View source for Canadair CL-44

{{Short description|Canadian turboprop airliner (1950s–60s)}}
{{more footnotes|date=June 2015}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox aircraft
 |name= CL-44 / CC-106 Yukon
 |image= Transporte Aereo Rioplatense Canadair CL-44.jpg
 |caption= A Canadair CL-44 of [[Transporte Aereo Rioplatense]]. The same aircraft crashed in July 1981 following a '''[[1981 Armenia mid-air collision|mid-air collision]]'''
 |type= [[Military transport aircraft]]<br />[[Cargo aircraft]]
 |manufacturer= [[Canadair]]
 |designer=
 |first_flight= 16 November 1959
 |introduction=19 July 1960 (RCAF)
 |retired= 1971 (RCAF)
 |status=
 |primary_user= [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]<!--please list only one-->
 |more_users= Various airlines<!--up to three more. please separate with <br />.-->
 |produced=<!--years in production, e.g. 1970-1999, if still in active use but no longer built-->
 |number_built= 39
 |developed_from = [[Bristol Britannia]]
 |variants= [[Conroy Skymonster]]
}}

The '''Canadair CL-44''' was a Canadian [[turboprop]] [[airliner]] and cargo [[aircraft]] based on the [[Bristol Britannia]] that was developed and produced by [[Canadair]] in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although innovative, only a small number of the aircraft were produced for the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] (RCAF) (as the '''CC-106 Yukon'''), and for commercial operators worldwide.

The aircraft is named after the Canadian territory of [[Yukon]].

==Design and development==
In the 1950s, [[Canadair]] acquired a licence to build the [[Bristol Britannia]] airliner. Their first use of it was to build the heavily modified [[Canadair CP-107 Argus|Canadair CL-28 Argus]] patrol aircraft (RCAF designation '''CP-107''') that combined the Britannia's wings and tail sections with a new fuselage and engines. The resulting aircraft had lower speed and service ceiling, but it had two bomb bays and greatly extended loiter times.
[[File:Canadair CL-44 N228SW BOAC RWY 09.63 edited-3.jpg|thumb|right|Loading a Canadair CL-44 at [[Manchester Airport|Manchester]] in 1963 with the fuselage swung open. This aircraft was operated by [[British Overseas Airways Corporation|BOAC]] on charter from [[Seaboard World Airlines]]]]
[[File:Canadair CL-44, Slick Airways JP7015730.jpg|thumb|[[Slick Airways]] at [[San Francisco International Airport|San Francisco]] 1963]]
The RCAF required a replacement for its C-54GM [[Canadair North Star|North Star]], itself an extensive redesign of the [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster]]. Among many changes, the proposed new aircraft was powered by [[Rolls-Royce Merlin|Merlin]] engines. Canadair began work on a long range transport primarily intended to provide personnel and logistics support for Canadian Forces in Europe. In January 1957 Canadair received a contract for eight aircraft, later increased to 12. The RCAF designation for the new design was '''CC-106 Yukon''', while the company's civilian variant was known as the ''CL-44-6''. In company parlance the CL-44 was simply "the Forty-Four."

The RCAF specified the CL-44 to be equipped with [[Bristol Orion]] engines. When the British Ministry of Supply canceled the Orion program, the RCAF revised the specifications to substitute the [[Rolls-Royce Tyne|Rolls-Royce Tyne 11]]. The CL-44 [[fuselage]] was lengthened, making it 12&nbsp;ft 4 in (3.75 m) longer than the Britannia 300 with two large cargo doors added on the port side on some aircraft, while the cabin was pressurised to maintain a cabin altitude of 2,400 m at 9,000&nbsp;m (30,000&nbsp;ft). The design used modified CL-28 wings and controls. The Yukon could accommodate 134 passengers and a crew of nine. In the casualty evacuation role, it could take 80 patients and a crew of 11.

The rollout of the Yukon was a near-disaster because the prototype could not be pushed out of the hangar since the vertical fin could not clear the hangar doors.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} The first flight took place 15 November 1959 at [[Cartierville Airport]]. During test flights many problems were encountered, from complete electrical failure to engines shaking loose and almost falling off. Rolls-Royce had problems delivering engines, resulting in the sarcastically-named "Yukon gliders" being parked outside Canadair as late as 1961.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

==Operational history==
[[File:Canadair CC-106 15927 CAF LGW 09.68 edited-3.jpg|thumb|right|Canadair CC-106 Yukon of the Canadian Armed Forces at [[London Gatwick Airport]] in 1968]]
[[File:Cl-44 being unloaded lax 8-20-69.jpg|thumb|[[Airlift International]] [[Los Angeles International Airport|LAX]] August 1969]]
[[File:Canadair CC-106 9Q-CWN Soc Gen D'Alim Dorval 051173 edited-2.jpg|thumb|right|Canadair CC-106 of Societe Generale d'Alimentation (Zaire) at Montreal (Dorval) Airport in 1973 wearing remnants of its RCAF markings]]
[[File:Bayu Indonesia Air Canadair CL-44D4-2 Wheatley.jpg|thumb|A CL-44D4-2 of [[Bayu Indonesia Air]] in the mid-1980s at [[Perth Airport]]]]
[[File:Canadair CC106 LV-JZB AER MIA 18.07.76 edited-2.jpg|thumb|right|CC.106 of Aerotransportes landing at [[Miami International Airport|Miami]] in 1976]]
Initially, the CL-44-6 was produced for the RCAF as the '''CC-106 Yukon'''. Once initial problems were resolved, in RCAF service the Yukon performed well and in December 1961, a Yukon set a world record for its class when it flew 6,750&nbsp;mi (10,860&nbsp;km) from Tokyo to RCAF Station Trenton, Ontario, in 17 hours, three minutes at an average speed of 400&nbsp;mph (640&nbsp;km/h). Later, a Yukon set a new record staying airborne for 23 hours and 51 minutes. These records were unbroken until bettered by the Boeing 747SP in 1975. By the time of their retirement, Yukons had flown 65 million miles, 1.5 billion passenger miles and 360 million ton-miles.

The CL-44D4 was briefly considered for purchase by the [[United States Air Force]] in the 1960s but the project was never culminated due to political backlash in Canada and the [[United States]].<ref>[http://www.cl44.com/cl44/44history.htm "The CL-44."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706120732/http://www.cl44.com/cl44/44history.htm |date=2007-07-06 }} ''cl44.com''. Retrieved: 3 March 2007.</ref> The USAF purchase of the CL-44 was complicated by two factors. It came in the aftermath of the cancellation of the [[Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow]] and involved a "swap deal" wherein 100 [[McDonnell F-101 Voodoo]] fighters were obtained in return for a contract for 232 CL-44-D4 transports for the Military Air Transport Service (MATS). The political controversy that resulted led to problems for a Quebec-based company receiving a contract so soon after an Ontario-based company had lost a major contract. The USAF also quickly found that buying a foreign aircraft was not easy when American companies wanted the business and they relinquished the contract to Canadair, awarding an order to Boeing for the [[Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker|KC-135 Stratotanker]].

On the [[cargo aircraft]] variant '''CL-44D4''' the entire tail section hinged. It could be opened using [[hydraulic]] [[actuator]]s to load large items quickly. An inflatable seal at the hinge-break enabled cabin pressure to be maintained, and eight hydraulic-operated locks assured structural integrity. The tail could be opened from controls within the tail in 90 seconds. The flight controls at the joint were maintained by a system of push pads.

The CL-44D4 was the first large aircraft to be able to "swing" its tail, although some small naval aircraft had this feature to ease storage. These, however, required [[rigging]] before flight. There were only four original customers who bought and operated the CL-44D4.

[[Loftleiðir]] was the only passenger operator of the CL-44J, variant of CL-44D4 stretched on request by Canadair. It was the largest passenger aircraft flying over the Atlantic Ocean at that time. Loftleiðir marketed the CL-44J under the name "Rolls-Royce 400 PropJet". This led to the confusion that the CL-44J is sometimes referred to as the Canadair-400. Loftleiðir Icelandic Airlines merged with [[Air Iceland]] in 1973 and became today's [[Icelandair]].

The CC-106 Yukons retired in March 1971 and were replaced by the [[Boeing CC-137|CC-137]] ([[Boeing 707]]). The Yukons might have served longer with the Canadian Forces Air Transport Command  but for two factors: the need for an aircraft which could operate as an in-flight refueling tanker, and the chronic shortage and high cost of spares, the latter resulting because the CL-44 had never gone into large-scale production. All Yukons were sold to South American and African operators as they could not be registered in North America or Europe since the FAA refused to certify the original windshields which came from the Bristol Britannia because they did not meet flight crew vision standards.<ref>Pickler and Milberry 1995, p. 141.</ref> The General Dynamics CV880/990 windshields were compatible enough to be adopted into the flight deck structure, but the cost was prohibitive. The CC-106 had the original Bristol Britannia windshield and, on its retirement from RCAF operations, the cost of conversion was estimated at $250,000.00 per unit, cost alone precluding its use in North America and Europe. In 1974, a special exclusion was granted for the CC-106 (Cargo) for civil operations in Canada.

==Variants==
;CL-44-6
:Version built for the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] as the '''CC-106 Yukon''', 12 built
;CL-44D4-1
:Civil, commercial [[cargo aircraft]], civil prototype and production aircraft for [[Seaboard World Airlines]], eight built.
;CL-44D4-2
:Civil, commercial [[cargo aircraft]] originally built for [[Flying Tiger Line]], 13 built.
;CL-44D4-6
:Civil, commercial [[cargo aircraft]] originally built for [[Slick Airways]], four built.
;CL-44D4-8
:Civil aircraft  for [[Icelandic Airlines]] Loftleidir, two built ''(civil passenger version)''
;CL-44J
:Four CL-44D4 aircraft stretched by Canadair on request of Icelandic Airlines ''Loftleiðir'', with a section, 10&nbsp;ft 1 in (3.07 m) forward of the wing, and another section of 5&nbsp;ft 1 in (1.55 m) aft of the wing. This enabled the installation of 29 extra seats, bringing the capacity to 189 passengers. The [[MTOW|maximum take-off weight]] stayed the same since the extra weight was compensated by removing the center wing tanks. Therefore, it can be said that the stretch was a trade of capacity for range.
;[[Conroy Skymonster|CL-44-O]]
:Also known as the '''Skymonster''' and '''CL-44 Guppy'''. The CL-44-O was a single CL-44D4-2 (c/n 16) converted by [[Conroy Aircraft]], who removed the fuselage shell above the floorline, and rebuilt an enlarged fuselage to make it into a [[Aero Spacelines Super Guppy|Guppy-type aircraft]]. It was intended to transport [[Rolls-Royce RB211]] engine pods to the United States for [[Lockheed L-1011|Lockheed's L-1011 TriStar]].

==Operators==

===Civilian operators===

Four original customers who bought and operated the CL-44D4 were: Seaboard World Airlines, The Flying Tiger Line, Slick Airways and the Icelandic Airlines Loftleiðir. All other operators operated second-hand aircraft.
{{div col}}
♠ original operators
;{{ARG}}
* [[Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense]]<ref name="turbo" />
* [[Aerotransportes Entre Ríos]]<ref name="turbo" />
;{{AUS}}
* [[HeavyLift Cargo Airlines]] was one of the operators of the CL-44 Guppy.
;{{BEL}}
* [[Young Cargo]]<ref>{{cite web | url = http://rzjets.net/operators/?show=3164 | title = Young Cargo | publisher = rzjets | access-date = 13 November 2021}}</ref>
;{{CAN}}
* [[Beaver Enterprises]] (dealer purchased CC-106s from the RCAF)<ref name="turbo" />
;{{COL}}
* [[Aerocondor Colombia]] (bought one CL-44-6 in 1974)<ref name="turbo" />
* AeroNorte Colombia (now [[Líneas Aéreas Suramericanas]]) (bought one CL-44J in 1984)<ref name="turbo" />
* [[Tampa Cargo]]
* [[SAEP Colombia]]
;{{CYP}}
* [[Cyprus Airways]] (leased one CL-44D4-1 1978–1980)<ref name="turbo" />
;{{ECU}}
* [[AECA Carga]] operated CL-44D-4-1
* [[Andes Airlines]]<ref name="turbo" />
;{{ESA}}
* [[TACA International Airlines]] (one CL-44-6 leased in 1974)<ref name="turbo" />
;{{GNQ}}
* [[Skymaster Freight Services]]<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.baaa-acro.com/operator/skymaster-freight-services | title = Skymaster Freight Services | publisher = Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives | access-date = 3 March 2022}}</ref>
;{{GAB}}
* [[SOACO]]<ref name="turbo" />
;{{IDN}}
* [[Bayu Indonesia|Bayu Indonesian Air]]<ref name="turbo" />
;{{ISL}}
* ''[[Loftleiðir]]'' ♠ <ref name="turbo" />
;{{IRL}}
* [[Aer Turas]]<ref name="turbo" />
;{{LBN}}
* [[Trans Mediterranean Airways]] (leased)<ref name="turbo" />
;{{flagcountry|Libyan Arab Jamahiriya}}
* [[United African Airlines]]<ref name="turbo" /> later became [[Jamahiriya Air Transport]]
;{{LUX}}
* [[Cargolux]]<ref name="turbo" />
;{{MAR}}
* [[Royal Air Maroc]] (one aircraft leased in 1980)<ref name="turbo" />
;{{PER}}
* [[Aeronaves de Peru]]<ref name="turbo" />
;{{ESP}}
* [[Cargosur]]
;{{SUI}}
* [[Transvalair]] operated two aircraft.<ref name="turbo" />
;{{UK}}
* [[BOAC]] operated a transatlantic cargo service (London-Manchester-New York) with an aircraft leased from Seaboard World Airlines from 1963 until 1965.<ref name="turbo" />
* [[British Cargo Airlines]]<ref name="turbo" />
* [[British United Air Ferries|British Air Ferries]]
* [[Redcoat Air Cargo]]
* [[Transmeridian Air Cargo]] operated total eight CL-44 including ''Guppy'' aircraft.<ref name="turbo" />
;{{USA}}
* [[Aeron International Airlines]]<ref name="turbo" />
* [[Air Express International]]<ref name="turbo" />
* [[Airlift International]]<ref name="turbo" />
* [[Cargosur]]
* [[Flying Tiger Line|The Flying Tiger Line]] ♠ <ref name="turbo" />
* [[Seaboard World Airlines]] ♠ <ref name="turbo">Eastwood/Roach 1990, pp 79–81</ref>
* [[Slick Airways]] ♠ <ref name="turbo" />
* [[Tradewinds Airlines]]
* [[Wrangler Aviation]]
;{{URY}}
* [[Aero Uruguay]]<ref name="turbo" />
* [[Atlantida Linea Aérea Sudamericana]] (ALAS)<ref name="turbo" />
;{{ZAI}}
* [[Societé Générale d'Alimentation]] (SGA) (three CL-44-6s from 1973)<ref name="turbo" />
* [[Tramaco]]<ref name="turbo" />
* [[Vic Air Cargo]] later [[Virunga Air Cargo]]<ref name="turbo" />
{{div col end}}
===Military operators===
;{{CAN}}
* [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] ♠
** [[No. 412 Squadron RCAF]] used two aircraft  as VIP transports.
** [[No. 426 Squadron RCAF]]
** [[No. 436 Squadron RCAF]]
** [[No. 437 Squadron RCAF]] received 11 Yukons with two as aerial tankers.
** [[No. 4 (Transport) Operational Training Unit RCAF]]
* [[Canadian Forces]]

==Accidents and incidents==

The Canadair CL-44 suffered 21 hull loss incidents during its operational history including the following:

* 21 March 1966: N453T, [[Flying Tiger Line]], crashed upon landing at [[NAS Norfolk]], Virginia due to crew inexperience.
* 24 December 1966: While trying to land in heavy fog on [[Da Nang International Airport]], a [[Flying Tiger Line]] CL-44 [[1966 Flying Tiger Line Canadair CL-44 crash|crashed]] into the village of [[Binh Thai]], killing all four crew on board and 107 people on the ground.
* 2 December 1970: TF-LLG [[Cargolux Airlines]] S.A. crashed on approach to Dacca when controls lock system engaged.
* 20 July 1972:  LV-JYR, Aerotransportes Entre Rios – AER disappeared on a cargo flight from [[Carrasco International Airport]], [[Montevideo]], [[Uruguay]] to [[Santiago]], [[Chile]], with the loss of five crew members.
* 22 December 1974: G-AWSC, [[Tradewinds Airways]], written off following damage in hard landing at Lusaka, Zambia
* 2 September 1977: G-ATZH crashed into sea while attempting emergency landing after an engine fire spread to the wing after take off from Hong Kong [[Kai Tak airport]], all four crew were killed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/8-1980%20G-ATZH.pdf|title=Civil Aviation Authority Accident Investigation Division report on the accident to Canadair CL44 G-ATZH}}</ref>
* 6 July 1978: G-BCWJ, Tradewinds Airways, written off after damage caused when main gear retracted after hard landing in [[Nairobi]], Kenya.
* 4 November 1980: 5B-DAN, [[Cyprus Airways]], damaged beyond repair in after an emergency landing at [[RAF Akrotiri]], Cyprus.
* 18 July 1981: A [[Soviet Air Defense Forces]] [[Sukhoi Su-15]] interceptor [[1981 Armenia mid-air collision|collided]] with a [[Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense]] Canadair CL-44 that had mistakenly entered Soviet Airspace. All four occupants on board the airliner were killed whilst the Soviet Su-15 pilot ejected and survived; the aircraft was [[Israeli support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq war|delivering arms from Israel to Iran]].<ref>Oberg 1988, pp. 32–49.</ref>
* 6 April 1986: HK-3148X of [[Lineas Aereas Suramericanas]], Colombia crashed upon approach to Barranquilla, Colombia
* 14 April 2000: 3C-ZPO was damaged beyond economic repair when ammunition caught fire while on ground in [[Kinshasa]]

==Surviving aircraft==
One CC-106 is known to have been preserved. The fuselage of construction number 13, last registered as HC-AZH, has been converted into a nightclub in [[Cuenca, Ecuador]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10340649|title=HC-AZH – Canadair CC-106 Yukon|website=JetPhotos.com|date=4 October 2021|accessdate=15 June 2022}}</ref>

Additionally, the single CL-44-O Skymonster remains extant at [[Bournemouth Airport]] in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10451644|title=N447FT – Canadair CL-44-O Guppy|website=JetPhotos.com|date=1 January 2022|accessdate=15 June 2022}}</ref>

edit: Scrapped in the beginning of 2025

==Specifications CL-44D-4==
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=imp

|ref=http://en.avia.pro/blog/canadair-cl-44-tehnicheskie-harakteristiki-foto

|crew=2 pilots, 1 flight engineer plus loadmasters as required.
|capacity=160 passengers and 66,048 lb (29,959 kg) useful load
|length ft=136
|length in=11
|length m=41.73 
|span ft=142
|span in=4
|span m=43.37 
|height ft=36
|height in=8
|height m=11.18 
|wing area sqft=2,075 
|wing area sqm=192.7 
|empty weight lb=88,952 
|empty weight kg=40,348 
|max takeoff weight lb=210,000 
|max takeoff weight kg=95,000 
|eng1 name=[[Rolls-Royce Tyne]] 515/50
|eng1 type=[[turboprops]]
|eng1 number=4
|eng1 shp=5,730 
|eng1 kw=4,270 
|prop name=variable pitch propellers
|prop blade number=4

|max speed kmh=670
|cruise speed kmh=646
|range mi=5588
|ceiling ft=30000
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Aviation|Canada}}
{{aircontent
|related=
* [[Bristol Britannia]]
* [[Canadair CP-107 Argus]]
* [[Conroy Skymonster]]
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
* [[List of aircraft of Canada's air forces]]
|see also=
}}

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1958/1958-1-%20-%200905.html "Canadair CL-44."] ''Flight,'' December 1958.
* Eastwood, Tony and John Roach. ''Turbo Prop Airliner Production List''. West Drayton, UK: Aviation Hobby Shop, 1990. {{ISBN|0-907178-32-4}}.
* Milberry, Larry. ''The Canadair North Star''. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1982. {{ISBN|0-07-549965-7}}.
* Oberg, James. [http://www.jamesoberg.com/border.html ''Uncovering Soviet Disasters: Exploring the Limits of Glasnost.''] New York: Random House, 1988. {{ISBN|978-0-394-56095-3}}.
* Pickler, Ron and Larry Milberry. ''Canadair: The First 50 Years''. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1995. {{ISBN|0-921022-07-7}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.cl44.com?id=122 Information on all 39 CL-44s produced.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101205221238/http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/v2/equip/hst/yukon-eng.asp DND – Canada's Air Force – The Canadair CC-106 Yukon]
* [http://aviation-safety.net/database/type/type.php?type=132 Detailed listing of all CL-44 accidents]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20121103055049/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1958/1958-1-%20-%200905.html "Canadair CL-44"] a 1958 ''Flight'' article archived at the Internet Archive

{{Canadair}}
{{CF aircraft}}
{{Aircraft manufactured in Canada}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadair Cc-106 Yukon}}
[[Category:Canadair aircraft|CL-044]]
[[Category:1950s Canadian cargo aircraft]]
[[Category:Four-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:1950s Canadian military transport aircraft]]
[[Category:Four-engined turboprop aircraft]]
[[Category:Low-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1959]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]]