1. Vanguard Airlines DC-3As - "1937-1946/World War II"

In 1936, Vanguard Airlines' fleet consisted of a handful of small Lockheed models such as the Vega, Model 9 Orion, Model 10 Electra/Model 12 Electra Junior, and the later the Model 18 Lodestar (1939), as well as the fledging Ford Trimotor. The airline had seen interest in the Douglas DC-2, but it failed to meet founder John Trahan's standards for his expansion plans. After a DC-2 was leased from Douglas for trials in 1935, a formal order for 7 DC-3s was placed in June of 1937, becoming the airlines' largest and most expensive order to date. The airplanes were initially deployed on the Memphis to New York and Memphis to Houston sectors, offering the airlines' first daily cross country service by eliminating various stops on the existing routes. DC-3 route segments would eventually include Washington D.C., New Orleans, Nashville, Austin, Shreveport, and San Antonio by the outbreak of World War II. Most importantly, however, the DC-3 would bring Vanguard's revenue from passengers above that of mail for the first time in its history.

At the outbreak of war, John Trahan had the airline's Memphis maintenance center allocated for outfitting/maintaining Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, Boeing B-29 Superfortresses and North American P-51 Mustangs for the United States Army Air Forces. Of the airlines 7 DC-3s, 4 were pressed into USAAF service, leaving the airline with most of it's Lockheed aircraft, and 3 of it's DC-3s. A further DC-3 would later be pressed into service in 1943, and Vanguard would have to consolidate it's schedule for the remainder of the war. Determined to contribute to the war effort in any way possible, Trahan decided to paint a "Buy War Bonds" campaign slogan along one of Vanguard's DC-3s, becoming the first airline in a series to do so. By the end of the war, profits from government contracts would substantially increase Trahan's treasury. At the end of hostilities in 1945, the DC-3 fleet would grow to 26 as many DC-3s were returned, and many C-47s were cut from the USAAF inventory. The airline would also add newer aircraft such as the DC-4, DC-6, and DC-7, as well as the Lockheed Constellation.

With the importance of the DC-3 beginning to dwindle in the late 1950s, the decision was made to sell the aircraft in 1963, with all going to new homes at various other carriers. A single Vanguard DC-3 survives in 2021, currently on display at the Vanguard Airlines Flight Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, displayed in it's 1939 appearance.

A personal shoutout to Boomeruesky for this gorgeous DC-3, all credits to him for the template. This is the first of what will be several posts dedicated to "the airplane that taught man how to fly."