LC-47H Road Runner in Christchurch 1967

[agile]

My FAS colleague Tim flicked me this photo from the Sumner Community Facebook page. Apparently it was captioned 'Dyers Pass, 1967' but my money would be on Evans Pass.


For the avoidance of confusion it isn't 17221 being moved to Ferrymead. Does anyone know the story? Looks awkward.

[Dave Homewood]

Wow!

[tbf25o4]

A bit confusing what was 17221 doing on that side of the hills? I thought the aircraft was moved from Harewood to Ferrymead? In its final days of service it came to Wigram on a number of
occasions as Murray Crawford one of the wigram ops officers used to act as co-pilot as he had previously flown Dakotas with 42 squadron

[agile]

To clarify further, pretty certain it isn't 17221, which as you say was moved from Harewood to Ferrymead a few years later, with its engines on and which carried/carries the ID number 14 on the nose.

[denysjones]

It's 99853 which was brought back from the ice after an accident for repairs by NAC and it was pretty early 1960s if I recall correctly.

It's also not an LC47 but an R4D-8 (LC117) "Wilshie Duit", check out the engine firewalls. She survived down on the ice till the end of service of the LC117's and was one of the three left and due to be shipped back to the US but she suffered the ignominy of being dropped whilst loading on the ship and so was abandoned on the ice which eventually broke off and she drifted northwards to an eventual watery grave.

They got it so far up Evans Pass and then found length coupled with width and wheel positions meant it wouldn't make it round a particular bend so it was time to call for a crane and swing her out above the road wall to get her around.

I've got a photo (source unknown) showing her sitting in the viewing layby with fences etc round her which tallies with my recollections that she sat up there overnight before the crane.

I'll have a fossick around and put it up later (sounds like another AHS journal trawl coming up)..

cheers

[agile]

Brilliant Denys, thanks for that. And TIL how to tell the difference between a C-47 and C-117 firewall. Every day's a school day!

[Dave Homewood]

Oh yes there's a famous photo of one of the Deep Freeze R4D's digging in a wingtip in Antarctica. Must be this one?

[denysjones]

The photo above was from the Christchurch Star 21 Jan 63.

I've also seen an ex VX-6er saying that he flew the aircraft during DeepFreeze III, which was the 57-58 season (the first four seasons we identified by Roman numerals and thereafter 60, 61 etc), he said it had a heavy landing accident and had to go back to Jacksonville for major repairs to the wing box so perhaps he's mistaken in the dates and where the repairs took place or else she had another prang.

Neither Jan-Jun 63 AHS Journals saying anything about the trip over the pass nor does "Gateway to the Ice" which seems puzzling.

Anyway here's the photo I mentioned. As I said I don't know the source but I'm very inclined to say it was Dave Bates, however thanks to whoever.



I do recall that the scene was inundated by rubber-neckers as she sat there overnight.

Dave, re your comment about the one on it's wingtip if it's the photo I'm familiar with then nope that one thumped in and killed the crew and our LC47 supposedly had their names on her as a memorial but we've not got rock solid verification on that.



cheers


oops I did omit to add the second lesson in LC117 recognition for Alex and that's the size of the fin fillet, the trailing face is about twice the height of a C47's

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks Denys. Yeah that's the photo I recall and it looked like it would not end well.

Mark McGuire sent this link through to me:
www.vaq34.com/vxe6/99853.htm

[planewriting]

If you look at the link in Dave's immediate post above you will see a photograph of the aircraft involved. Below the crew windows is the number "10" which is also displayed on Agile's introductory photograph on this thread.

[Dave Homewood]

Planewriting has sent this article through to me to post too:

[scrooge]

And the article identifies the photographer of Denys's photo as D. P. Woodhall.

[agile]

Thanks Dave and Planewriting for that. Fascinating!

[shorty]

Another shot of her that I took at Wigram in late 1955
The "Wilshie Duit"scroll can be see under the nose number
scan0019 by Neville Mines, on Flickr