Junkers Ju.52, more American users

 

Between 1931 and 1952 the Ju.52 was, one way or another, being mass produced. Many airlines all around the world employed it and was the main cargo plane of many Air Forces around the globe. In this post, we cover the following countries:

• Ecuador: The Ecuadorian airline SEDTA (Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Transportes Aéreos - Ecuadorian Society for Aerial Transports) was a subsidiary of Lufthansa which bought, in 1938, four Ju.52/3m (named "Ecuador", "Guayas", "Aconcagua" and Azuay) together with a single Ju W-34. Oddly enough, during the initial period, their tails were painted with the nazi svastika, which were overpainted in red at the start of the World War 2.
  They served for long period of times until, eventually, all of them were lost to accidents, the last one being recorded in April 1958. During the Ecuadorian-Peruvian War of 1941, they were seized by the Ecuadorian Army to serve in evacuation and resupply missions. One of them, registered as HC-SAD, was captured in September 1941 by Peruvian forces and transferred to the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) in May 1942. 
• Peru: In Peru Lufthansa created another subsidiary airline, called just "Deutsche Lufthansa AG Lima", which on 21st February 1938 received permission to begin operations. This company worked jointly with the Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano and the Condor Syndicate in Bolivia and Brazil respectively. A total of four Ju.52/3m were acquired to serve on a weekly route from Lima, La Paz, Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro and Europe. However, when the World War 2 started, this route was partially cancelled as the route reached only to Rio de Janeiro.
  Some of them were pressed into service with the Cuerpo Aeronáutico del Perú (Peruvian Aeronautical Corps) when this Corps was expanded. They were used mainly for supply purposes in the most remote Peruvian regions. When American material arrived, they were phased out.
• Uruguay: The Uruguayan company CAUSA (Compañía Aeronáutica Uruguaya S.A. - Uruguayan Aeronautical Company) was a private airline that operated between the years 1938 and 1967. This airline was founded on 29th December 1936 by an Uruguayan banker with the intention of establishing an aerial link between the capital city of Montevideo and the Argentinean capital of Buenos Aires. Aerial operations began on 12th March 1938 with two Ju.52/3m equipped with floats which were acquired from Germany, shipped to Brazil, where they were assembled, and flown to Uruguay. These seaplanes served until 1946 when they were replaced by the Short Sunderland.
• United States: In May 1942 an ex-Ecuadorian Ju.52/3m was transferred to the USAAF and assigned to the 20th Troop Carrier Squadron. This aircraft was based in Panama channel and was re-engined with three Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines fitted in modified Douglas DC-2 cowlings and driving three-bladed propellers. Aerial brakes were replaced with hydraulic ones and all instruments and radio were replaced with American equipment. 
  This aircraft was used for patrol duties in the Caribbean region where it was reportedly used in fake "supply drops" to German submarines, where, instead of supplies, ordnance (IE bombs) where dropped. 
  This aircraft served until December 1943 when she was written off, after suffering a taxiing accident on June that same year, and was transferred to the US Public Roads Administration in Costa Rica, where it was in use until, at most, 7th December 1944.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52

2. https://www.facebook.com/aviacionyaeronautica/posts/2247124815308730/ (translated)

3. https://www.nlarenas.com/en/10/2018/aerolineas-historical-sedta-subsidiary-of-lufthansa/ (translated)

4. https://www.facebook.com/114126392072968/posts/1178714095614187/ (translated)

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compañía_Aeronáutica_Uruguaya

6. http://www.geocities.ws/kwii62/ju52.htm (translated)

7. https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/unusual-aircraft-in-usaac-service-pt-1.24195/