August Ljubljania-Manchester and on 9/10 f&t Dubrovnik. Final DC-6B of the year was PH-TRC of Transavia f&t Amsterdam, one of a number of aircraft with Ajax football supporter charters on a rather foggy day.

1967

Seven different aircraft visited Liverpool during 1967: 0-33303 a well polished U.S.A.F. VC-118A f&t Orly 15th July, F-BGSL DC-6B of Aeromaritime Lorient-Le Bourget 11/8 and collecting the return load of exchange school children F-BHMR Le Bourget-Lorient 1/9. G-APNP DC-6A of Air Ferry 24th October on a freight charter Stansted-Salonika, while G-APNO also of Air Ferry routed Manston-Benina 28th December. LN-SUM of Braathens 28th October Oslo-Rotterdam and finally on 13th December PH-TRC of Transavia f&t Amsterdam.

1968

Aeromaritime brought in F-BHMR on 14th May f&t Le Bourget with passengers visiting Dunlops and again 3/9 Le Bourget-Lorient presumably taking home passengers that had arrived 14/8 on F-BGSL Lorient-Le Bourget. Regular operator Braathens used LN-SUT on 19/5 f&t Glasgow which night stopped at Liverpool, LN-SUD on 5/6 following a more familiar routing Stavanger-Rotterdam and LN-SUB 15/7 Glasgow-Oslo.

During June strike diversions from Manchester brought in Air Ferry on 17/6 with G-APNP and G-APNO 24/6 with Balair on 21/6 HB-IBU and 28/6 HB-IBR f&t Basle.

On Fords freight flights came BIAS (Belgian International Air Services) OO-GER 28/2 and 11/7 f&t Brussels, Martinair's PH-MAM 23/9 and 28/9 with Germanair D-ABAZ on 19/12 and 20/12 f&t Frankfurt.

1969

Four different DC-6s called at Liverpool in 1969. These were D-ABAY of Germanair on 6th January and 10 subsequent visits throughout the year on Ford freight flights. D-ABAZ first visited 19th September and came a further three times. In December the Germanair titles had been changed to Transportflug. PH-MAM of Martinair also visited on Ford freight flights at least four times, the first on 20th July. Braathens did not appear until the closing month of the year, with LN-SUT 5th December f&t Oslo.

1970

1970 was the peak year for seeing DC-6s at Speke, with a broad mixed-bag of aircraft and operators involved. American, German, Icelandic, Dutch, Norwegian, Swiss, French and interestingly Lebanon registered aircraft, operated by Balair, Braathens, Fragtflug, Icelandair, Martinair, Trans Mediterranean, Transportflug, Transunion and the United States Air Force. 1970 was the busiest year ever for Ford car parts charters through Liverpool Airport with a great range of aircraft and operators invloved.

The most frequent visitors during the year were D-ABAY and D-ABAZ both of Transportflug with nearly 30 visits between them from January to September. They were used by Fords to transport car parts from Cologne, Frankfurt and Saarbrucken.

Another operator with a number of Ford car part charters during the year was Martinair using PH-MAM with at least 8 visits between January and August. The U.S.A.F. brought in three different aircraft during April, MC-118A 0-33279 7/4 Dyce-Mildenhall, 33261 14/4, also 19/5 Mildenhall-Ballykelly & again 9/6 when Prestwick-Mildenhall and finally 33244 on 28/4.

F-BOEV a DC-6B of Trans-Union visited f&t Le Bourget 11/6 for the opening of the Massey Ferguson plant.

LN-SUK on 5/6 and LN-SUT on 29/6, both of Braathens SAFE were presumably on a passenger charter as they called exactly a fortnight apart. Another Braathens machine LN-SUB called on 18/7 routing Oslo to Gatwick.

Balair's HB-IBS appeared just the once on 7/7, routing Basle to Brussels, but the reason for its visit is unknown, although very likely collecting parts for Fords.

Icelandic aircraft were TF-OAA and TF-OAB of Fragtflug that each called twice in the period 26 to 29/7, operating f&t Antwerp with freight. Icelandair's TF-FIP routed Keflavik to Heathrow 15/9, again the reason for the visits is not known.

Prize of the year was not certainly Trans Mediterranean Airways DC-6A OD-AES that operated f&t Heathrow on 22/7. Considering the rarity of Lebanese aircraft at Speke, oddly the actual reason why the aircraft visited is not known although it was carrying freight.

1971

Four different aircraft in 1971: 4-5/1 OH-KDB Kar-Air f&t Helsinki a LGW divert, 16/4 KY-3/OT-CDC & 19/4 KY-1/OT-CDA transporting a Belgian Army Band playing in Southport, 20/12 33244 C-118A USAF Prestwick-Mildenhall.

There were no DC-6 visitors in 1972 or 1973.

1974

There was just the one visit in 1974, right towards the end of the year, on 5/12 HB-IBS Balair routed Saarbrucken-Basle.

There were none in 1975, 1976 or 1977.

1978

Just the one in 1978, N92860 a C-118A which arrived from the USA via Goose Bay on 28th February bearing 'Upols' titles. In the care of Keenair while at Liverpool, mostly parked out on the Western, but spent a few days in No.1 hangar. Departed 2nd July 1978 for Malta, en route to lease by Nigeria Trade Wings in West Africa.

1979

There were three in 1979: EC-DCK 25/1 Aerotransporte de Espana (XG) Aldergrove-Valencia, HB-IBS Balair (BB) 17-18/1, 18/1 twice mostly f&t Manston, 20/1 Manchester-Basle & 23-24/1 f&t Cologne, 24-25/1 Cologne-Stansted & TF-IUB Iscargo (KJ) on 17/1 f&t Southend. All operating freight flights due to a combination of poor weather around Britain and industrial action. For some years to come it looked increasingly as though EC-DCK would be the last DC-6 to visit.

There were none in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986.

1987 & 1988

There was one aircraft making multiple appearances in both 1987 and again 1988 with the appearance of G-SIXC of Air Atlantique each year.

1989 to 2004

There were two aircraft in 1989, 1990, 1991 and onwards with both G-APSA and G-SIXC appearing each year. This pattern continued most years until 2004. Then there were none in 2005, 2006 or 2007.

2008

The Flying Bull executive N996DM visited from Hamburg to Cologne on 3rd November 2008 in connection with the MTV awards held in Liverpool a few days later. As one of the last DC-6s produced in 1958, this contrasts with the 1946 built prototype which appeared at Speke in 1963. Will this be the last visit of type..... only time will tell..... but 15 years later we still waiting .. .

To complete the research into DC-6 visits to Liverpool, a summary of the aircraft involved:

D-ABAY, D-ABAZ
EC-AUC, EC-DCK
F-BGSL, F-BHMR, F-BIAM, F-BOEV
G-APNO, G-APNP, G-APSA, G-SIXC
HB-IBR, HB-IBS, HB-IBU
LN-SUB, LN-SUD, LN-SUI(1), LN-SUI(2), LN-SUK, LN-SUM, LN-SUT
N996DM, N92860, 33244, 33261, 33279, 33303.
OD-AES
OH-KDB
OO-ABE, OO-CTL, OO-CTM, OO-GER, OT-CDA, OT-CDC
OY-BAS, OY-EAN, OY-EAO
PH-MAM, PH-TRC
TF-FIP TF-ISC, TF-IUB, TF-OAA,TF-OAB
YU-AFC
Note that LN-SUI(1) later appeared as OD-AES, while G-APNO later appeared as HB-IBS. Confusingly LN-SUI appears twice in the above list as it was carried (quite legally) on two different aeroplanes, the reason for us putting the (1) and (2) after the registration! The count therefore makes 47 registrations on 45 different aircraft.

Aircraft at Liverpool were operated by approx 27 operators - Adria, Aerotransporte de Espana, Air Atlantique/Atlantic Cargo/Atlantic Airlines, Air Ferry, Balair, Belgian Air Force, Belgian International Air Services, Braathens SAFE, British Eagle, Flying Bulls, Fragtflug, Germanair, Icelandair, Iscargo, Kar-Air, Martins Air Charter/Martinair, Sabena, Sobelair, Sterling, TASSA, Transavia, Trans Mediterranean Airlines, Transportflug, Trans-Union, Upols, UTA, USAF.

There are very few types on the 1960 list of aircraft at Liverpool that have also appeared in 2008 - the Airport's 75th Anniversary year.

[viscount]

With many thanks to Bob O'Brien a varied selection of DC-6 visitors to Speke.

These are displayed here with an expectation that copyright will be respected and these images not copied.


Photo credit should be to Ian Keast via Bob O'Brien

A confusing one to date this as LN-SUI of Braathens SAFE appeared a couple of times during 1963 and 1964, and applied on a different aircraft altogether on 6th November 1966. The British Eagle trucks means that it is between 1964 and 1968 though.


Photocredit should be to Ian Keast via Bob O'Brien

OY-EAO of Sterling, presumably on 14th July 1964




Photo credit should be to Ian Keast via Bob O'Brien

OO-ABE of Belgian international Air Services and OO-CTL of Sobelair, both on football charters on 25th November 1964



F-BGSL of Aeromaritime on 11th August 1967 having brought in a large party of French schoolchildren on an exchange visit.



Martinair's PH-MAM appeared a number of times around 1968 and 1969 usually with freight for Fords.



Transunion's F-BOEV with executives for the opening of a Massey Ferguson tractor factory 11th June 1970



Perhaps the least expected of all the DC-6s to visit was a pair from the Belgian Air Force, delivering and collecting a Military Band performing at Southport. Here is KY-3, OT-CDC on 16th April 1971.

[viscount]

Icelandair's TF-FIP at Speke 15th September 1970, routing through Keflavik to Heathrow, although the reason for the visit was not recorded



Another DC-6 to visit in 1970 was OD-AES of Trans Mediterranean Airlines of Lebanon on 22nd July, f&t Heathrow. Again the reason for the visit was not recorded, but it is known to have carried freight, not passengers.





While the TMA Douglas DC-6 was a rare visitor, quite common in 1970 was D-ABAZ of TF Cargo, operating a series of freight charters with Ford motor components.



Clearly showing its USAF military origins, this Douglas C-118A, N92860 arrived on 28th February 1978 from the USA via Goose Bay, departing 4 months later on 2nd July for Malta, en route to Nigeria. 'Upols' are thought to have been a company planning to import fruit and vegetables into Liverpool by air from the Middle East, however such plans never materialised. For much of the time it simply sat outside on the Western Apron, close to the Keenair hangar, but did spend a few days in No.1 hangar receiving attention.

[viscount]

In addition to the freshly replaced images above, no longer obscured with Photobuckets watermark, I have further images of Douglas DC-6s at Speke. This should make this thread with one of the widest selection of airlines on any of these many 'type profile' summaries. At the time of refreshing this thread in May 2023 there had been 3,015 visits since first posted in late December 2014.







UAT/Aeromaritime Douglas DC-6 F-BIAM on 8th June 1960, making the first visit by type to Speke.



EC-AUC of TASSA on 28th June 1963 diverted into Liverpool due to being unable to contact Manchester on his radio without the correct crystals. It was inbound from Palma. Interestingly this aircraft was converted from a C-54G Skymaster, becoming the sole XC-112A (effectively the DC-6 series prototype) before being modified to a production standard DC-6.



Likely a Brian Bond photo. OY-EAO Sterling on 14th July 1974.



TF-ISC Icelandair, brought in an Icelandic football club, then waited several days before transporting them home, at Liverpool 12th to 16th December 1964.



Braathens SAFE DC-6 LN-SUM on 15th August 1966



PH-TRC of Transavia on a wet and dismal 13th December 1966, one of a number of aircraft bringing in Anderlect supporters for a match at Anfield.





To add to the colour image on the thread earlier, two b&w studies of Aeromaritime's DC-7 F-BGSL while at Liverpool on 11th August 1967.





Ultra shiny Douglas VC-118A 0-33303 VIP transport with US Army 'top brass' on a visit to Burtonwood depot, 15th August 1987.



LN-SUM Braathens SAFE on a further visit to Liverpool, this time on 28th October 1967



Restored from a badly scratched photo, EC-BEN of TAE at Liverpool on 2nd October 1968.



Another not too brillant image, this time Kar-Airs DC-6 OH-KDB on weather diversion from Gatwick on 4th January 1971







The Air Atlantique pair of DC-6 freighters were frequent at Liverpool in the 1989 to 2004 period, although very many visits were on night freight work. Digitised from 5x7 colour prints, so a loss of definition. Hopefully others have sharp digital images of these pair which were in commercial service long after the type had otherwise disappeared from European skies.





However the final visit by a Douglas DC-6 was by Red Bull's VIP aircraft N996DM on 3rd November 2008 in connection with the MTV awards in Liverpool a few days later.

[vanguard]

I found this a few days ago before i saw Viscounts DC-6 write up,as for the date i'm not sure only that its April 1970....
IMG00003 - Copy by Frank Nicholls, on Flickr