Kind of an ugly looking airplane, but in a cute sort of way. And without it, there possibly would never have been a Flying Tiger Line! The Budd Conestoga was specifically designed for the military, and made out of stainless steel, rather than the typical aluminum, but it wasn’t very fuel efficient, underpowered and flew like a brick. The US Navy and Army Air Force originally ordered 800 units of this aircraft, but due to multiple delays and problems building the aircraft, the military eventually cancelled their orders and only received 17 aircraft and by 1945 it was actually retired from military service. A total of 17 aircraft were built; the original three prototype aircraft and the 14 used by the military for about a year. A number of the aircraft perished in crashes and proved to not be very reliable.
But Bob Prescott saw an opportunity and contacted the War Assets Administration (WAA) to acquire the remaining 12 Budds. And the rest is history!
Click on the document photo to view one of the letters Robert Prescott wrote regarding the purchase of the Budd Conestogas in the very earliest days of the company.
There is currently only one single unrestored Budd RB-1 on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.