Cessna 310 G-APNJ NAHR - Noteworthy
The Cessna 310 arrived at the museum in March 2004. More recently, thanks to the dedication of our volunteers in the summer’s heat, G-APNJ is once again freshly repainted to represent a USAF U3-A ‘Blue Canoe’, the U-3A being a military variant of the civilian Cessna Model 310. By Jan McGeachie
Built in America the prototype Cessna 310 first flew on 3rd January 1953 with deliveries starting the following year. It featured pioneering engine exhaust thrust augmenter tubes and fuel storage in tip tanks in its earliest models.
Cessna 310 is an 4/6 seater, low-wing, twin engine monoplane with a wingspan of 35 feet 9 inches, length 27 feet and a maximum speed 238 mph to an altitude of 22,000 feet. Cessna 310 had a range of 900 miles powered by two Continental O-470-M engines.
Cessna 310 aircraft were chosen by the USAF in 1957 as a light utility transport. Initially called the L-25A, 160 were ordered in 1957/8 before a further 30 were ordered in 1960 with more powerful engines, these were L-27B. The designation of these aircraft was changed in 1962 to U-3A and U-3B and proved to be popular other US departments i.e. the Forest Service for fighting forest fires flying ahead of the large water bombers to direct them to where to release their fire retardant compounds.
In America, Cessna 310s commonly acted as air taxis for various charter firms due to their speed, low operating costs and ability to use short runways.
Having defected from Cuba to US to Key West Florida in a MiG-23BN on 20th March 1991, Cuban Major and pilot Orestes Lorenzo Perez borrowed a 1961 Cessna 310 to make a daring return flight back to Cuba on 19th December 1992 to rescue his wife and sons. He landed at Marathon, Florida in America two hours later. Sadly the Cessna was later destroyed in a hurricane.
Built in 1956 by Cessna Aircraft Corporation, G-APNJ is one of 547 of its type built. Originally flown in the USA as N3635D, it was transferred to the Irish register on in April 1958, as EI-AJY with Aviation Agencies Ltd, Dublin. It became the first Cessna 310 to appear on the British civil register when G-APNJ first registered 2nd June 1958.
For many years G-APNJ had an extensive flying career around the UK and it suffered substantial damage when the undercarriage collapsed on landing at Blackbushe on 15th March 1973. This ended its flying days, as G-APNJ was not repaired and when the certificate of airworthiness expired on 28th November 1974, it wasn’t renewed.
Sold on to Shackleton Aviation Ltd., on 30th January 1975, it went into storage at Hurn / Bournemouth, before becoming a ground instructional airframe at Northbrook College, Shoreham. In 2004, G-APNJ was acquired for the museum collection, where it went on static display.
G-APNJ is believed to be just one of just three aircraft wearing the U-3A ‘Blue Canoe’ markings; the others being at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio and at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.
Photo Credit: Jan McGeachie