[Leica] Tri Motor/Ju 52

[hoppyman at bigpond.net.au (G Hopkinson)]

Here you go, Marc. Here's the official record from the RAAF museum.
The aircraft flew those missions under RAF serial numbers.

Post-war, the Dakota has served wherever the RAAF has operated ? New Guinea, 
Japan, Malaya, Korea, and Thailand. RAAF aircrews also
flew RAF-serialled Dakotas in the 1948-49 Berlin Airlift. Other Dakota 
activities include spraying experiments, glider-towing,
rain-making, VIP transport and Antarctic research. Alongside transport 
operations, Dakotas also served as training aircraft, serving
with No 1 Flying Training School, the Central Flying School and the School 
of Air Navigation. The final role for the Dakota in RAAF
service was with the Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) at RAAF 
Base Edinburgh in South Australia, where the aircraft
were used in support of flight test activities, and were themselves fitted 
with many items of special equipment during flight tests.


In March 1999, these activities also came to an end, closing the book on the 
56-year career of the Dakota in RAAF service. 


-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org 
[mailto:lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
Marc James Small
Sent: Sunday, 12 November 2006 15:11
To: Leica Users Group; 'Leica Users Group'
Subject: RE: [Leica] Tri Motor/Ju 52

At 11:47 PM 11/11/2006, G Hopkinson wrote:
>Douglas, up until the 80's/90's the Royal 
>Australian Air Force still operated several "Daks" at our Aircraft Research 
>and
>development Unit (ARDU) where I worked. I have 
>flown as a passenger many thousands of 
>kilometres in these aircraft over quite a
>period. At least one of these airframes participated in the Berlin airlift.
>http://www.adf-serials.com/gallery/albums.php?set_albumListPage=14

Hoppy

Who operated it during the Berlin Airlift?  This 
WAS a multi-national effort but I had not 
realized that the RAAF played a part in it.  The 
USAAF pretty much discouraged the use of the 
C-47/Dakota/R4D/DC-3 in the Airlift as the 
resources required to push a C-47 to Berlin and 
back was about 80% as large as that required for 
a C-54, which carried almost three times the 
cargo.  Thus, the USAF pretty much insisted on 
all flights being on C-54's but some C-47's might have gotten through.

Whenever someone starts spinning a story, GET THE 
DETAILS.  After all, there are truly "a million 
stories in the naked city", and every one has 
some piece of truth in it.  (If someone tells me 
that the RAAF operated flights of Dakotas into 
Templehoff and Gatow during the Airlift, I will 
be surprised to learn this, but hardly 
astonished, as I learn new things every day on 
every imaginable topic (other than digital 
photography, which just becomes increasingly beyond my grasp, I fear.)

Marc



msmall@aya.yale.edu
Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!



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