Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

Beechcraft C-45 (Expeditor)

History

The Beechcraft C-45 is based on the Beech Aircraft Corporation's commercial Model 18 "Twin Beech" series. The first flight of the original company design was recorded on January 15, 1937, the same year the aircraft was introduced to find its place in the peace market.

Eventually, with the outbreak of World War I, the U.S. military adopted the Model 18 in various forms, including the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) designating the model "C-45". It became a permanent fixture in the stock of the United States Air Force (later United States Air Force), United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, as well as serving British and Canadian forces overseas through Lend-Lease. In total, approximately 9,000 of the Type 18 aircraft were built, covering 32 different variants in the family.

Production time span from 1937 to 1970. While the Model 18 was the basis for the C-45, it was also the origin of the USAAF/USAF and USN/USMC "Navigator" and "Kansan" lines.

The C-45 played an important role in light transport, VIP transport and mission liaison during World War II and the Korean War.

Externally, the Type 18 is a basic design with a short nose assembly, framed cockpit position, tapered fuselage, low wing assembly and H-tail. The engines are housed in a streamlined nacelle on the leading edge of each wing. The landing gear consists of a tail-trailer with two main landing gear legs and a tail wheel. Power is provided by a pair of Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial piston engines, each producing 450 horsepower, each driving a two-bladed propeller.

This provides a top speed of 225 mph, with a cruising speed of nearly 211 mph. Range is 1,200 miles and service is capped at approximately 18,500 feet. The standard operator for a C-45 consists of two pilots and up to nine passengers, depending on the interior cabin configuration.

Additionally, cabin space can be optimized for photographic reconnaissance equipment, medical evacuation and light cargo transportation. Overall, however, there were no significant differences between the military C-45 and civilian Model 18 airframes.

The U.S. Army Air Force ultimately ordered more than 1,300 C-45 aircraft, with the majority (1,137) delivered in the C-45F (seven-seat passenger) configuration.

The other variants were the original C-45, C-45A, C-45B, C-45C, C-45D, C-45E, C-45G and C-45H models, the main differences being internal configuration and intended function. The designations "Expeditor II" and "Expeditor III" are given in the examples of leases to the United Kingdom (Royal Navy) and Canada (Air Force), respectively.

After World War II and the turbulent 1950s, the U.S. military commissioned Beechcraft to overhaul some 900 C-45 airframes designated C-45G (autopilot, R-985 AN-3 star engine) entered US Air Force service) and C-45H (no autopilot, R-985 AN-14B engine), many of which entered service into the 1960s (circa 1963). Some are assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC).

Every branch of the U.S. service eventually fielded some form of the Type 18, and that's the range of this beautiful little plane.