I guess it is best that i write this in english, i am obviously a norwegian, and i guess we understand each other a bit but..
According to various sources ive understood that your coastguard has used this plane once, b ut t i dont trust certain Wikipedias. So i figured it was best to ask here…
I am digging trough old tanks, naval vessels, planes and helicopter of both Norway, Denmark and iceland. And i have best acess to norwegian archives lol
Bought from the US Navy forces stationed in Keflavik in 1955 and was in service until 1963.
The wiki page cites credible sources.
My grandmother told me that the first plane ride (domestic I assumed) she had was in a plane called Catalina. Don’t know if Iceland had more than one of those types in operation.
First plane of the Icelandic coast guard was a Catalina, first international flight (to Scotland) was a Catalina, and they were widely used for domestic flights. Well suited for Icelandic conditions – few runways back in the day and difficult to build them in remote locations, but plenty of fjords. And when runways were built, it was sometimes a bit of a challenge, see [Ísafjörður](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Dsafj%C3%B6r%C3%B0ur_Airport?wprov=sfti1). It remains a very popular plane among Icelandic aviation geeks. Whenever it makes an appearance at air shows it’s always popular.
4 comments
I guess it is best that i write this in english, i am obviously a norwegian, and i guess we understand each other a bit but..
According to various sources ive understood that your coastguard has used this plane once, b ut t i dont trust certain Wikipedias. So i figured it was best to ask here…
I am digging trough old tanks, naval vessels, planes and helicopter of both Norway, Denmark and iceland. And i have best acess to norwegian archives lol
https://is.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TF-R%C3%81N_(flugb%C3%A1tur)
TF-RAN.
Bought from the US Navy forces stationed in Keflavik in 1955 and was in service until 1963.
The wiki page cites credible sources.
My grandmother told me that the first plane ride (domestic I assumed) she had was in a plane called Catalina. Don’t know if Iceland had more than one of those types in operation.
First plane of the Icelandic coast guard was a Catalina, first international flight (to Scotland) was a Catalina, and they were widely used for domestic flights. Well suited for Icelandic conditions – few runways back in the day and difficult to build them in remote locations, but plenty of fjords. And when runways were built, it was sometimes a bit of a challenge, see [Ísafjörður](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Dsafj%C3%B6r%C3%B0ur_Airport?wprov=sfti1). It remains a very popular plane among Icelandic aviation geeks. Whenever it makes an appearance at air shows it’s always popular.