DHC Caribou
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| Caribou N6154T is preserved in airworthy condition in the United States. |
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Havilland Canada designed the DHC-4 as a DC3 sized aircraft but with
the short field performance of its earlier Beaver and Otter. The twin 1,450hp Pratt and Whitney two-row radial engined aircraft was a joint venture with the Canadian Depatment of Defense Production and one was ordered by the Royal Canadian Air Force as the CC-108. The first prototype flew on July 30, 1958 and entered service evaluation in August 1959. Five aircraft were ordered for evaluation by the US Army as the YAC-1 and 159 of a heavier version were delivered to the service between 1961 and 1965. The type was designated AC-1 and later CV-2A and B. Many saw service in the Vietnam War, where the type's ability to deliver 32 troops into short dirt strips proved invaluable. Some were converted as airborne command posts with the 1st (Air) Cavalry Division. The US aircraft were transferred to the air force in 1967 and redesignated C-7A. The type saw service for 12 other air forces and by 1975 more than 330 had been built. Penn Turbo Aviation has offered a PT6A version but has not secured any sales despite amassing a large stock of stored airframes at its base in New Jersey, USA. Today, a few remain airworthy with preservation groups in the United States and Australia |
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