(l to r) Director of Fisheries, Mayotte, Mr E. Breton;
Capt. Eric Hunt; Prof.JLB Smith; Commandant Blaauw;
Captain Letley; Lt. Ralston;
Cpl. van Niekerk; Lt. Bergh; Cpl. Brink.
The DC-3 Aviation Museum
Proudly presents:
Dakota 6832
"Flying Fishcart"
Part - 1
submitted By: Robin Stobbs
r.stobbs@ru.ac.za
Pics of Dakota 6832 at
Pamanzi, Comoro Islands,
29th December 1952.
(l to r) Director of Fisheries, Mayotte, Mr E. Breton;
Capt. Eric Hunt; Prof.JLB Smith; Commandant Blaauw;
Captain Letley; Lt. Ralston;
Cpl. van Niekerk; Lt. Bergh; Cpl. Brink.
Dakota 6832 on arrival in Grahamstown (l to r)
Lt. Bergh; Cpl. Brink; Cpl. van Niekerk;
Mrs Margaret Smith; Commandant Blaau;
prof. JLB Smith; Capt. Letley;
Lt. Ralston; William Smith.
The coelacanth is in the
zinc-lined wooden box in foreground!
STATISTICS OF THE
"COELACANTH" DAKOTA -
OUR "FLYING FISHCART"
Douglas Aircraft Corporation C-47 Mk IIIA DAKOTA
(A military version of the DC-3).
Built in Oklahoma City: 1943/44
Manufacturer's serial number: 12478
Fuselage number: 700
SAAF Serial number: 6832
Purchased by the RAF under the Lend-lease Scheme
and delivered to the RAF on the 9th February 1944 as KG-443.
Flown to South Africa on 26th February 1944.
Served with No.28 Squadron 1945,
27 and 44 Squadrons 1946,
25 Squadron 1975-79.
Currently serving with 35 Squadron
at D.F. Malan/Ysterplaat, Cape Town,
on maritime and transport duties.
Scheduled, in 1994, to become a permanent exhibit at the S.A.A.F. Museum,
Swartkop, Pretoria.
Wingspan: 28,96m (95'0")
Length: 19,66m (64'6")
Height: 5,16m (16'11,5")
Power plant: 2 x Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90B
"Wasp" nine cylinder radial piston
engines of 882kW (1200hp) each
driving a three-blade propeller
Max. takeoff mass: 14 060kg (31 000lb)
Mass empty: 7 700kg (16 970lb)
Mass loaded(normal): 11 432kg (25 200lb)
Overload Limit: 14 969kg (33 000lb)
Max. speed: 190 knots (346km/h)
Max. range: 1 510 nautical miles (2 760km)
Climb: 400ft/min @ 105 knots
Initial climb: 1200ft/min (366m/min )
Service ceiling: 23 000ft (7 000m)
Fuel consumption (cruising): 300lbs/hour/engine @ 7500ft
Crew: Usually 3
At the time of the coelacanth flight 6832 bore the 44 Squadron markings
KOD ("King Oboe Dog")
and was a natural aluminium colour with upper half engine nacelles
and fuselage nose a matte anti-glare blue.
The South African national insignia of that period was an
orange, white & blue roundel with superimposed springbok.
(The SAAF five-cornered castle emblem was only introduced in 1958).
CREW OF THE
"COELACANTH"
DAKOTA FLIGHT
Commandant Jannie P.D. Blaauw D.F.C. Captain
Captain Peter Letley Co-Pilot
Lieutenant Duncan M. Ralston Senior Navigator
Lieutenant Willem J. Bergh Navigator
Corporal J.W.J. ('Vanski') van Niekerk Radio Operator
Corporal F. Brink Flight Engineer
Flight times as recorded in the logbook of Lt. Duncan M. Ralston,
now Major General (Retd.), senior navigator on the 'Coelacanth Flight'.
DATE TAKE-OFF | ROUTE | FLYING TIME |
28-12-52 ---- 03:30 Hrs. | Swartkop, Pretoria - Durban | 2 hrs. 10 min. |
----------- 07:05 Hrs. | Durban - Lourenzo Marques (Maputo) | 2 hrs. 00 min. |
-----------10:10 Hrs | Lourenzo Marques - Lumbo | 5 hrs. 25 min. |
29-12-52---- 04:35 Hrs. | Lumbo - Dzaudzi, Pamanzi, Comoros | 2 hrs 40 min. |
------------ 09:45 Hrs. | Dzaudzi - Lumbo | 2 hrs. 20 min. |
------------ 12:50 Hrs. | Lumbo - Lourenzo Marques | 5 hrs. 30 mim. |
------------ 18:45 Hrs. | Lourenzo Marques - Durban | 2 hrs. 20 min. |
30-12-52 ----04:50 Hrs. | Durban - Grahamstown | 2 hrs. 15 mi |
---------- 07:40 Hrs. | Grahamstown - Cape Town (Ysterplaat) | 3 hrs. 20 min. |
31-12-52 ---- 08:25 Hrs. | Ysterplaat - Grahamstown | 3 hrs. 20 min. |
----------- 12:15 Hrs. | Grahamstown - Swartkop, Pretoria | 2 hrs. 45 min. |
For additional information about the
"Coelacanth"
visit: http://www.dinofish.com
(please use Arrows to view additional story)
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