Air Trans Africa was formed by

Jack Malloch John McVicar Malloch ICD, was a South African-born Rhodesian bush pilot, gun-runner and ''sanctions-buster'' who flew in World War II and in various legal and illegal roles around Africa and the Middle East until the early 1980s. in 1978, he ...

in 1964 after his first company,

Rhodesian Air Services Rhodesian Air Services (RAS) was an airline from Southern Rhodesia (today's Zimbabwe, until 1963 part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland) from 1960 to 1965. Formed by Jack Malloch and headquartered in Harare, Salisbury, it operated sched ...

failed in 1962. It operated a

Super Constellation The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an American aircraft, a member of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The L-1049 was Lockheed's response to the successful Douglas DC-6 airliner, first flying in 1950. The aircraft was also produc ...

, a

Douglas C-54 The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...

and a DH114 Heron aircraft. The airline's financial crises were compounded when the government of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

, under

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...

, unilaterally declared independence on November 11, 1965. It was a charter airline flying cargo and/or passengers to many different destinations throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The company (in chronological order): *Carried

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

to the Congo in 1964 to help the government of

Moise Tshombe Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and Mo ...

quell the insurgency of a group of Congolese rebels called the Simba. *Acted as a charter carrier to the

Biafran Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. During the civil war the C-54 was impounded and the crew imprisoned for a time in 1967. *Operated a Lockheed Super Constellation ( VP-WAW) under the name of Afro Continental Airways after UDI for a weekly service from Salisbury to Windhoek. *Obtained a fleet of

Douglas DC-7 The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. A derivative of the DC-6, it was the last major piston engine-powered transport made by Douglas, being developed shortly after the ear ...

C and DC-7CF aircraft (with the assistance of the Rhodesian Government) which were registered in Gabon, when the airline became a major part of the Rhodesian sanctions-busting operations. They flew beef to

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

, from where it was flown out by aircraft of its associate company

Affretair Affretair (National Cargo Airline of Zimbabwe) was a cargo airline based in Zimbabwe. History Affretair was formed as a Gabon-based associate company of Air Trans Africa, when a Douglas DC-8 aircraft was acquired in the early 1970s for over ...

. Essential materials for the Rhodesian security forces were brought into the country on the return flights.

migrated to

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

after independence, when it replaced Air Trans Africa.

Aircraft

;Pre-UDI *

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...

/C-54: VP-YTY *

C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

: VP-YTT *

de Havilland Heron The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a small propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, ...

: VP-WAM ;Post UDI * Lockheed 1049G Super Constellation: VP-WAW (transferred to Afro-Continental Airways)-this aircraft became a clubhouse at Charles Prince Airport (formerly Mount Hamden) when it was withdrawn from use. Believed to have been broken up in the 1990s. * Douglas DC-7C (registered in Gabon): TR-LOK * Douglas DC-7C/F (registered in Gabon): TR-LNY, TR-LNZ, TR-LOJ, TR-LPQ *CL -44 swing tail turbo prop 4 engines call sign was PG Non IATA Web page: www.jackmalloch.com CL44: TR-LVO DC-8-55F: TR-LVK and TR-LQR (later to be changed to PAA40 under CargOman, another company of Affretair's)

Livery

Fin and upper fuselage was medium blue fin, later green replaced the blue.

References

Air Trans Africa photos and info to be found in this website. Www.a2oxford.info Airlines of Rhodesia Airlines established in 1964 1964 establishments in Southern Rhodesia {{Rhodesia-stub