c/n 154

55-3299

53299 (Assumed tail no.)

• 55-3299 United States Army. Delivered 18-Sep-1956. Designated U-1A.

Initially assigned to the 2nd Aviation Company, Fort Riley, KS.

August / September 1957 to Brookley AFB., Mobile, AL. Here the aircraft was loaded on board a ship serving with the Military Sea Transportation Service, which set sail for Bremerhaven, Germany arriving later in 1957.

2nd Aviation Company based at Illesheim, Germany until Jul-1959 when the unit moved to France.

The Company headquarters of the 2nd Aviation Company and one platoon were based at Orléans, a second platoon at Verdun and a third platoon at Poitiers. During its time in France the aircraft was either based at or visited all three locations for different levels of maintenance

It is understood this aircraft was based at Orléans,

Noted at Prestwick – EGPK by Neil Aird on 12-Aug-1964. A regular visitor there.

May-1966. transferred to the Headquarters Company, 8th Infantry Division, Germany.

Nov 1967 Passed to Coleman Barracks Depot, Mannheim, Germany and was transported from there to the United States and onwards to Vietnam.

May-1968. 388th Transportation Company, Vung Tau in May 1968.

Sep-1968 it was assigned to the 18th Aviation Company, Pleiku, Vietnam until unit stood down on 16-Apr 1971.

Emblem of the 18^th Aviation Company.

Incident: 28-Jan-1969.  On a flight from Pleiku to An Khe, as the aircraft started through the Man Yang Pass, the engine lost power and began to run rough. The pilot immediately turned back toward Pleiku and began a long final for a precautionary landing at Camp Holloway, Pleiku. The engine failed completely on final approach. A forced landing was made beside the road at Suoi Doi, without damage to the aircraft. It was then taxied into a small compound near Suoi Doi for the night and repaired the following day. It was then flown out without further incident”.

Mar-1971 To the 388th Transportation Company at Vung Tau, responsible for the storage and disposal of all US Army Otters in Vietnam.

• 53299 (Assumed serial carried). Government of Cambodia for Khmer Air Force prior to 30-Jun-1971. Believed Believed damaged during a rocket attack on Pochentong Air Base, Cambodia 21-Mar-1972. Withdrawn from use as repair beyond the capability of Pochentong and scrapped on an unknown date.

• Scrapped •

Otter 154 was delivered to the United States Army on 18th September 1956 with serial 55-3299 (tail number 53299). It was assigned to the 2nd Aviation Company, Fort Riley, Kansas which later deployed to Germany, then France (as described in relation to Otter 124). 53299 was based at Orleans, France and was noted visiting Edinburgh, Scotland on 5th July 1964. It continued flying for the 2nd Aviation Company until May 1966, when it was transferred to the Headquarters Company, 8th Infantry Division, Germany. It remained with that unit until November 1967 when it arrived at the Depot, Coleman Barracks, Mannheim, Germany and was transported from there to the United States and onwards to Vietnam, arriving with the 388th Transportation Company, Vung Tau in May 1968. In September 1968 it was assigned to the 18th Aviation Company.

53299 is mentioned in the Company's history: “On 28th January 1969 Captain Halterman was flying 'Reliable 299' from Pleiku to An Khe. As the aircraft started through the Man Yang Pass, the engine lost power and began to run rough. He immediately turned back toward Pleiku and began a long final for a precautionary landing at Camp Holloway, Pleiku. The engine failed completely on final approach. A forced landing was made beside the road at Suoi Doi, without damage to the aircraft. It was then taxied into a small compound near Suoi Doi for the night and repaired the following day. It was then flown out without further incident”.

53299 remained in service with the 18th Aviation Company until that unit stood down in January 1971. In March 1971 it was entrusted to the 388th Transportation Company at Vung Tau, responsible for the storage and disposal of all US Army Otters in Vietnam. It was one of 18 Army Otters handed over to the Government of Cambodia during 1971. Their operation was short lived and the fate of this Otter can only be recorded as “withdrawn from use and scrapped”.

Full history courtesy of Karl E. Hayes © from DHC-3 Otter: A History (2005).