The Flying Tiger Line story began in late November 1944, when former American Volunteer Group (AVG) pilot Robert W. Prescott connected with Samuel B. “Sam” Mosher, the founder of the Signal Oil Company. Mosher, along with two associates, expressed interest in establishing an airfreight line to operate along the west coast of the United States and Mexico. Prescott was hired to search for suitable aircraft and quickly identified 14 US Navy-surplus Budd RB-1 Conestoga twin-engine freighters. After securing a commitment to purchase the lot for $401,000 (equivalent to approximately $5,950,000 in 2024), Prescott delivered two of the Budds to enable the first and only flight by Aero-Azteca to Mexico City carrying a couple of thoroughbred horses. Despite reports indicating that Mexican interests held a 49% stake in the new venture, legal issues led to the seizure of the aircraft. Consequently, the airline ceased operations before ever transporting paying cargo.
Following the collapse of Azteca, the original plan was to acquire the remaining Budds and resell them for profit, but Mosher hesitated. He showed greater interest in Prescott’s proposal to utilize them for launching a cargo airline. When it became known that the entire production line of Budds would be sold off, Prescott’s brother suggested that the returning Flying Tigers should purchase the remaining aircraft themselves and establish their own airline. Ten members of the group pooled their resources, with Mosher’s investors contributing half of the funds and Prescott’s Flying Tiger associates providing the other half at $10,000 each. According to investor and pilot Robert ‘Catfish’ Raine, “It was this insider knowledge that made the airline possible.” With this arrangement, the National Skyway Freight Corporation was founded on June 25, 1945, at Long Beach Municipal Airport, operating out of a modest two-car garage. Prescott served as president, with Mosher assuming the role of chairman. Immediately, four of the Budds were sold to the Asiatic Petroleum Co., allowing for the recovery of 58% of the total purchase price. The remaining seven aircraft became the first fleet for the new airline, which branded itself as ‘The Flying Tiger Line’.
The Budd Conestoga featured an innovative design, characterized by its all-stainless steel construction and rear-loading configuration, with twin engines. Manufactured by the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company, renowned for its expertise in railway car production, the Conestoga faced scepticism regarding both its aesthetics and its feasibility for flight. However, it demonstrated its capabilities by transporting cargo weighing up to 7,000 pounds at speeds of approximately 150 miles per hour, with a range of 500 miles. Unfortunately, the Budds were hampered by being underpowered, as they utilized the same Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp engines found on many lighter Douglas C-47 Skytrains. Additionally, they encountered reliability issues, including fires caused by failing exhaust stacks and chronic landing gear problems.
Ralph Meyers, an esteemed Bakersfield produce shipper, became Flying Tigers’ first customer, entrusting the airline with two planeloads of fresh grapes bound for Georgia, getting the budding airline off the ground – literally.
Passenger charter services commenced on September 8, 1945, with the Philadelphia Eagles making history as the first professional football club to transport their team by air. They departed from Northeast Airport aboard two chartered 24-passenger Conestogas bound for Buffalo. Around the same time, the Santa Barbara Culinary Alliance chartered the Budd Conestoga NC45347 for a roundtrip journey from Long Beach to Buffalo. Piloted by former AVG Camille Joseph Rosbert and Richard Sawyer, the plane lacked passenger amenities due to engine noise, prompting passengers to communicate via written notes during the flight.
The initial months were marked by several notable achievements, including the first air shipments of household furniture from Detroit to the West Coast, the inaugural payload of muscatel, sherry, and port from the Mission Bell Wine Company in Fresno to New York La Guardia, and the first express plane to deliver air freight to Memphis, Tennessee. Furthermore, the Flying Tigers facilitated the airlift of the first American turf horses from Los Angeles Municipal Airport to Bay Meadows in San Mateo, California, where the aircraft landed between the horseracing tracks and taxied to the front of the grandstand.
Within a span of five months, three Conestogas were declared total losses. The initial Conestoga mishap occurred on August 25, 1945. NC45353 crash-landed into a field near Mount Olivet cemetery following the loss of its right engine during takeoff from Detroit. The crew consisted of Captain John Robert Gordon, First Officer Dan Luskin, and Flight Engineer Edward Garrett. While they sustained minor cuts and bruises, the copilot picked up his suitcase and departed into the night. Subsequently, he disappeared without a trace.
The Flying Tiger Line experienced its first fatal accident on November 8, 1945, during a return journey from Chicago to Long Beach. The aircraft, believed to be NC45357, was laden with a four-ton cargo of magazines when it encountered a sudden downdraft in a local snowstorm, approximately 80 miles from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The plane plummeted a thousand feet, resulting in the tragic deaths of Captain Richard Sawyer and First Officer Lawrence Molloy Feenster. Second Officer Ronald E. Lewis survived the crash with only a broken nose and managed to seek assistance after the incident.
Subsequently, on January 1, 1946, NC45347 made a forced belly landing on the fairways of the Bluefield Country Club in Virginia amidst a blinding snowstorm. The aircraft was en route from New York to Los Angeles and was carrying four passengers and three crew members, including Captain Camille Joseph Rosbert, First Officer John Pinney, and Flight Engineer O. E. Brown.
By the beginning of 1946, the first units of a fleet of C-47s had been introduced, and by mid-year, the remaining Budds were put up for sale. Many of them found their way to Latin America.