C-45 Royal Air Force "Expeditor"
Winner of the Tyrone Power "Best Transport" Award at Fina-CAF Airsho two years in a row! 2002 & 2003
Our "Bucket of Bolts," as it is affectionately called, was built in 1946 and has been flying since that time--it has never been restored! The ship was operated in civilian service until it was donated to the Commemorative Air Force in 1984 by Col Vic Agather. N4432B, as it was then known, was operated by the New Mexico Wing until re-assigned to the Dixie Wing in 1990. Col Lou Howard landed at DeKalb Peachtree Airport in March 1990 with our first operational aircraft. Later, the N number was changed to N70GA to fit in with the Dixie Wing's other aircraft designation for Georgia.
How the "Bucket of Bolts" got its Royal Air Force Colors
In 1991, with approval from the CAF headquarters, the "Bucket of Bolts" was repainted with the Royal Air Force (RAF) camouflage air transport scheme with invasion "D-Day" stripes. We believe we have the only C-45 Expeditor painted this way. The airplane's markings come from one of our members, Col Vic Hewes, who flew in the service of the RAF in World War II. The "Bucket of Bolts" is painted and marked identically--right down to the numbers on the side and the colors selected from matched paint chips--to an Expeditor that Col Hewes flew. Here's what Vic had to say about it:
"I was very lucky to be given the command of a communications squadron which was a mixed bag of aircraft: three or four J-3 Cubs, three or four Harvards (AT-6’s), five Expeditors and six Dakotas (C-47’s). We had two Spitfires for photo recon and two flying boats for air sea rescue.
Why did I start flying the RAF Expeditor? I decided that if I wanted a future career in aviation it was time to get some transport aircraft time in. After all, towards the end of the war, why be on a fighter/bomber squadron when there is nobody left to fight and bomb?
The short tail wheel strut made the plane as hard to taxi as the long nose fighters I flew. You had to S turn down the taxiway. Our RAF Expeditors were at least 20 mph faster than the Dakotas (C-47s); their seats were softer and they were much in demand by the VIPs I flew."
The Beechcraft C-45 (D-18) - A 33-Year Production Run
The production of the Beechcraft Model 18 Series began in 1937 and cost $37,000. The last 3 Super H18s left for Japan in 1970 at a cost of $179,500.
The D18 (U.S. Air Force C-45, U.S. Navy SNB)
The Dixie Wing C-45 is actually a D18S, almost identical to the military C-45.
Specifications:
- 33 feet, 11 ½ inches long; 9 feet, 2 ½ inches high
- Wing tip span is 47 feet, ¾ inches
- Gross weight is 8,750 pounds
- Carries six people and 330 pounds of baggage
- Top speed of 230 mph at 5,000 feet
- Range is 910 nautical miles, plus a 45-minute reserve
- Climbs 1,200 feet per minute at gross weight
- Service ceiling of 21,200 feet
The military used the "Twin Beech" in many ways, primarily for training. It proved to be one of the most versatile training aircraft ever to fly, and used for multi-engine and instrument pilot training. In the AT-11 version, bomb bay doors, a glass nose and an upper gun turret were added for bombing and gunnery training. China used the AT-11 bomber and gunner trainer version in actual combat to a small degree, the only known use of the plane in combat. In the AT-7 version, up to three astrolobes in the roof the cabin were added, with matching stations inside the cabin for navigational training. (An astrolobe is a clear dome in the top of an aircraft through which sightings of celestial bodies are taken for navigational purposes.) In addition to its combat use, the C-45 was also used for light cargo transport and general transportation duties, such as VIP transport. It was for this purpose that Col Vic Hewes flew the "Expeditor" for the Royal Air Force during World War II.