Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

General purpose twin-engine utility amphibian

Power Plant:

Two 336 kw (450 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-985SB Wasp Junior nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engines

Specifications:

History:

The Grumman G-21 series of twin-engine amphibians was introduced to the market in 1937. The prototype of the six/seven-seat aircraft was flown for the first time in June that year with two 336 kw (450 hp) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior radial engines. Production deliveries commenced shortly after with an almost immediate change in engines being made. The Pratt & Whitney R-985SB2 engine replaced the SB engine, thus increasing the loaded weight by 227 kg (500 lb). The new model received the model number G-21A.

A flying boat model (non amphibious) was then introduced and designated G-21B. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) then ordered 26 G-21As, which were delivered as the OA-9 utility aircraft, and the United States Navy (USN) ordered one evaluation aircraft, the XJRF-1, and ten production JRF-1As. Ten aircraft were also delivered to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) as the JRF-2 and JRF-3. Ten were equipped for anti-submarine warfare patrol for the USN, being designated JRF-4 and 190 were completed as the JRF-5. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) also received 56 Grumman Goose amphibians and the Royal Air Force (RAF) took delivery of 29, with the name ‘Goose’ being given to the type by the RAF.

Because of the lack of new amphibians for commuter and charter work, the Goose was the subject of much development over the years to increase its life and performance. The main instigator of these modifications was McKinnon Enterprises in  Oregon in the United States of America which introduced the Models G-21C and G-21D fitted with four 254 kw (340hp) Lycoming engines in place of the two Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines. The latter model had a lengthened bow. The company then introduced the G-21E with 432 kw (579 eshp) Pratt & Whitney PT6A-20 turboprops; and subsequently the G-21G with 533 kw (715 eshp) PT6A-27 turboprops, with optional folding wingtip floats, and accommodation for up to 11 persons. Volpar Inc in the USA also modified a number of Goose amphibians by installing Garrett AiResearch TPE-3312U203 turboprops.

A number of examples of the type have been seen in both Australia and New Zealand. These have included: VH-AAY (c/n 1008) purchased new in the USA on 27 October 1937 by Papuan Oil Development Company Ltd of Melbourne, VIC, which operated in Papua New Guinea from early 1938 until early 1939 when available work ceased and the aircraft was taken to Borneo, where it became PK-AES. Some authorities have stated that this aircraft was shot down at Koepang in Timor on 26 January 1942. However, this was in fact PK-AFS (c/n 1081), so the fate of c/n 1008 is unknown.

VH-CRL (ex N2721A – c/n B.54) arrived at Bankstown, NSW, in October 1974 after a ferry flight from the United States via Europe and the Middle East in the colours of Tasman Airlines, Australia. It remained in Sydney, NSW for some months and was then flown to Essendon, VIC, in January 1975, where considerable work was performed to bring it up to third-level airline standard. It was test flown in June 1976 using the call-sign VH-CRL but was not placed on the Australian Civil Aircraft Register. It was then placed in a hangar at Parafield, SA until finally in 1977 the aircraft was sold to SAATAS East Indonesia and was flown to the Dutch New Guinea territory as PK-LEH, joining PK-LEG (c/n B119 – ex 329).

ZK-DFC (c/n B.104 – ex N19DF, N1621A, Bu Aer 84809) was built as a JRF-5, was obtained in the USA and was flown to New Zealand via Australia in September 1972 as N190F for Mount Cook & Southern Lakes Tourist Company. It later operated from February 1977 with Sea Bee Air. After retirement it was used in a TV commercial and placed in storage at Ardmore. It was then made airworthy and flown from Ardmore to Mechanics Bay where it was placed on a ship as deck cargo and exported to the United States.

ZK-ERX, a G-21G Turbo Goose, was built as a JRF-5 for the US Navy and was a McKinnon conversion. It was delivered to Auckland in March 1981 and saw service with Sea Bee Air. It returned to the United States in 1984 and became N77AQ.

ZK-ENY (c/n 1145 – ex N62121, CF-RQI, N1200V, Bu Aer 66352, FP495 [BW798], Bu Aer 0101B) was imported for Sea Bee Air and saw some use, at one stage being painted in the colours of Canterbury Planes, but was offered for sale in August 1989. It was sold in Australia where for a short period it became VH-ENY before being exported to Thailand as HS-TOM, ending up being rebuilt in Munich, Germany in 1995.

In May 1987 Grumman  Goose c/n 1164 (ex-N72PR) arrived in Brisbane, QLD. This aircraft had seen service in Papua New Guinea as P2-JWB with Milne Bay Air, and with Paradise Air on the island of Palau as RP-C864. This aircraft had previously served with the US Navy, US Coast Guard, US Marine Corps and the US Army Air Corps. It later had a number of civilian owners in the United States and was eventually modified by McKinnon Enterprises, these modifications including the fitting of retractable wing-tip floats, larger windows, an extension of the keel to improve take-off performance, and new instrumentation and radios.

In 1996 c/n 1164 saw some service in a private capacity based in Queensland, eventually becoming VH-MBA. This aircraft was painted in US Navy markings in 2000 and, based in the Port Douglas area, it was used in the re-making of the 1958 film ‘South Pacific’. It was overhauled and repainted in mid 2005 and exported to Fiji where it became DQ-AYL. In mid 2013 it was noted at Wangaratta, VIC with the name ‘Yaukuye’ on the nose and was undergoing restoration to airworthiness.

Another Goose became VQ-FAH in Fiji in January 1949, being a G-21A (c/n 1126 – ex NC68377, Bu Aer 66334, FP476). It was exported as VP-BAR in October 1951, later going to the United States as N68377.

One other Goose had a local connection but failed to arrive. This aircraft (c/n B44) was sold to Mount Cook & Southern Lakes and was expected to become ZK-MCC after its ferry flight from the United States. However, on 11 October 1974, at the commencement of the ferry flight from Wichita, Kansas, to New Zealand, it crashed on take-off.

Another Goose seen in this region was N72PR (c/n 1164), built as a JRF-6B for the United States Navy, imported in May 1987 via a cargo ship from the United States, being unloaded at Fisherman Islands terminal in Brisbane, QLD. It was to be flown to Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea for operations as a general cargo and passenger aircraft. Owned by Mr C Slagle, who had flown it in Alaska, it was imported for Mr J Wild for use in an air charter company operating out of Milne Bay.

A Goose, N121GL, arrived in 2009 and was based at Darwin, NT for a period but received very little use. It then joined the fleet of 17 aircraft operated by Geoffrey Hunt and, after overhauling of systems and engines, new propellers, and the upgrading of furnishings to seat eight VIP passengers at Aerial Agriculture at Bankstown, NSW the aircraft was expected to enter charter and tourism work as VH-GNH at Kununurra, WA. Little is known of this aircraft’s history but hard-points outboard of the engine nacelles indicated it was probably an ex-military aircraft. In late 2016 it was still parked at Bankstown.

In February 2008 Antilles Seaplanes LLC of Graham, North Carolina, launched a new production variant of the Goose, known as the Antilles Super Goose, this being a modernised variant to meet current-day standards for air transport aircraft, being fitted with Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprops, retractable wing floats, new avionics and interior environmental systems. It was proposed that it would be able to seat ten and could operate from water, paved runways, remote grass strips, dirt strips and snow.

One other Goose had an Australasian connection. No 1 Air Ambulance Unit (AAU) RAAF was formed at Laverton, VIC on 15 February 1941 and left for the Middle East in April that year, operating from Gaza in August. Aircraft amongst the unit’s fleet included a de Havilland DH.86, a Bristol Bombay and a Lockheed Lodestar. A Grumman Goose (also referred to in records as a Grumman Widgeon and a Grumman Amphibian) joined the unit in supporting Australian Infantry Forces (AIF) and Allied forces in North Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean Theatres.

This aircraft (c/n 1055) was purchased by the Railway Workers of the United States and presented to the Railway Workers of Great Britain for operations by the British American Ambulance Corps. It was a G-21A with the serial HK822. It was operated by N-Sea Rescue Flight. On 20 April 1942 (it was also said to be c/n 1212) it was transferred to No 1 Air Ambulance Unit, RAAF. Records have indicated it had Wasp Junior engines Nos 2425 and 2484 on 1 December 1942 but on 9 December, during “landing tests”, it crashed 15 miles north of Benghazi and sank, the crew taking to a rubber dinghy, later being rescued by ship.

The Goose was also operated in this region by United States services during World War II, one of these being known to have attempted to land at the US Naval Air Station at Colmslie on the Brisbane River, QLD when, whilst attempting a go-round, one of the wing floats hit a retaining wall and the aircraft crashed into a sandbank, overturned and was wrecked.