c/n 101

55-3529

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• 55-3529 United States Army Delivered 13-Mar-1956. Designated U-1A.

Delivered from Downsview to Fort Eustis, VA., for the “QM School”.

Fort Lee, VA., in an operational support airlift role by Jan 1962 until February 1966.

New Cumberland Army Depot, Harrisburg, PA., for depot level maintenance. Feb-1966.

Assigned to the 937th Engineer Company (Aviation) which was undertaking the Inter American Geodetic Survey (IAGS) in Central and South America, based in the Panama Canal Zone until early 1968.

Red River Army Depot, TX, March 1968 and by November 1968 it had arrived at the Sharpe Army Depot, Stockton, CA.

388th Transportation Company, Vung Tau, Vietnam Mar-1969.

54th Aviation Company April 1969 until Jan-1971.

Storage with the 56th Transportation Company at Long Thanh North, Vietnam. Jan-1971.

To Vung Tau to the 388th Transportation Company who were responsible for disposing of all the Army Otters in Vietnam. Here it was scrapped and deleted from inventory.

• Scrapped •

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Otter 101 was delivered to the United States Army on 13th March 1956 with serial 55-3259 (tail number 53259). It was delivered from Downsview to Fort Eustis, Virginia for the “QM School”. By January 1962 it was serving at Fort Lee, Virginia in the operational support airlift role. It continued to fly from there until February 1966 when it arrived at the New Cumberland Army Depot, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for depot level maintenance. It was then assigned to the 937th Engineer Company (Aviation) which was undertaking the Inter American Geodetic Survey (IAGS) in Central and South America, based in the Panama Canal Zone.

As described in the IAGS section, the Otter was collected by Roger Veon in October 1966 and his delivery routing was Harrisburg-Beaver Falls, Pa-St.Louis, Mo-Ohio State University airfield-Fort Sill, Oklahoma-Brownsville, Texas-Vera Cruz, Mexico-Guatemala City-San Jose, Costa Rica-Albrook AFB., Panama. The Otter then flew on the IAGS until early 1968 when it was one of six Otters withdrawn from the IAGS for service in Vietnam. In March 1968 it arrived at the Red River Army Depot, Texas and by November 1968 it had arrived at the Sharpe Army Depot, Stockton, California. From there it was transported to Vietnam where it arrived with the 388th Transportation Company in March 1969.

In April 1969 53259 was assigned to the 54th Aviation Company, with which it was to serve for the rest of its military career. It was one of sixteen Otters still in use with the 54th when the Company stood down in January 1971 and placed its Otters into storage with the 56th Transportation Company at Long Thanh North. The following month, all the Otters were flown to Vung Tau and entrusted to the 388th Transportation Company who were responsible for disposing of all the Army Otters in Vietnam. 53259 was one of eleven Otters scrapped at Vung Tau and deleted from the Army inventory in August 1971.

Full history courtesy of Karl E. Hayes © from DHC-3 Otter: A History (2005).

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