Tuesday, February 24, 2009

 

Steve's "Otters Of The Week"! .....by Karl E. Hayes

The de Havilland Otter has a "rich" recorded history. Unfortunately, "scant" details are known about some of the individual Otters. Here are two of them......

All information is from Karl Hayes' "masterful" CD entitled:

De Havilland Canada
DHC-3 OTTER
A HISTORY

CONTACT KARL, CD PRICING and ORDERING INFO - De Havilland DHC-3 OTTER - A HISTORY by Karl E. Hayes
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Otter 317

Otter 317 was delivered to the United States Army on 27th February 1959 with serial 58-1701 (tail number 81701). It was assigned to the 17th Aviation Company, Fort Ord, California. It was delivered from Downsview to the Sharpe Army Depot, Stockton, California before continuing on to Fort Ord. It was still flying for the 17th Aviation Company when it was destroyed in an accident during May 1962, details unfortunately unknown. It was deleted from the Army inventory the following month.

Otter 321

Otter 321 was delivered to the United States Army on 23rd March 1959 with serial 58-1706 (tail number 81706). It was assigned to the 18th Aviation Company, Fort Riley, Kansas and deployed with the Company to Vietnam in January 1962. It was destroyed in an accident at Hang Buc, Vietnam on 1st July 1963. The following extract is from the 18th Aviation Company history: “On 1st July 1963, this unit sustained its first fatal accident, when Captain Stackbauer was killed at Hang Buc in gusty turbulence on take off from the airstrip, which has an elevation of 4,000 feet and is about 1,200 feet long. This airfield was subsequently closed to Otter operations. He was not wearing either helmet or shoulder straps and was the only one of the six on board to be killed. The others walked out although one passenger had a broken leg from the crew chief's flying tool box. The aircraft 81706 was totalled, also the first for the unit”.

- by Karl E. Hayes
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In "memoriam" of Capt. Stackbauer..... "R.I.P."

CONTACT KARL, CD PRICING and ORDERING INFO - De Havilland DHC-3 OTTER - A HISTORY by Karl E. Hayes

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