Texaco Oil Beechcraft D-17S Staggerwing

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The Beechcraft C-17L Staggerwing was the first aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Company of Wichita, Kansas. It was a gamble for Beech and the chief designer of the aircraft. Produced during the Great Depression, the high priced aircraft was designed as a high-speed business airplane. The plane was successful with 781 Beech 17s produced in eight different series. The aircraft was advanced for its time, and the staggered wing arrangement contributed to the design’s classic beauty and also improved the pilot’s visibility from the aircraft.
Texaco began in 1902 as the “Texas Fuel Company” and was founded in Beaumont, Texas by Joseph S. Cullinan, Thomas J. Donoghue, and Arnold Schlaet upon the discovery of oil at Spindletop, an oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas. The Texas Fuel Company was not equipped to drill wells or to produce crude oil so to accomplish this, Cullinan organized a group of investors who were affiliated with the Texas Fuel Company called the Producers Oil Company in 1902. After several reorganizations the Producers Oil Company and The Texas Fuel Company would merge and become Texaco.

Texaco’s Beechcraft D-17S Staggerwing aircraft, NC-21905, also known as Ship #32, was used for general corporate business trips. This aircraft made frequent visits to Albuquerque’s Oxnard Field from 1937 to 1941.

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