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.[1]
History
editDuring 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, Clair George, was unavailable, so Duane 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.[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.'".[2]
Fleet
editIn 1982 the firm operated three aircraft.
- Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander, manufacturers serial number 612, registration J6-LAS, formerly registered VQ-LAS
- Boeing 707-323C, manufacturers serial number 18689, registration J6-SLF, formerly registered G-WIND.[1]
- Lockheed L-100-20 manufacturers serial number 382-4129, registration J6-SLO, formerly registered C-FPWN
See also
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References
edit- ^ a b Endres, Günter G. World Airline Fleets 1983. Aviation Data Centre, Feltham, Middlesex, 1982. p. 224. ISBN 0-946141-02-9.
- ^ a b Woodward, Bob. Veil: The secret wars of the CIA, 1981-1987. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005. p. 423. ISBN 0-7432-7403-2.
External links
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