- St. Lucia Airways
St. Lucia Airways Limited. was a privately-owned company founded in
1975 . General and tourist flights were operated mainly toMartinique andBarbados , but also extended throughout theCaribbean andSouth America . There was also a shuttle service between the two St. Lucia airports of Vigie and Hewannora. ABoeing 707 was acquired in1982 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 ofRaytheon MIM-23 HAWK antiaircraft missiles toIsrael . "TheCIA 's air branch suggested aproprietary which didclandestine work for the agency - St. Lucia Airways." TheCIA congressional relations man,Clare Elroy George , was unavailable, soDuane R. "Dewey" Clarridge , theLatin 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 707 s. They were able to carry HAWK antiaircraft missiles toIsrael , where the HAWKs were transferred to Israeli planes for transit toIran . North was running the operation through a Swiss bank account,Lake Resources, Inc. (number 386-430-22-1 atCrédit 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 operativeTepper Aviation :*
November 27 1989 : L-100 c.n. 4129, delivered toZAC-Alexander , registered 9J-RBW, April1966 , sold toMaple Leaf Leasing ,1969 , leased toPacific Western Airlines , line number 383, March1969 , damagedEureka ,Northwest Territory , August1969 , rebuilt as L-100-20, December1969 . Leased toAlaska International Air , (earlierInterior Airways , laterMarkAir ), December1969 . Sold toPacific Western Airlines , registered CF-PWN,1977 , then sold to St. Lucia Airways, registered J6-SLO, May1985 , named "Juicy Lucy", after a rock and roll band,1969 -1972 , transporting cargo forUNITA , July1987 . Sold toTepper Aviation ,Florida , N9205T, January1988 , named "Grey Ghost" - crash landing atJamba ,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
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