Beech JRB-4/5 "Expeditor"

Nov. 14, 2019
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Beech JRB-4/5 "Expeditor"

 

Beechcraft JRB


Historical Information:

The JRB-4 and 5, and the similar SNB-1 and SNB-2P, were the Beech Model 18's, same as the U.S. Air Force C-45.  They were powered by two "Wasp Junior" R-985-AN-1 engines of 450 horsepower.  The Coast Guard acquired seven JRB-4 and JRB-5 aircraft between 1943 and 1947 and operated them primarily as transports.  The final JRB was acquired in 1947.  Two were transferred to the Navy in 1948 and 1949 while the remaining five stayed in service until 1956.  One, Beech JRB-4 (Bureau No. 44605) served with the Coast Guard Reserve in the post-war years.  Another was modified to assist the Coast and Geodetic Survey Service in harbor mapping and photography.  Another, SNB-4 (Bureau No. 90564) was based at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City and used for administrative duties and proficiency flying.


Beech JRB

No caption; 16 January 1955; Photo No. CGAS 011655-1 JRB; photographer unknown; On tarmac at Elizabeth City; view from port-side, slightly forward.

Beech JRB

"JRB [at] Traverse City Air Station."; No date/photo number; photographer unknown; view from overhead.


Sources:

Gordon Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers.  United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911  (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1990-third edition), pp. 44-47.

Arthur Pearcy, U.S. Coast Guard Aircraft Since 1916 (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1991), pp. 116-117.