Air travel for the Commandant and for Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau, an aviation enthusiast who had a great deal to do with the expansion of Coast Guard aviation, had been provided as needed by the RD-2 Dolphin. Included in the 1935 aircraft purchase was a Northrop RT-1 Delta “Golden Goose” single engine, low wing landplane. It was an executive transport powered by a Wright Cyclone R-1820-F3 with a cruise speed of 200 mph and a service ceiling of 20,000feet. It was outfitted to carry eight passengers and had a useful range of 1700 miles. The Northrop Delta was initially intended as a commercial transport. However in November of 1934 an amendment to the United States 1926 Air Commerce Act became effective. It required that for transport of passengers at night over terrain not readily permitting emergency landings, the US airlines could use only multi-engine aircraft capable of flying with one engine inoperative. This effectively wiped out any potential for this aircraft in the commercial market. As a result the Delta was restricted to a small executive market.
A single Lockheed Model B Electra designated R30-1 was acquired as an executive transport, for the Secretary of the Treasury and Commandant of the Coast Guard in March of 1936. It was a 12 passenger multi-engine monoplane powered by two 400 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp R-985-48 engines. It cruised at 195mph with an effective range of 860 miles. The service ceiling was 21,460 feet. The R-30-1 had been one of two contracted for by the US Navy. On November 26 1935 the Coast Guard received a new Grumman JF-2 Duck from the Grumman factory at New York. It was flown to the Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. This was a trade for the Lockheed R30-1.
