This week in History - 1954 The Lockheed Super Constellation
Ken Pickford sent us a link to a recent Vancouver Sun 'This Week in History' item with the comments below. Thanks Ken!
"The ad pictured below appeared in the May 4, 1954 edition, mentioning an introductory TCA Super Constellation visit to YVR on May 6, 1954 where it was open for public tours for 5 hours before returning to Montreal. TCA put the Super Constellation into service on May 14, 1954, initially on the Toronto-Montreal-Prestwick-London route.
Some related ads further down, including a CPA ad for their new Vancouver-Amsterdam "Polar Route" service (with a fuel stop in Greenland which isn't mentioned) which started in July 1955, initially using the DC-6B before switching to the Bristol Britannia in 1958 and the DC-8 in 1961.
CP was the second airline to begin direct West Coast-Europe service after Scandinavian Airlines which started Los Angeles-Copenhagen service In November 1954, also using the DC-6B with two fuel stops at Winnipeg and Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland (now known as Kangerlussuaq). YWG was only a technical stop, no traffic rights. Several days a week there were two SAS flights stopping at YWG, one in each direction.
TCA began their once-a-week "Hudson Bay Route" service between Vancouver and London with stops at Winnipeg, Gander and sometimes Prestwick, in 1958 using the Super Constellation.
The Winnipeg-Gander sector barely crossed the southern tip of Hudson Bay.
The cabin photo in the Vancouver Sun item was Lufthansa, not TCA."
Click Here (or the image below) to read the full Vancouver Sun article.
Click Here for a detailed article from our friends at the Canadian Aviation Historical Society on TCA Super Constellations dated May 2010.
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