The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It was designed for the civil aviation market, but also saw service with military units.

Design and development

In the early 1920s, Henry Ford, along with a group of 19 other investors including his son Edsel, invested in the

Stout Metal Airplane Company Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company was an American aircraft manufacturer founded by William Bushnell Stout as the Stout Metal Airplane Co. in 1922. The company was purchased by Ford Motor Company in 1924 and later produced th ...

. Stout, a bold and imaginative salesman, sent a mimeographed form letter to leading manufacturers, blithely asking for $1,000 and adding: "For your one thousand dollars you will get one definite promise: You will never get your money back." Stout raised $20,000, including $1,000 each from Edsel and Henry Ford. In 1925, Ford bought Stout and its aircraft designs. The single-engined Stout monoplane was turned into a trimotor, the

Stout 3-AT The Stout 3-AT trimotor was the first all-metal trimotor built in America. The poorly performing tri-motor led to an updated design which became the popular Ford Tri-Motor. Development As a friend of the Ford family, Richard Evelyn Byrd visited ...

with three Curtiss-Wright air-cooled radial engines. After a prototype was built and test-flown with poor results, the "4-AT" and "5-AT" emerged. The Ford Trimotor using all-metal construction was not a revolutionary concept, but it was certainly more advanced than the standard construction techniques of the 1920s. The aircraft resembled the

Fokker F.VII The Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, and other companies under licence. Design and dev ...

Trimotor (except for being all-metal which Henry Ford claimed made it "the safest airliner around").Winchester 2004, p.151. Its fuselage and wings followed a design pioneered by

Junkers Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Germ ...

during World War I with the Junkers J.I and used postwar in a series of airliners starting with the

Junkers F.13 The Junkers F 13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Weimar Republic, Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced Cantilever#Aircraft, cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passenge ...

low-wing monoplane of 1920 of which a number were exported to the US, the Junkers K 16 high-wing airliner of 1921, and the

Junkers G 24 The Junkers G 24 was a German three-engine, all-metal low-wing monoplane passenger aircraft manufactured by Junkers from 1925. Junkers F 24 was the designation for single-engine versions of the same aircraft. Design and development The increas ...

trimotor of 1924. All of these were constructed of

aluminum alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal ...

, which was corrugated for added stiffness, although the resulting

drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street adj ...

reduced its overall performance. So similar were the designs that Junkers sued and won when Ford attempted to export an aircraft to Europe.Larkins 1992, pp.154–156 In 1930, Ford countersued in Prague, and despite the possibility of anti-German sentiment, was decisively defeated a second time, with the court finding that Ford had infringed upon Junkers' patents. Although designed primarily for passenger use, the Trimotor could be easily adapted for hauling cargo, since its seats in the fuselage could be removed. To increase cargo capacity, one unusual feature was the provision of "drop-down" cargo holds below the lower inner wing sections of the 5-AT version. FordTriMotorCorrugatedWing

One 4-AT with

Wright J-4 The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about and around . These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirlwin ...

200-hp engines was built for the U.S. Army Air Corps as the C-3, and seven with Wright R-790-3 (235 hp) as C-3As. The latter were upgraded to Wright R-975-1 (J6-9) radials at 300 hp and redesignated C-9. Five 5-ATs were built as C-4s or C-4As. The original (commercial production) 4-AT had three air-cooled Wright radial engines. It carried a crew of three: a pilot, a copilot, and a stewardess, as well as eight or nine passengers . The later 5-AT had more powerful

Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military aviat ...

engines. All models had an aluminum corrugated sheet-metal body and wings. Unlike many aircraft of this era, extending through World War II, its control surfaces (

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

s, elevators, and rudders) were not fabric-covered, but were also made of corrugated metal. As was common for the time, its rudder and elevators were actuated by metal cables that were strung along the external surface of the aircraft. Engine gauges were also mounted externally, on the engines, to be read by the pilot while looking through the aircraft windshield. Another interesting feature was the use of the hand-operated " Johnny brake." Like Ford cars and tractors, these Ford aircraft were well designed, relatively inexpensive, and reliable (for the era). The combination of a metal structure and simple systems led to their reputation for ruggedness. Rudimentary service could be accomplished "in the field" with ground crews able to work on engines using scaffolding and platforms.Winchester 2004, p. 150. To fly into otherwise-inaccessible sites, the Ford Trimotor could be fitted with skis or floats. FordTriMotorControlWires

The rapid development of aircraft at this time (the vastly superior Boeing 247 first flew at start of 1933), along with the death of his personal pilot,

Harry J. Brooks Harry Joseph Brooks (December 2, 1902 – February 25, 1928) was an American test pilot. His crash of the Ford Flivver for the Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company in 1928 was cited with the Great Depression as a factor in Hen ...

, on a test flight, led to Henry Ford's losing interest in aviation. While Ford did not make a profit on its aircraft business, Henry Ford's reputation lent credibility to the infant aviation and airline industries, and Ford helped introduce many aspects of the modern aviation infrastructure, including paved runways, passenger terminals, hangars, airmail, and radio navigation.Herrick, Greg A. ''fordtri-motor.com'', Yellowstone Aviation, Inc (Jackson, Wyoming), 2004. Retrieved: April 4, 2019. In the late 1920s, the Ford Aircraft Division was reputedly the "largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes in the world."Head and Pretzer 1990, p. 53. Alongside the Ford Trimotor, a new single-seat commuter aircraft, the Ford Flivver or "Sky Flivver" had been designed and flown in prototype form, but never entered series production. The Trimotor was not to be Ford's last venture in aircraft production. During World War II, the largest aircraft manufacturing plant in the world was built at the Willow Run, Michigan plant, where Ford produced thousands of

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

bombers under license from Consolidated Aircraft.Head and Pretzer 1990, p. 57. William Stout left the Metal Airplane division of the Ford Motor Company in 1930. He continued to operate the Stout Engineering Laboratory, producing various aircraft. In 1954, Stout purchased the rights to the Ford Trimotor in an attempt to produce new examples. A new company formed from this effort brought back two modern examples of the trimotor aircraft, renamed the

Stout Bushmaster 2000 __NOTOC__ The Bushmaster 2000 was a small commuter airliner built in the United States in an attempt to revive the Ford Trimotor design. Work began in 1953 by testing a vintage Trimotor and in 1954 Bill Stout purchased the design rights to the or ...

, but even with improvements that had been incorporated, performance was judged inferior to modern designs.

Operational history

Production ran from 1926 and 1933 and 199 were built, including 79 4-ATs, and 117 5-ATs, plus some experimental craft. Well over 100 airlines of the world flew the Ford Trimotor. From mid-1927, the type was also flown on executive transportation duties by several commercial nonairline operators, including oil and manufacturing companies. The impact of the Ford Trimotor on commercial aviation was immediate, as the design represented a "quantum leap over other airliners."O'Leary 2006, p. 54. Within a few months of its introduction, Transcontinental Air Transport was created to provide coast-to-coast operation, capitalizing on the Trimotor's ability to provide reliable and, for the time, comfortable passenger service. While advertised as a transcontinental service, the airline had to rely on rail connections with a deluxe Pullman train that would be based in New York being the first part of the journey. Passengers then met a Trimotor in Port Columbus, Ohio, that would begin a hop across the continent ending at Waynoka, Oklahoma, where another train would take the passengers to Clovis, New Mexico, where the final journey would begin, again on a Trimotor, to end up at the Grand Central Air Terminal in

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

, a few miles northeast of Los Angeles. This demanding trip would be available for only a year before Transcontinental was merged into a combine with Western Air Service. Ford Trimotors were also used extensively by Pan American Airways, for its first international scheduled flights from

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

to Havana, Cuba, in 1927. Eventually, Pan American extended service from North America and Cuba into Central and South America in the late 1920s and early 1930s.O'Leary 2006, p. 55. One of Latin America's earliest airlines, Cubana de Aviación, was the first to use the Ford Trimotor in Latin America, starting in 1930, for its domestic services. The heyday for Ford's transport was relatively brief, lasting only until 1933, when more modern airliners began to appear. Rather than completely disappearing, the Trimotors gained an enviable reputation for durability with Ford ads in 1929 proclaiming, "No Ford plane has yet worn out in service." First being relegated to second- and third-tier airlines, the Trimotors continued to fly into the 1960s, with numerous examples being converted into cargo transports to further lengthen their careers, and when World War II began, the commercial versions were soon modified for military applications. FordTrimotor DC

Some of the significant flights made by the Ford Trimotor in this period greatly enhanced the reputation of the type for strength and reliability. One example was Ford 4-AT Trimotor serial number 10, built in 1927. It flew in the United States and Mexico under registration number C-1077, and for several years in Canada under registration G-CARC. It had many notable accomplishments; it was flown by Charles Lindbergh and

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

, among many others. It made the first commercial flight from the United States to Mexico City, as well as the first commercial flight over the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

. After damage on landing in 1936, it was grounded and remained for decades at

Carcross, Yukon Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing, ( tli, Nadashaa Héeni) is an unincorporated community in Yukon, Canada, on Bennett Lake and Nares Lake. It is home to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. It is south-southeast by the Alaska Highwa ...

. In 1956, the wreck was salvaged and preserved, and in the mid-1980s, Greg Herrick took over C-1077 and began restoring it. As of 2006, C-1077 is in flying condition again, restored to its December 1927 appearance. On November 27 and 28, 1929, Commander Richard E. Byrd (navigator), chief pilot

Bernt Balchen Bernt Balchen (23 October 1899 – 17 October 1973) was a Norwegian pioneer polar aviator, navigator, aircraft mechanical engineer and military leader. A Norwegian native, he later became an American citizen and was a recipient of the Distingu ...

, and two other crewmen, the copilot and the photographer, made the first flight above the geographic South Pole in a Ford Trimotor that Byrd named the ''Floyd Bennett''. This was one of three aircraft taken on this polar expedition, with the other two being named ''The Stars and Stripes'' and ''The Virginian'', replacing the

Fokker Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...

Trimotors that Byrd previously used. A Ford Trimotor was used for the flight of

Elm Farm Ollie Elm Farm Ollie (known as "Nellie Jay" and post-flight as "Sky Queen") was the first cow to fly in an airplane, doing so on 18 February 1930, as part of the International Air Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. On the same trip, whi ...

, the first cow to fly in an aircraft and to be milked mid-flight.

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

flew aboard a Ford Trimotor in 1932 during his presidential campaign in one of the first uses of an aircraft in an election, replacing the traditional "whistle stop" train trips.Larkins 1992, p. 170. NC8407 Ford 4-AT Tri-Motor MD1

A Ford Trimotor was used in a search for the lost flyers of the Sigizmund Levanevsky trans-polar flight in 1937. Movie stunt flyer

Jimmie Mattern James Joseph Mattern (March 8, 1905 – December 17, 1988) was an American aviator. Mattern undertook a number of aviation world records, including twice attempting to break the world record for aerial circumnavigation set by Wiley Post ...

flew a specially modified

Lockheed Electra Lockheed Electra refers to two distinct aircraft designs: * Lockheed Model 10 Electra, a ten-passenger piston engine aircraft of the 1930s, which had two immediate variants: ** Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior, a six-passenger scaled-down version o ...

along with fellow movie flyer, Garland Lincoln, flying a stripped-down Trimotor donated by the president of Superior Oil Company. With 1,800 gallons of avgas and 450 gallons of oil in the modified cabin, the Trimotor was intended to act as a "tanker" for the expedition. The Electra was able to transfer fuel in the air from the Trimotor, through a hose cast out the 4-AT's door. With the first aerial refueling test successful, the pair of pilots set out for Fairbanks, landing first at Burwash Landing, Yukon Territory, Canada, on August 15, 1937, but the Trimotor ran out of fuel and crashed in inclement weather the following day. The Trimotor was abandoned on the tundra. One of the major uses of the Trimotor after it was superseded as a passenger aircraft by more modern aircraft like the Boeing 247 (1933) or the

Douglas DC-2 The Douglas DC-2 is a 14-passenger, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3, which b ...

(1934), then DC-3, was the carrying of heavy freight to mining operations in jungles and mountains. The Trimotor was employed for decades in this role. In 1942, during the Battle of Bataan, a Trimotor was used in evacuations. The aircraft would haul 24 people nearly 500 miles a trip, twice daily. The aircraft was eventually strafed and destroyed by Japanese aircraft. In postwar years, the Ford Trimotors continued in limited service with small, regional air carriers. Scenic Airways Ford Trimotor N414H was used for 65 years as a sightseeing aircraft flying over the Grand Canyon.

Variants

Ford designations

;2-AT Pullman: Stout's monoplane with a single

Liberty L-12 The Liberty L-12 is an American water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine displacing and making designed for a high power-to-weight ratio and ease of mass production. It saw wide use in aero applications, and, once marinized Marinisation (also m ...

V-12 engine, developed into 3-AT. 11 Built. ; 3-AT: Stout's tri-motor prototype with three

Wright J-4 Whirlwind The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about and around . These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirlwin ...

radial engines. Outboard engines on wings, and nose engine mounted very low. One built. ;4-AT: Prototype with three J-4 Whirlwinds, with outer engines below wings. Two pilots in open cockpit, and eight passengers given half-round windows. One built. ;4-AT-A: Production enclosed-cockpit version with rectangular windows with top corners rounded. 14 built. ;4-AT-B: 4-AT-Bs with three Wright J-5 Whirlwind radials. Carried 12 passengers. 39 built. ;4-AT-C: 4-AT-B with nose engine replaced by a

Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating type that was widely used in American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, and the first of the famed Wasp series ...

radial. One built. ;4-AT-D: 4-AT-Bs with lengthened wings and fitted with various engines and other minor modifications. One built and two modified. ;4-AT-E: 4-AT-Bs with three Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind nine-cylinder radials. 24 built with rectangular windows as used on 5-AT-A. ;4-AT-F: 4-AT-E but stressed for higher loads. One built. ;5-AT-A: 4-AT-E with longer wing and fuselage with an extra window on each side, powered by three Wasps. Carried 13 passengers. Three built. EL-2002-00560

;5-AT-B: 5-AT-A powered by Wasp C-1 or SC-1 radials. Carried 15 passengers. 41 built. ;5-AT-C: Improved version with engine cowlings and wheel pants, similar to the Ford 5-AT-A. Carried 17 passengers. 51 built. ;5-AT-CS: 5-AT-C floatplane with twin

Edo floats Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a '' jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

. One built. ;5-AT-D: Wings higher for taller cabin, and weights increased. Powered by three Wasp SC radials. 20 built. ;5-AT-DS: 5-AT-D floatplane with Edo floats. One built. ;5-AT-E: Version with outboard engines moved to wing leading edges. One 5-AT-C modified for tests, but converted back. ;6-AT-A: Economy 5-AT-A with reduced power, load and performance. Three Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind radials. Three built. ;6-AT-AS: 6-AT-A floatplane with Edo floats. One modified. ;7-AT-A: 6-AT-A with Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial in the nose. ;8-AT: 5-AT-C converted to single-engine freighter. Six different engines ranging from installed. One built. ;9-AT: 4-AT-B with three Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engines. One built. ;10-AT: Project for larger aircraft with two engines above fuselage and two on wings. None built but developed into 12-AT and built as 14-AT as a trimotor. ;11-AT: 4-AT-E with three Packard DR-980 Diesel radial engines. One built. ;12-AT: Project, development of 10-AT, not built. ;13-A: 5-AT-D with two Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind radials, and a Wright Cyclone radial in the nose. 1 built. Ford_14_AT_L'Aerophile_May_1932

; 14-AT: Similar to 10-AT and 12-AT, 1 built but not flown, was to have carried 32 passengers.

United States military designations

United States Army Air Corps

;XC-3: One 4-AT-A evaluated by the USAAC.Andrade 1979, p. 95. ;C-3: 4-AT-A redesignated from XC-3 following evaluation ;C-3A: 4-AT-E with three Wright R-790-3 Whirlwind radials. Seven built, all converted to C-9 standard. ;C-4: One 4-AT-B for evaluation. Ford C-4 Tri-Motor

;C-4A: 5-AT-D, with three Pratt & Whitney R-1340-11 Wasp radials. Four built ;C-4B: Single C-4A re-engined with three R-1340-7 Wasps. ;C-9: Redesignation of C-3As fitted with Wright R-975-1 Whirlwind radialsAndrade 1979, p. 96. ;XB-906: 5-AT-D modified into bomber with three Wasps for United States Army Air Corps. One built.

US Navy and US Marines

;XJR-1: One 4-AT-A evaluated by the United States NavyAndrade 1979, p. 197. ;JR-2: U.S. Marine Corps 4-AT-E transport, with three Wright J-6-9 engines. Two built, redesignated RR-2 in 1931. ;JR-3: 5-AT-C for U.S. Navy (one) and U.S. Marine Corps (two). Three built. EL-2002-00549

;RR-1: XJR-1 redesignated in 1931.Andrade 1979, p. 218. ;RR-2: JR-2 redesignated in 1931. ;RR-3: JR-3 redesignated in 1931. ;RR-4: Single 5-AT-C for Navy. ;RR-5: 4-AT-Ds, one each for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines.

Operators

Civil operators

; *'' SACO'' *''

SCADTA Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transportes Aéreos german: Deutsch-Kolumbianische Luftverkehrsgesellschaft), or SCADTA, was the world's second airline, and the first airline in Latin America, operating from 1919 until World War II. After the war, SCA ...

'' ; *BYN Co.(British Yukon Navigation Company) CF-AZB flew in the Yukon from April 1936 until damaged in August 1940. ; * China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) operated at least three 5-ATs ; *'' Cubana'' ; *

Czechoslovak Airlines Czech Airlines j.s.c. (abbreviation: ČSA, cz, České Aerolinie, a.s.) is the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Its head office is located in the Vokovice area of Prague's 6th district and its hub is Václav Havel Airport Prague. The compa ...

; *''

Dominicana de Aviación Compañía Dominicana de Aviación, usually shortened to Dominicana, was an airline based in the Dominican Republic and served as the flag carrier for the country. The airline flew a Boeing 747 for a short time. In the late 1980s, it leased 2 ...

'', Dominican Republic airline flew Ford Trimotors in the early 1930s. ; *'' Mexicana'' ; *First

CLASSA ''Compañía de Líneas Aéreas Subvencionadas'', meaning 'Subsidized Airlines Company', mostly known as CLASSA, was a Spanish airline based in Madrid, Spain. The airline was established as part of the Miguel Primo de Rivera government's effort ...

, then LAPE, after Iberia ; * American Airways * Eastern Air Transport *

Grand Canyon Airlines Grand Canyon Airlines is a 14 CFR Part 135 air carrier headquartered on the grounds of Boulder City Municipal Airport in Boulder City, Nevada, United States. It also has bases at Grand Canyon National Park Airport and Page Municipal Airport, bot ...

Island Airlines Island Airlines was a commuter airline headquartered at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States which operated hourly scheduled flights between the island of Nantucket and Hyannis, Massachusetts. Island Airli ...

, Bass Islands, Ohio *

Maddux Air Lines Maddux Air Lines was an airline based in Southern California that operated Ford Tri-motors in California, Arizona, and Mexico in the late 1920s. Founding In 1927 Jack L. Maddux, an owner of a Los Angeles Ford and Lincoln car dealership, f ...

Northwest Airways Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines- ...

* Pan American Airways * Southwest Air Fast Express (S.A.F.E.way) *

Star Air Service Star Air Service, later Star Air Lines and Alaska Star Airlines was an American air service in Alaska from 1932 to 1944. With financial help from a wealthy Alaska miner, three pilots who had started a flying school and charter business in Seattl ...

* Texaco * Transcontinental Air Transport * Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) * United Air Lines * Wien Air Alaska ; *'' AVENSA''

Military operators

RCAF Ford 6-AT-A trimotor G-CYWZ msn 6-AT-1

; *

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

No. 24 Squadron RAAF No. 24 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron. The squadron was formed in 1940 and saw action as a bomber squadron during World War II serving in the Pacific theatre against the Japanese, and undertaking operations during the Battle ...

; * Royal Canadian Air Force operated a single 6-AT-A/6-AT-AS. ; * Colombian Air Force ; *

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...

; * Royal Air Force **

No. 271 Squadron RAF No. 271 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was operational for two periods; a few brief months between 27 September 1918 and 9 December 1918 operating flying boats to protect shipping from German U-boats, and between 28 March 1940 and 1 December 19 ...

operated a single 5-AT-D during 1940. ; * United States Army Air Corps * United States Marine Corps * United States Navy

Accidents and incidents

* On March 17, 1929, a Colonial Western Airways 4-AT-B Tri-Motor, ''NC7683'', suffered a double engine failure during its initial climb after takeoff from

Newark Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Count ...

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

, New Jersey. It failed to gain height and crashed into a railroad freight car loaded with sand, killing 14 of the 15 people on board the aircraft. At the time, it was the deadliest airplane accident in American history. * On April 21, 1929, a

5-AT-B Tri-Motor, ''NC9636'', collided with a United States Army Air Service (USAAS)

Boeing PW-9D The Boeing Model 15 was a United States single-seat open-cockpit biplane fighter aircraft of the 1920s, manufactured by the Boeing company. The Model 15 saw service with the United States Army Air Service (as the PW-9 series) and with the Un ...

fighter, ''28-037'', over San Diego; all six on board both aircraft died. The pilot of the Boeing PW-9D was performing stunts and then attempted to pass in front of the airliner, but misjudged the speed of the Maddux aircraft and his aircraft struck the cockpit of the Ford Tri-Motor. * On September 3, 1929, a Transcontinental Air Transport 5-AT-B Tri-Motor, ''NC9649'', named ''City of San Francisco'', crashed into Mount Taylor near

Grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

, New Mexico in a thunderstorm; all eight people on board died. * On January 19, 1930, a Maddux Air Lines 5-AT-C Tri-Motor, ''NC9689'', operating as Flight 7, crashed near

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

due to adverse weather conditions, killing all 16 on board. * On June 24, 1935, a Tri-Motor 5-AT-B of SACO (Servicio Aéreo Colombiano), registered ''F-31'', collided with a Tri-Motor of

(Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéreos), registered ''C-31'', at Olaya Herrera Airfield near Medellín, Colombia; of the 20 on board both aircraft, only three passengers survived. Among the dead was the tango singer

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inte ...

Surviving aircraft

As of 2011, there are 18 Ford Trimotors in existence, eight of which have current FAA airworthiness certificates.Wiggins, Arthur B. . ''trimotors.awiggins.com'', 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.

Airworthy

Air Zoo December 2019 046 (Ford Tri-Motor)

* C/N:10 tail number: ''NC1077'' (4-AT-B, September 1927) "NC1077, G-CARC Niagara" Currently owned by Greg Herrick's Yellowstone Aviation. Oldest flying Trimotor, C/N (Construction Number) 10.Herrick, Greg. . ''fordtri-motor.com'', Yellowstone Aviation, Inc (Jackson, Wyoming), 2004. Retrieved: April 4, 2019. It is based at the Golden Wings Museum, near

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, US. This aircraft featured in the 2009 film ''Amelia'' (a biopic of aviator

). * C/N:42 tail number: ''NC9610'' ''(Formerly NC7684)'' (4-AT-B, September 1928) Currently owned by

Yankee Air Force The Yankee Air Museum is an aviation museum located at Willow Run Airport in Van Buren Township, Michigan. The museum has a small fleet of flying aircraft and a collection of static display aircraft outdoors. History The Yankee Air Force Inc. w ...

, based in Belleville, Michigan, US. * C/N:55 tail number: ''NC9612'' (4-AT-E, 1929) The "City of Richmond" Originally owned by: Mamer Flying Service, Spokane, WA. Currently owned by: Scott Glover, Mid America Flight Museum. It is based in

Mt. Pleasant, Texas Mount Pleasant is the county seat of and largest city in Titus County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, Mount Pleasant's population was 16,047; it is situated in Northeast Texas. History Mount Pleasant was founded May 11, 184 ...

, US. * C/N:69 tail number: ''NC8407'' (4-AT-E, 1929) Originally owned by: Eastern Air Transport Currently owned by: The Experimental Aircraft Association is based at the EAA AirVenture Museum in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

, US. It tours the United States performing at airshows and other aviation events. * C/N:8 tail number: ''NC9645'' (5-AT-B, 1928) "City of Wichita/City of Port Clinton" Currently owned by:

Liberty Aviation Museum The Liberty Aviation Museum is located in Port Clinton, Ohio, United States, adjacent to the Erie–Ottawa International Airport. History The Liberty Aviation Museum owns a 1928 Ford 5-AT Tri-motor, currently operating with the Experimental Aircr ...

. It is dressed in Transcontinental Air Transport livery. It is based at the Erie-Ottawa International Airport in Port Clinton, Ohio, US. It was previously owned by Evergreen Vintage Aircraft, Inc., and previously based at the Evergreen Aviation Museum, McMinnville, Oregon, US. * C/N:34 tail number: ''N9651'' (5-AT-B, 1929) - The "City of Philadelphia" Originally owned by: Trans Continental Air Transport. Currently owned by:

Kermit Weeks Kermit Weeks (born July 14, 1953 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is an American aviation enthusiast, pilot, and aircraft collector. He has competed in aerobatics, designed aircraft, and promoted aviation and vintage aircraft restoration. Oil and ...

. It is based at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida, US. This aircraft has made many film appearances, including ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', fea ...

''. * C/N:58 tail number: ''NC8419'' (5-AT-C, 1929) Originally owned by: Northwest Airlines. Currently owned by: Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum. Based at The Air Zoo in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

, US. The airplane combined several 5-AT airframes, one of which served with five carriers before being used by the United States Forest Service between 1951 and 1959. The original crashed and burned on August 4, 1959, while landing at a remote strip in the

Nez Perce National Forest The Nez Perce National Forest is a United States National Forest located in west-central Idaho. The forest is bounded on the east by the state of Montana, on the north by the Clearwater National Forest, on the west by a portion of the Wallowa– ...

, killing two smokejumpers. * C/N:74 tail number: ''N414H'' (5-AT-C, 1928) Originally owned by: Ford Motor Co. Previously owned by Sopwith, Ltd. It was based at Valle Airport in Valle, Arizona, US. It was used in 2008 and 2009 for flight instruction and type ratings. It is now based at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon, US.

On static display

* C/N:15 tail number: ''NX4542'' (4-AT-B, 1928) Richard E. Byrd's South Pole aircraft. Originally owned by: Ford Motor Company. Currently owned by: Henry Ford Museum. It is on display at The Henry Ford Museum in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...

, USA.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. . ''The Ford Tri-motors!'', August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019. * C/N:46 tail number: ''NC7861'' (4-AT-B, Unknown) Originally owned by: Union Electric, St. Louis. Currently owned by: National Museum of Naval Aviation

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

, USA. Displayed as Navy RR-5 serial A-9206. * C/N:11 tail number: ''NC9637'' (5-AT-B,1929) Originally owned by: Pan Am. Currently owned by: the San Diego Air & Space Museum in San Diego, California, USA. * C/N:39 tail number: ''NC9683'' (5-AT-B, 1929) Originally owned by: American Airlines. Currently owned by: The Smithsonian's

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

. in Washington, D.C. * C/N:60 tail number: ''none - ex-RAAF'' (5-AT-C, 1929) Originally owned by: Ford Motor Company; in England. Currently owned by: Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery. Possible rebuild.

Under restoration

* C/N:38 tail number: ''N7584'' (4-AT-B, January 1928) Originally owned by: Robertson Aircraft, St Louis. Currently owned by:

. It was badly damaged in Florida by hurricane Andrew, in the fall of 1992. Currently Located:

Vicksburg, Michigan Vicksburg is a village in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,706 at the 2020 census. The west part of the village is in Schoolcraft Township and the east part is in Brady Township. History John Vickers, the ...

, USA. * C/N:58 tail number: ''NC9642'' (4-AT-E, January 1929) Originally owned by: Mohawk Airways, NY. Currently owned by: Maurice Hovius' Hov-aire, Inc. Possible rebuild. Sale reported. Currently Located:

, USA. * C/N:62 tail number: ''NC8400'' (4-AT-E, January 1929) Originally owned by: Mohawk Airways, NY. Currently owned by: Maurice Hovius' Hov-aire, Inc. Possible rebuild. Currently Located:

, USA. * C/N:65 tail number: ''NC8403'' (4-AT-E, May 1929) The "Ptarmigan II" Originally owned by: Mamer Flying Service. Currently owned by Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum. Possible restoration. As of February 10, 2005, currently Located at Golden Wings Museum near

, USA. * C/N:13 tail number: ''NC9667'' (5-AT-B, 1929) The "AN-AAR" Originally owned by Southwest Air Fast Express (S.A.F.E.way). Currently owned by: Maurice Hovius' Hov-aire, Inc. This is a restoration project undertaken by the "Tin Goose Chapter", EAA 1247, in Port Clinton, Ohio, USA."EAA "Tin Goose" Chapter 1247."
''tingoose.org.'' Retrieved: April 9, 2012. From 1954 onwards, efforts were made to modernize the Trimotor as the

."Return of the Tin Goose."
''Time'', January 6, 1967. Retrieved: July 29, 2008. Saddled with financial, management and marketing problems, only two examples were completed with a third fuselage started but never completed.O'Callaghan 2002, p. 124.

Specifications (Ford 4-AT-E Trimotor)

Notable appearances in media

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Andrade, John. ''U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. . * Barth, Jack E. "Talkback". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 10, July–September 1979, p. 79. * * Head, Jeanine M. and William S. Pretzer. ''Henry Ford: A Pictorial Biography''. Dearborn, Michigan: Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, 1990. No ISBN. * * Larkins, William T. ''The Ford Tri-Motor, 1926–1992''. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 1992. . * * March, Daniel L. ''British Warplanes of World War II''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1998. . * O'Callaghan, Timothy J. ''The Aviation Legacy of Henry & Edsel Ford''. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Proctor Publications, 2002. . * O'Leary, Michael. "When Fords Ruled the Sky (Part Two)". ''Air Classics'', Volume 42, No. 5, May 2006. * Winchester, Jim, ed. "Ford Trimotor". ''Civil Aircraft'' (The Aviation Factfile). London: Grange Books plc, 2004. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

Ford Trimotor "a tribute to the Ford Tri-Motor", and contains facts, pictures, bibliography and more.

EAA's Ford Trimotor 4AT-E virtual tour detailing the entire aircraft
{{Authority control Aircraft first flown in 1926 Trimotor High-wing aircraft Trimotors 1920s United States airliners 1920s United States military transport aircraft