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5050 Santa Fe Drive • Atwater, California • 95301
Beech Aircraft Company C-45G Expeditor
MUSEUM HOURS
May 1- October 31
9:00am - 5:00pm
November 1 - April 30
10:00am - 4:00pm
The museum is open
daily year round,
except for the
following days:
New Year's Day,
Easter,
Thanksgiving and
Christmas Day.
Specifications
Country of Origin: United States
Manufacturer: Beech Aircraft Company
Role/Function: Utility/Trainer
Serial Number: 51-11897
Model Number/Mk. #: Model 18
Crew: 2 Crew + 5 Passengers
Power Plant: 2 - 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engines.
Maximum Speed: 210 mph.
Cruising Speed: n/a
Service Ceiling: 20,000 ft.
Range: 700 mi.
Weights: Empty: n/a Gross: 8,727 lbs.
Wing Span: 48 ft. 8 in.
Length: 34 ft. 3 in.
Height: 9 ft 8 in.
Wing Area: n/a
Armament: None
Cost: $57,838.00 USD (at the time of manufacture)
# Built: 4,000 were built for the U.S. Army Air Force and over 1,500 for the U.S. Navy and 366 for the Royal Canadian Airforce (CT-128).
# in Current Service: n/a
The Beech C-45 Expeditor is one of several aircraft based on the Model 18 Twin Beech. Beech manufactured over 5,000 aircraft during World War II for the U.S. and several foreign governments. Other variants of this aircraft were the AT-11 Kansan bombardier and gunnery trainer, the AT-7 Navigator navigation trainer, and the Navy's SNB-1 and SNB-2 trainers and JRB utility transport.
In service with the RCAF, the Expeditor was known by many nicknames such as Twin Harvard, Wichita Wobbler, Exploder, and Bug Smasher and its many roles included multi-engine training for pilots, navigators and radio operators; liason; VIP transport; and search and rescue. Unification of the Canadian Armed Foces took place in 1968 with only 53 Expeditors remaining of the total of 366 once listed as on strength and these were all due for retirement during 1970 -72 along with the Dakota fleet.
The C-45 earned the nickname "Bug Smasher" and served as a small transport/liaison aircraft. The aircraft on display at Castle Air Museum served with the Navy at the San Diego Naval Air Station. In 1951 it was part of a program to rebuild AT-7/AT-11/SNB aircraft to C-45 configuration. After military service, it was used as a civilian aircraft by the Department of Agriculture.
