PP-CBI  Focke-Wulf FW 200 Condor                         (c/n  2996)

                                

                                      When Syndicato Condor took delivery of two FW 200s in 1940 it made the governments of
                                      both Great Britain and the United States extremely nervous.  Here was an aircraft which was
                                      easily convertible into a long range anti submarine patrol machine, not to mention its bombing
                                      capabilities. Although the US had not yet entered WW II (it would take Pearly Harbor to
                                      convince the pacifists in the New World to come to the aid of the "good guys") clearly the
                                      presence of FW 200s in the hemisphere could put the Panama Canal at risk.   In the event,
                                      Brazil joined the Allies in 1942 and Syndicato Condor thought it prudent to change the name
                                      of the company to Servicos Aereos Cruzeiro do Sul, Ltda,  generally known by its acronym
                                      SACSUL (or sometimes just plain Cruzerio).   This photograph came from an old postcard.
                                      and shows -CBI at Santos Dumont, Airport, Rio de Janeiro.