§Service Pilots:
such as ferry and cargo missions. They were volunteer commercial pilots who after indoctrination and training were given limited officer commissions (2 Lt - Maj.) with a Service Pilot Rating.
WASP's were also Service Pilots.
Southern Air Transport |
F.C. "Doc" Moor Jr. (his father was a doctor) started flying in the early 1930's. By 1942 he was instructing at Embry-Riddle and then was a co-pilot for Pan Am briefly before becoming a US. Army Service Pilot with the Air Transport Command. During World War II he flew many multi-engine aircraft including the C-47, C-46, C-54 and C-87(Cargo version of the B-24) on ferry and cargo missions. After the war in 1947, with a loan from his mother as operating capital, his own Cessna UC-78 and a leased Douglas DC-3, Doc Moor started Southern Air Transport (SAT) in Miami, Florida. When the company was incorporated in 1949 its fleet consisted of three leased C-46's. Stanley G. Williams came on board in 1950. With Stan's help managing the business side of the fledging airline the company started to become modestly successful. It appears that Stan's efforts were then rewarded with a minority share of the company.
During its 51 year existence the company operated many types of aircraft. During the first decade the Curtiss C-46 carried the load. During the 70's, 80's and 90's the Lockheed L382/L100 "Hercules" was the backbone of the airline. In addition to the versatile Herc, in 1985 the company acquired Boeing 707's which were operated through 1992. In 1990 Douglas DC-8's were added to the fleet and were flown through 1997. Boeing 747's were flown by the company from 1993 until the 1998 bankruptcy.
Although the company's CIA involvement during
the Iran-Contra affair made the headlines, little was reported of
its humanitarian work in Africa. In the 80's and 90's the
company was under
For more about Doc Moor and the early days of Southern Air Transport, Doc Moor's son, Fred C. Moor III has published a book "Then Came the CIA" which is available at Amazon or click on the book to order from Createspace.com at a discount using code:HCAMRSY8
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such as ferry and cargo missions. They were volunteer commercial pilots who after indoctrination and training were given limited officer commissions (2 Lt - Maj.) with a Service Pilot Rating. WASP's were also Service Pilots.
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