The ATL-98 Carvair

The ATL-98 Carvair is a truly unusual aircraft. Converted from 19 C-54 World War II transport planes and two DC-4 airliners into a small fleet of air ferries by Aviation Traders of Southend, England, the Carvair allowed commercial air passengers to accompany their automobiles onboard the aircraft. The planes were dispersed throughout the world, operating for 75 airlines and transporting cars, royalty, rock groups, refugees, whales, rockets, military vehicles, gold, and even nuclear material. After more than 45 years, two Carvairs were in 2008 still in service.
This comprehensive history of the ATL-98 Carvair, begins with corporate histories and profiles of key players, including William Patterson, Donald Douglas, and Freddie Laker. Four chapters illustrate the evolution of the car-ferry as a viable aircraft, the history of Aviation Traders, engineering details incorporated into the Carvair’s production, and major Carvair operators. Chapters on each of the fleet’s 21 planes provide individual histories and anecdotes. Seven appendices provide several kinds of data and the book is fully indexed.

William Patrick Dean served in the U.S. Air Force and spent three decades with United Airlines. He has published numerous articles and photographed more than 10,000 aircraft. He lives in Henderson, Nevada.

William Patrick Dean
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 415
Bibliographic Info: 178 photos, glossary, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015 [2008]
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6280-0
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5177-7
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments v
Foreword by Michael O’Callaghan 1
Preface 3
Introduction 5
Part I: Getting Off the Ground
1. Corporate History 11
2. Car-Ferry Evolution 24
3. Aviation Traders Engineering Limited 31
4. Engineering 50
5. Carvair Operators 75
Part II: Individual Aircraft Histories
6. Carvair Zero 95
7. Carvair One 96
8. Carvair Two 107
9. Carvair Three 114
10. Carvair Four 121
11. Carvair Five 134
12. Carvair Six 165
13. Carvair Seven 175
14. Carvair Eight 191
15. Carvair Nine 200
16. Carvair Ten 211
17. Carvair Eleven 225
18. Carvair Twelve 237
19. Carvair Thirteen 247
20. Carvair Fourteen 257
21. Carvair Fifteen 268
22. Carvair Sixteen 273
23. Carvair Seventeen 284
24. Carvair Eighteen 295
25. Carvair Nineteen 301
26. Carvair Twenty 312
27. Carvair Twenty-One 334
Epilogue 349
Appendix 1: Carvair’s DC-4 Airframes 351
Appendix 2: Individual Aircraft Dated Histories 352
Appendix 3: DC-4 Owners and Operators 375
Appendix 4: ATL-98 Carvair Owners, Operators, Liveries 376
Appendix 5: DC-4 Registration 377
Appendix 6: Carvair Registration 378
Appendix 7: Aircraft Names 379
Glossary 381
Chapter Notes 385
Bibliography 391
Index 397

“detailed…recommended”—Choice; “excellent…a serious aviation history…highly recommend”—Propliners; “detailed”—Aircraft Magazine; “well worth its purchase price…there is much previously unpublished data…a truly remarkable job”—Aviation World; “recommend[ed]…superb”—The Essex Hundred; “monumental”—Airways; “highly recommend…well researched”—Logbook; “a supremely well-presented book”—SpeedReaders; “fascinating…a meticulous accounting of the life history of each of the 21 Carvair aircraft…interesting…ample detail and statistics”—American Aviation Historical Society; “the definitive work on the Aviation Traders Carvair…fascinating…well illustrated, with good coverage of the total Carvair fleet through the years…highly recommended”—Irish Air Letter.