Home DC-3 Individual Aircraft History C/N 13331
 
C/N 13331
July 1942 Ordered for the USA Army Air Force as part of contract number AC-28405 for 2000 C47A-DK's with serial numbers 42-93284-823 and 42-108934-993. Constructor's number 13331 was one of these and received the USAAF serial number 42-93421, and like its sister ships, was built at the Douglas Aircraft Company's Oklahoma City Plant.
17 May 1944 The aircraft completed acceptance tests by the USAAF but did not see USAAF service, being transferred via 45 Group, at Dorval, Montreal, Canada to the British Royal Air Force under the lend-lease programme. In British service it became a Douglas Dakota MK111 and received a new number in line with the Air Ministry system KG600.
29 May 1944 She was delivered to the United Kingdom and allotted to 105 Transport Operational Training Unit at Bramcote, Lincolnshire.
28 September 1944 The aircraft remained on the RAF inventory, but was transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force Squadron 437 which was formed at Blakehill Farm, Wiltshire on the 4th September 1944. The Squadron took part in the Arnhem landings, towing gliders from the 17th September, and when the Allies had secured the territory, the Squadron switched to providing a continental shuttle taking mail, passengers and fuel to the Allied forces. The aircraft wore the letters Z2: DC at this stage.
March 1945 The Squadron took part in “Operation Varsity” the airborne crossing of the Rhine, towing 24 Airspeed Horsa gliders as part of the invasion force. After the war, Squadron 437 switched to POW flights, detachments being based in Norway. By November 1945 the Squadron had moved to Odiham in the United Kingdom.
16 June 1946 Squadron 437 disbanded and the next day KG600 was transferred to the Canadian Air Force inventory and returned to Canada. The aircraft served in various units until 1953.
26 August 1953 The aircraft was withdrawn from use and became a ground instructional airframe with a new number A-601B. Budding technicians learnt and practised their trade on her and she was even loaned to Trans Canada Airlines for similar tasks.
19 August 1958 She was retired from the RCAF service for good and sold to the Beldex Corporation in the USA. After an overhaul she was registered in March 1959 as N96U with the Freeport Nickel Company.
27 May 1959 The DC-3 was exported to Cuba where she became CU-P-702 with the Moa Bay Mining Company.
March 1960 The DC-3 was returned to the USA and purchased by the Freeport Sulphur Company and re-registered as N702S.
5 October 1962 The aircraft was purchased by the International Telegraph Corporation of the United Kingdom.
19 November 1962 Upon transfer to the UK she received a new identity G-ASDX and worked under a subsidiary Company STC Standard Telephones and Cables; this, however, was to change! The British ARB noticed that the constructor's number for G-AJRY was the same as this new aircraft and assuming that G-AJRY had returned to the UK gave it that registration instead of G-ASDX! Now under an assumed identity (the real truth only became known much later) she was purchased by TD Keegan of Keegan AirFrame and was operated by Transmeridian Air Cargo.
16 September 1971 She was transferred back to T D Keegan.
1 April 1974 The aircraft was sold to Sandriver Safaris in South Africa, who allocated her to their subsidiary, United Air Services.
9 April 1974 The directors of the company were “Pieterse, Theron, Bouwer & Partners” and the registration sequence for the company thus all began with the letters PT.
9 July 1974 The aircraft was allotted the registration ZS-PTG and was a sister ship to ZS-UAS. The colour scheme was red and blue stripes on a white top and fin with the rest of the aircraft in polished bare metal.
15 October 1975 During a scheduled flight between Sishen and Johannesburg for United Airlines a baby girl was born on board at 17h55. The baby was called “Delaney” - a name the aircraft sports to this day!
8 February 1980 In 1980 aircraft were needed for the elections in Zimbabwe and as South African aircraft were not, at that stage politically correct, ZS-PTG was deleted from the South African register and exported to Botswana. She was leased to Air Services Botswana, was registered as A2-ACG and used in Zimbabwe.
14 March 1980 She was re-registered as ZS-PTG to Sandrivers Safaris trading as United Air.
January 1987 By January 1986 she was standing engineless and inactive at Rand Airport near Johannesburg. On the 19th December 1988 United Air was taken over by Wonder Air and the aircraft was registered into the names of its subsidiary company Avia Air Charter at Wonderboom Airport near Pretoria.
28 December 1988 The aircraft underwent an overhaul and was repainted in Avia's two-tone grey and white scheme. By 1992 she was based at the short-lived airfield at Freeway, north of Pretoria where she operated until the closure of Avia in 1995.
23 December 1995 Avia sold ZS-PTG to Debon Air.
January 1996 The aircraft was refurbished and painted in blue/white/natural metal with a large “Delaney” painted on the cabin roof, and went into service with Debon Air.
14 June 2002 Purchased by Rohan Vos of Rovos Rail. The aircraft has undergone an extensive overhaul and refurbishment and sports the green and cream trim of Rovos Air and is now registered as ZS-CRV. The interior of the aircraft has also been extensively refurbished and upgraded to an all business class configuration with 21 very comfortable green leather seats.
30 September 2008 Rovos Air ceases operations and ZS-CRV is leased to NAC Namibian Commercial Aviation.





Received from Jeremy Mortimore 23 November 2009

Found your website very interesting with some really nice pictures of this aircraft. However, you don’t have one of the aircraft in STC livery. I have attached two – taken in 1967 at Perpignan in France. Not all that good I am afraid, taken on old Agfa 35mm slide film and a bit grainy.

She was owned by ITT – International Telephone and Telegraph - of America (not International Telegraph Corporation), before being transferred to STC in the UK, a subsidiary of ITT. She was used as a flying test bed for some of STC’s aeronautic instruments and navigation equipment. At the same time she flew regularly between Stanstead and Perpignan taking small parties of deserving employees with their spouses for a week’s free holiday at a ranch house STC maintained in Spain. That is when these pictures were taken by my father, Jack, who went on one of these  holidays.

Jack had the job of selling off the Ranch House and the Dakota when STC were cutting back a bit.

Yours sincerely,

Jeremy P Mortimore


13331 G-AJRY Jeremy P Mortimore 1967-014

C/N 13331

G-AJRY

STC. Standard Telephones and Cables Limited

1967

Photograph: Jack Mortimore via Jeremy P Mortimore

13331 G-AJRY Jeremy P Mortimore 1967-117

C/N 13331

G-AJRY

Photograph: Jack Mortimore via Jeremy P Mortimore

13331 G-ASDX John Miller

C/N 13331

G-ASDX

Photograph: John Miller The Article Library This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

13331 ZS-PTG United Air December 1983 Clinton Groves
C/N 13331
ZS-PTG
United Air
December 1983
Photograph: Clinton H Groves collection
13331 ZS-PTG WILL BLUNT0001
C/N 13331
ZS-PTG United Air
Photograph: Will Blunt

13331 A2-ACG John Miller

C/N 13331

A2-ACG

Air Services Botswana

The aircraft is named Delaney

13331 ZS-PTG Rolf Larsson

C/N 13331

ZS-PTG

No Titles
Named Delaney

At Jan Smuts Airport, Johannesburg 23 October 1978.
Photograph: Rolf Larsson

C/N 13331

ZS-PTG

Photograph: Phillip Evans

C/N 13331

ZS-PTG

Owned by Debon-Air and named Delaney

Lanseria Airport 2000

Photograph: Thomas Ingendorn

13331 ZS-PTG Captain Terry Chiole and Delaney john miller

Picture taken by John Miller during the reunion between Captain Terry Chiole and Delaney, the girl who was born on board the Dakota ZS-PTG in 1975.

It was taken at Lanseria in December 1998 with ZS-PTG behind.

C/N 13331

ZS-PTG

Named Delaney

At the Bethlehem air show 2001

Photograph: Karl Jensen

C/N 13331

ZS-PTG with Delaney titles

13331 ZS-PTG Delaney John Miller 2

C/N 13331

ZS-PTG with Delaney titles

13331 ZS-PTG at Grand Central john miller

C/N 13331

ZS-PTG when operated by Debon-Air

Delaney

At Grand Central Airport

Circa late 1990s

13331 ZS-CRV Lanseria 28 July 2003 Thomas Posch

C/N 13331

ZS-CRV

Rovos Air

Lanseria Airport 28 July 2003

Photograph: Thomas Posch

13331 ZS-CRV Lanseria 10 July 2008 Thomas Posch

C/N 13331

ZS-CRV

Rovos Air

Lanseria Airport 10 July 2008

Photograph: Thomas Posch

13331 ZS-CRV Lanseria 25 September 2008 Steve Brimley

C/N 13331

ZS-CRV

Rovos Air

Lanseria Airport 25 September 2008

Photograph: Steve Brimley

C/N 13331

ZS-CRV

Rovos Air

Photograph: Stephan Rossouw SR Photography

C/N 13331
ZS-CRV Delaney
Rovos Air
At Lanseria Airport. Note the Andre van der Veer titles.
Photograph: Omer Mees


C/N 13331
ZS-CRV Delaney
Rovos Air
At Lanseria Airport. Note the Andre van der Veer titles.
Photograph: Omer Mees


C/N 13331
ZS-CRV
Operated by Namibia Commercial Aviation
And big brother Douglas DC-6B of NCA c/n 45564 registered V5-NCG and named Bateleur.
Photograph: Hans Wiehann Namibia Commercial Aviation

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
C/N 13331
ZS-CRV Classic Air Travel
Photographs: Brendan Odell
Received from Brendan Odell
Below are some photographs taken during September 2009 of ZS-CRV at Club Makokola Airfield, near Mangochi in Malawi.  You can see Flippie Vermeulen in the Captain's seat.  We were doing some early morning runups (05h00) - prior to the days flying, and I snapped a couple of pics when Flippie taxiied the aircraft to the holding point for a power check.

13331 ZS-CRV Brendan odell 6

13331 ZS-CRV Brendan odell 3

13331 ZS-CRV Brendan odell 4

13331 ZS-CRV Brendan odell 1

13331 ZS-CRV Brendan odell 5

 

13331 ZS-CRV Brendan odell 2

13331 ZS-CRV Brendan odell 7

 

13331 ZS-CRV Lanseria 3 October 2009 Malcolm Reid 1

C/N 13331

ZS-CRV

Classic Air Travel

Lanseria Airport 3 October 2009

Photograph: Malcolm Reid

13331 ZS-CRV Lanseria 3 October 2009 Malcolm Reid 2

C/N 13331

ZS-CRV

Classic Air Travel

Lanseria Airport 3 October 2009


Photograph: Malcolm Reid

13331 ZS-CRV Hendrik Swanepoel 1
C/N 13331

ZS-CRV

Classic Air Travel

Wonderboom Airport 19 September 2011

Photograph: Hendrik Swanepoel

13331 ZS-CRV Hendrik Swanepoel 2
C/N 13331

ZS-CRV

Classic Air Travel

Wonderboom Airport 19 September 2011

Photograph: Hendrik Swanepoel

13331 ZS-CRV Hendrik Swanepoel 3
C/N 13331

ZS-CRV

Classic Air Travel

Wonderboom Airport 19 September 2011

Photograph: Hendrik Swanepoel

 
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