St. Lucia Airways

St. Lucia Airways Limited. was a privately-owned company founded in 1975. General and tourist flights were operated mainly to Martinique and Barbados, but also extended throughout the Caribbean and South America. There was also a shuttle service between the two St. Lucia airports of Vigie and Hewannora. A Boeing 707 was acquired in 1982 for cargo charter work. Head office was listed as PO Box 253, Castries, St. Lucia, West Indies. [cite book
last = Endres
first = Günter G.
title = World Airline Fleets 1983
publisher = Aviation Data Centre, Feltham, Middlesex, 1982
page = 224, ISBN 0-946141-029]

The firm operated two aircraft as of 1982.
*Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander, manufacturers serial number 612, registration J6-LAS, formerly registered VQ-LAS
*Boeing 707-351C, manufacturers serial number 18689, registration J6-SLF, formerly registered G-WIND. [cite book
last = Endres
first = Günter G.
title = World Airline Fleets 1983
publisher = Aviation Data Centre, Feltham, Middlesex, 1982
page = 224, ISBN 0-946141-029]

During the 1986 arms for hostages scandal, U.S. Marine Corps Col. Oliver North arranged for shipments of Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK antiaircraft missiles to Israel. "The CIA's air branch suggested a proprietary which did clandestine work for the agency - St. Lucia Airways." The CIA congressional relations man, Clare Elroy George, was unavailable, so Duane R. "Dewey" Clarridge, the Latin America division chief, checked with the acting Deputy Director of Operations, Ed Juchniewicz, who told North that, in addition to its proprietary work, St. Lucia operated as a commercial venture. So it was available to anyone for special charter operations. [cite book
last = Woodward
first = Bob
title = Veil: The secret wars of the CIA, 1981-1987
publisher = Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005
page = 423, ISBN 0-7432-7403-2]

"North arranged for St. Lucia to provide two Boeing 707s. They were able to carry HAWK antiaircraft missiles to Israel, where the HAWKs were transferred to Israeli planes for transit to Iran. North was running the operation through a Swiss bank account, Lake Resources, Inc. (number 386-430-22-1 at Crédit Suisse). For coming up with an airline on short notice, North told [Vice Adm. John] Poindexter on their interoffice computer, 'Clarridge deserves a medal.'". [cite book
last = Woodward
first = Bob
title = Veil: The secret wars of the CIA, 1981-1987
publisher = Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005
page = 423, ISBN 0-7432-7403-2]

Lars Olausson's "Lockheed Hercules Production List" provides the following tie-in between Oliver North's St. Lucia operation and current suspected CIA operative Tepper Aviation:

*November 27 1989: L-100 c.n. 4129, delivered to ZAC-Alexander, registered 9J-RBW, April 1966, sold to Maple Leaf Leasing, 1969, leased to Pacific Western Airlines, line number 383, March 1969, damaged Eureka, Northwest Territory, August 1969, rebuilt as L-100-20, December 1969. Leased to Alaska International Air, (earlier Interior Airways, later MarkAir), December 1969. Sold to Pacific Western Airlines, registered CF-PWN, 1977, then sold to St. Lucia Airways, registered J6-SLO, May 1985, named "Juicy Lucy", after a rock and roll band, 1969-1972 , transporting cargo for UNITA, July 1987. Sold to Tepper Aviation, Florida, N9205T, January 1988, named "Grey Ghost" - crash landing at Jamba, Angola.. [cite book
last = Olausson
first = Lars
title = Lockheed Hercules Production List 1954-2009, 26th edition
publisher = Lars Olausson, self-published, Såtenäs, Sweden, April 2008
page = 59, no ISBN.]

ee also

*Air America
*Civil Air Transport
*Rendition aircraft
*Southern Air Transport
*Tepper Aviation

References