Douglas C47 Dakota A65-95 - VH-EAE

A65-95 was built in Oklahoma city as a C-47B-30-DK with Serial No. 33096 and was delivered to the USAF on the 20th April 1945 registered as 44-76764

The aircraft was then delivered to 38 Squadron of the RAAF at Archerfield Base on the 8th May 1945 as A65-95 with a domestic registration of ‘VH-RFL’. The squadron moved to Schofields NSW on 15 August 1946 and the aircraft was transferred to 37 Squadron on 10 October 1946 where she had her wartime camouflage removed and was employed on courier flights to Japan in support of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces.

After a short period with 86 Wing at Richmond, where she flew with 36 Squadron and 1 Communications Unit on general support tasks, A65-95 was transferred to the Central Flying School at East Sale. While at East Sale, A65-95 was engaged in support of the RAAF School of Radio Ballarat and training of GCA operators as well as aircrew training and general transport support tasks.

A65-95 was transferred to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) at Laverton Victoria on 14th March 1961 and stayed with that unit when it moved to Edinburgh SA in February 1977. While at ARDU, A65-95 was engaged primarily on the calibration of radio navigation aids, although there were many occasions when she was used to transport University Air Cadets to camps at Edinburgh, Amberley, Wagga and Fairbairn. Other tasks A65-95 was engaged in were RAAF Signaller training, search and rescue, aerial photography and trials support.

A65-95 served in ARDU until 1997 and was decommissioned in 2000. At this time she had flown a total of 14,900 hours and was 55 years old.

She was acquired by HARS in July 2000 and had been the victim of spare parts requirements for a few years. As a result she required many parts to get her back in the air again. This was achieved by begging, borrowing and stealing parts until she was ready to fly again. She was then flown from Edinburgh in Adelaide to Bankstown in Sydney, where she went through restoration and registration onto the domestic register as VH-EAE. It took a further 2 years to replace the borrowed parts and complete the 100 hourly service and become airworthy again.

Thanks to the RAAF the aircraft was essentially left in RAAF livery. The only changes to the livery were that the words “Royal Australian Air Force” on both sides of the fuselage were changed to “Historical Aircraft Restoration Society” and the ARDU insignias on the tail were changed to the HARS insignias.

VH-EAE was nearing the completion of restoration work when on January 8th 2003 a severe thunderstorm hit Bankstown and the strong winds dislodged the rudder chock resulting in the rubber being free to flap in the breeze. Significant damage was caused to the rudder and control systems and nullified any plans of transferring the aircraft to Albion Park until repairs were done. After completing the necessary repair work, A65-95 was flown to Albion Park, her new home, on the 20th February 2003.

The first mission for HARS for A65-95 was a visit to Temora on 22nd March 2003. On the 5th July A65-95 headed for Temora once again. This sortie was a busy one making two trips to Temora in the one day. On board for the first trip were several VIP’s including Nancy Bird Walton who thoroughly enjoyed the flight and keenly observed on the flight deck as A65-95 purred along magnificently through the crisp calm morning air.