Air Rhodesia

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Air Rhodesia
IATA RH	ICAO N/A	Callsign ?
Founded		September 1, 1967
Hubs		Salisbury
Focus cities		Bulawayo, Kariba
Fleet size		13
Destinations		Domestic, South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique
Headquarters		Salisbury, Rhodesia
Key people		Mervin Eyatt, Ken Greager

Air Rhodesia was the national airline of Rhodesia. It was originally formed as a subsidiary of Central African Airways in June 1964, but became an independent corporation on September 1, 1967. Air Rhodesia flew internal routes to Buffalo Range, Bulawayo, Fort Victoria, Kariba, and Victoria Falls. During the 1970s the airline had international flights to Johannesburg and Durban in South Africa, Beira, Vilanculos and Lourenço Marques in Mozambique, and Blantyre in Malawi.

Its mainstay aircraft were Vickers Viscount 700D and the Boeing 720-025, three of which were successfully purchased in April 1973 in spite of sanctions against the Rhodesian government. Following the renaming of the country, it became known as Air Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979, and then reformed as Air Zimbabwe in 1980.

[edit] Aircraft

• Douglas C-47 - VP-YKP, VP-YNH
• Vickers Viscount 748D - VP-YNB, VP-YNC, VP-YND
• Vickers Viscount 754D - VP-YTE (2), VP-WAR
• Vickers Viscount 756D - VP-YNI
• Vickers Viscount 782D - VP-WAS, VP-WAT
• Boeing 720-025A - VP-YNL, VP-YNM, VP-YNN

[edit] Incidents and accidents

• Vickers Viscount, Flight RH825, 3 September, 1978 - shot by down Strela missile near Kariba Dam. 18 of the 56 passengers survived the crash, but ten of them were executed on the ground by ZIPRA guerrillas.^[1]
• Vickers Viscount, Flight RH827, 12th February, 1979 - shot by down Strela missile near Kariba Dam; all 59 people on board killed.

[edit] References

• Peter Bridger et al, "Encyclopaedia Rhodesia" (College Press Pvt Ltd, Salisbury, Rhodesia, 1973), p. 20