De Havilland Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||
U-1 /
UC-1 Otter
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Photo: Robert Deering
4/18/2015 National Museum of Naval Aviation NAS Pensacola (NPA) Pensacola, Florida |
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Following the lead of the U.S. Army, which
procured its first UC-1 Otter in 1951 for
its ability to lift a large amount of cargo
from makeshift airfields, the Navy ordered a
total of eighteen Otters for utility
service. Notably, some of the aircraft,
including that on display in the Museum,
supported Operation Deep Freeze in
Antarctica with Air Development Squadron
(VX) 6.
In February 1956, the Navy supplemented the
four UC-1 Otters it had ordered the previous
year by procuring nine more of the utility
aircraft from De Havilland Aircraft of
Canada, Ltd. The Otter had a reputation for
ruggedness and the ability to operate from
makeshift airfields, which made them ideally
suited for assignment to Air Development
Squadron (VX) 6. Based at Naval Air Station
(NAS) Quonset Point, Rhode Island, the
squadron served as the aerial support arm
for Task Force 43 operations in the harsh,
rugged environment of the Antarctic. Bureau
Number 144672, currently on display at the
National Naval Aviation Museum, was one of
three Otters destined for transport to the
Weddell Sea area. Disassembled and packaged
in crates, on 9 November 1956 the aircraft
departed Davisville, Rhode Island, on board
the attack transport Wyandot (AKA-92)
for the long voyage south.
Entering the Antarctic Circle in
mid-December, the ship plowed its way
through 1,600 miles of ice covered waters
before finding a suitable site for a base on
27 January 1957. Once "ashore," members of
VX-6 went about the business of assembling
their crated aircraft. A suitable landing
field was marked off using barrels. Once
assembled, the aircraft began flying over
the ice, with Lieutenant Commander Ken
Snyder likening the Otter to "a
single-engine PBY."
It proved to be a difficult winter for the
aircraft. When flying weather returned, and
the aircraft were dug out of the snow, the
personnel of VX-6 discovered two had been
severely damaged. Luckily, Bureau Number
144672 was only in need of a replacement
wing. One of its sister aircraft was a total
strike. In October 1957, the Museum's
aircraft was ready for flight to support
Operation Deep Freeze III, transporting
cargo and flying in support of scientific
field parties operating at various points on
the ice, some flights by the Otter lasting
over ten hours.
The Museum's aircraft remained with VX-6
until 1965, during which time its
designation changed to NU-1B. After serving
in various capacities at Naval Air Test
Center (NATC) Patuxent River, Maryland,
Naval Air Test Facility (NATF) Lakehurst,
New Jersey, and the Pacific Missile Range
(PMR) Point Mugu, California, the
well-traveled Otter made its way to
Pensacola in 1975. It suffered extensive
damage during Hurricane Ivan in 2004,
necessitating extensive restoration work
that was completed in 2007. |
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