DHC Beaver and Otter In Australian Service

The rugged and varied Canadian terrain spurred its aircraft manufacturers to produce a reliable sturdy machine suitable for bush work. It comes as no surprise that a product of such a specification would be at home in the equally demanding Australian environment. During World War II de Havilland Canada was working on such an aircraft. However, in the immediate post-war period, the Chipmunk project took priority and the DHC-2 concept was temporarily put aside. A restart took place early in 1946 and de Havilland Canada (DHC) was guided by the operational expertise of Ontario Provincial Air Service. Suggestions such as a doorway sufficiently large to allow fuel drums to be rolled in and a floor hatch to permit the dropping of cargo were included.

Some changes were of course introduced by DHC. One of the most important was the dropping of the proposition to use the Gipsy Queen of 295/30 hp as the power plant. Instead, they decided to use the readily available Pratt and Whitney A-985 Wasp Junior developing 450 hp. The first flight of the prototype DHC-2 Beaver I CF-FHB-X took place at Downsview on 16 August 1947. The power of the reliable Wasp Junior combined with a most effective flap configuration gave a sparkling STOL performance. The roomy fuselage allowed accommodation for one pilot and six passengers, the payload was 1350 lb and the gross weight 4500 lb which was later increased to 4820 lb.

A USAF requirement for a utility aircraft for use in Alaska proved to be a major fillip to Beaver production. At trials held at Wright Field, Ohio during late 1950 the Beaver outperformed its competitors numbering no less than 13 other aircraft. The US military success story did not stop there for, following trials held by the US Army at Fort Bragg during May 1951, the Beaver again emerged as the winner. Known as the L-20A in US Military service (later the U-6A) a total of 974 were delivered followed by a small batch of L-6Bs. US Beavers operated in both the Korean and Vietnam theatres as a most useful multi-purpose aircraft. Although two other versions of the Beaver were produced they did not achieve the success of the Beaver I. The sole Beaver II CF-GQE-X powered by a 550 hp Alvis Leonides with an enlarged tail and three-bladed propeller, first flown on 10 March 1953, did not progress beyond the prototype stage. Turbine power was provided by the Canadian Pratt and Whitney 550 shp PT6A-6 for the Turbo-Beaver Ill. The first flight of CF-PSM-X was on 31 December 1963 and a total of 60 was produced. By the time Beaver production ceased, a total of 1692 had been delivered to military and civil customers around the world.

The immense popularity of the Beaver was responsible for the birth of the DHC-3 Otter. DHC was approached by Ontario and Provincial Air Service to produce an aircraft of similar performance but with double the load-lifting capability. They were told that OPAS was interested in acquiring 20 aircraft if production of such a project was given the go-ahead. The proposal was investigated by DHC and the building of the King Beaver, as it was then known, was approved in November 1950. The name was changed to the more familiar Otter sometime later. The 600 hp Pratt and Whitney Wasp was selected as the power plant and this permitted a payload of 3153 lb to be carried over a 200-mile range with no reserves compared with the Beaver’s 1350 lb load over 470 miles with reserves. The overall increase in size enabled nine passengers to be carried with a crew of two. The first flight of the prototype CF-DYK-X took place on 12 December 1951 at Downsview.

As had happened with the Beaver, the Otter’s fortunes were spurred along by US military interest. During 1953, a US Army demonstration was held at Fort Bragg to enable a number of aircraft and helicopters to demonstrate their performance in the field. Following Otter’s obvious ability to operate effectively from confined areas, the US Army initially ordered six aircraft which were delivered as YU-1. Another much larger order for 155 aircraft was to follow. The Otter’s performance resulted in numerous other purchases being made by both military and civil users in several countries. By the time production terminated, 466 Otters had been delivered.

The Australian connection with the Beaver and Otter began during 1954. Although the Beaver has been very much identified with agricultural operations they have at various times been used for general passenger use. It was for this purpose that the first aircraft to arrive here were used by Qantas. These were VH-EAS, VH-EAT and VH-EAU acquired during December 1954 and VH-EAV during February 1955. The Qantas Beavers were used in New Guinea with accommodation for one pilot and six passengers:

During the period the Qantas Catalinas were being withdrawn from use, one of the Beavers was fitted with floats to help maintain services. The all-up weight of the Beaver fitted with floats and auxiliary fins was virtually the same as the land-based version. The Qantas Beavers proved to be a useful workhorse and were disposed of during 1958/9, destined to be used in a variety of roles. VH-EAS became VH-AAP on 30 June 1958 and was lost not long after in an accident at Goulburn, NSW on 23 August. Australasian Petroleum Co Pty Ltd of Port Moresby purchased VH-EAT on 14 April 1958 and it was re-registered VH-FBV. The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority were the new owners of VH-EAU and changed its registration to VH-SMB. The final aircraft of the quartet VH-EAV became VH-DHI for a time then was sold abroad in Fiji in 1960 as VO-FAA.

Not long after Qantas purchased its Beavers, the RAAF began acquiring Beavers with the intention of using them to support the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE). The Beavers continued a proud Australian association with Antarctic aviation initiated by Sir Hubert Wilkins with his historic flight over Graham Land on 16 November 1928. The initial aircraft A95-201 was received in May 1955 to be followed by the A95-202 in November 1956 and A95-203 in September 1957. These three Beavers participated in several expeditions to Antarctica. During the 1956 expedition, the RAAF contingent under the command of Squadron Leader Douglas Leckie sailed to Antarctica on board the Kista Dan. During the tour the two Beavers carried out an aerial photographic survey of 1000 miles of coastline. A hangar was erected at Mawson at Horseshoe Harbour close to the water’s edge to house one Beaver with a supporting Auster. This enabled the aircraft to carry out daylight surveys promptly whenever the weather conditions were suitable. During this period the Beaver crews discovered a new mountain range with peaks rising to 13,000 feet over a length of several hundred miles.

However, the hazardous climatic conditions took its toll and the three Beavers were all eventually to fell victim to the extreme blizzards in the region. A95-201 was damaged dander reduced to components. The second aircraftA95-202 was registered as VH-PGL for a short time from December 1959 to April 1960. It reverted to its RAAF identity and was destroyed during a blizzard 14 December 1960. A95-203 was also damaged and converted to spares while supporting ANARE expeditions. The fourth Beaver to join was also initially registered VH-PGL and became A95-205 from October 1961 to October 1964. It then resumed its civilian identity of VH-PGL, taking the initials from Mr. P. G. Law, the Director of ANARE.

Apart from the ANARE fleet, the RAAF purchased a fifth Beaver, A95-205 ex VH-DHJ and this aircraft joined the varied fleet of the Range Air Taxi Service (RATS) at Woomera on July 1959. It returned to civilian life in November 1961 as VH-MKT and eventually joined the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Authority as VH-SMD during June 1962. Although the RAAF Beavers were small in number, few other Australian service aircraft can claim to have operated in such a variety of climatic extremes.

The military involvement in Australia with the Beaver would have been greater had a 1966 proposal by Hawker de Havilland been successful. They had submitted for consideration, an AOP version based on the U-6A derivative and envisaged the supply of either 15, 18 or 21 aircraft at a unit cost of $107,569 per Beaver. Delivery would have been at the rate of two aircraft per month, commencing 10 months from the placing of an order. Various modifications to improve both downward and oblique vision would have been made. These included lowering the bottom edge of the front windscreen, substitution of a complete perspex forward cockpit door, the inclusion of four US Army visibility panels in the cabin roof and the addition of window panels between the two doors on each fuselage side. Despite the attractive qualities of the aircraft, the suggested version was not adopted by the Australian armed forces.

Although the early use for the Beaver in Australia was devoted (in civil use) to the passenger-carrying role, it was to become much more identified with the agricultural aviation industry. For an industry nurtured on small war surplus aircraft such as the DH-82 Tiger Moth, the Beaver was a significant step forward in operating efficiency. While the hardy Tiger Moth was of inestimable assistance in finding dusting and spraying in Australia, its slow speed and small load were detracting features. The arrival of the Beaver represented a considerable step forward for agricultural aviation. As a sprayer, it had a 230 gallon capacity with a fully adjustable spray control from one to 50 gallons per minute with a spray swath of 80 to 140 feet. In top dressing configuration it could carry 1850 lb of any dry fertilizer, insecticide or seed which gave it a theoretical hourly drop rate of 10 tons over 96 acres based on a one-minute turn around time. The top dressing installation was capable of being changed to a spraying about in about one hour.

Over the next few years, from 1957 until 1960, the number of Beavers in Australia was fairly static, varying between seven to ten aircraft. During July 1960 Aerial Agriculture received three ex-Malayan Airways Beavers. They were flown to Bankstown by Charles Forbes of Aerial Agriculture and two Malayan Airways pilots. These aircraft were VH-AAK ex 9M-ALS, VH-AAO ex 9M-ALW and VH-AASex 9M-ALV. Their arrival increased the aerial Agriculture Beaver fleet to eight aircraft. A variety of other second-hand Beavers from a number of different sources entered Australia. Amongst these were VH-AAY ex H123 of the Dominican Air Force, VH-RAS ex ZK-BMO and VH-IDA and VH-IDB ex F-OBX V and F-OBXS respectively. A batch of new Beavers was imported into Australia in 1964 , most of which were registered between VH-IDC and VH-IDV.

The peak number of 42 beavers appeared the June 1967 Civil Register and most of these were used agriculturally as evidenced by the following list.

Apart from the conventionally powered Wasp Junior Beavers to be used in Australia, two turboprop versions were experimented with. One of these was VH-UKL ex CF-UKL, a DHC-2 Turbo Beaver Ill owned by Hawker de Havilland and operated by ANARE in Antarctica. This aircraft was registered during 1968 and accompanied the 1968/69 expedition to Antarctica on board the Nella Dan. It returned to Canada later that year and was replaced by the Pilatus Porter VH-FSB on the following expedition. The other Beaver VH-AAX, a DHC-2/A1 Turbo Beaver, was converted by Aerial Agriculture and was re-engined with an Ai Research TPE-331-61 of 575 shp. It was re-designated the Wallaroo 605 and incorporated several other modifications. The fuselage was extended by 12 inches, a ventral fin was fitted and the dorsal fin was increased and seating was increased to nine. This aircraft was withdrawn from service in December 1971, two years after it was first registered in its turbo prop configuration. It was later restored to its usual powerplant and was re-registered 14 March 1973.

From the peak year of 1967, the number of Beavers in use in Australia gradually diminished through accidents and sale overseas, particularly to Canada. The downturn in the Australian agricultural aviation industry, hastened in recent years by economic and drought conditions, have further contributed to the decline. During this period, a number of Beavers were brought into Australia for a variety of purposes. Two such cases were the two African Beavers 7O-YIL and 7O-YIS which became VH-EPX and VH-EPY respectively in March 1969 operated by A. F. Savage of Mittagong, NSW and the more recent arrivals of Aquatic Airways Pty Ltd of Palm Beach, NSW. These latter aircraft have become a regular sight around the coastal suburbs of Sydney, particularly on weekends when they are much in demand for scenic flights.

As at September 1983 there were 15 Beavers on the Australian Civil Register. The breaking of the drought is bringing about a turnaround in the fortunes of aerial operators as farmers endeavour to improve their pastures. Beavers that have been out of service for some time seem likely candidates to be pressed into service in the near future. It seems certain that the sturdy Beaver will be an integral part of the local aviation scene for several years to come.

The rugged Otter did not enjoy the same degree of success as its smaller stablemate the Beaver. The initial Australian Otter order was placed by Qantas and their four aircraft were first registered during 1958. During their brief career they were used by Qantas for operations in New Guinea and one of them was equipped as an amphibian. Although the Otter’s ability to carry a greater load proved beneficial, its reduced rate of climb proved to be a hindrance in the testing flying conditions in New Guinea. One of the Qantas Otters, VH-EAY suffered substantial engine and airframe damage on 3 August 1958 while landing at Tapini. The Otter swung off the airstrip and hit an open drain. No one was injured and the Otter was repaired. The Qantas Otters were withdrawn from use in September 1960 and were transferred to TAA some months later when TAA assumed Qantas’ New Guinea operations.

Details of the Qantas Otters are as follows.

The TAA Otters continued flying in New Guinea but two of them were lost in accidents the following year. VH-SBQ crashed near Samari on 14 August 1961 and on 2 December crashed near Mendi. The remaining two continued service for several more years and VH-SBR Kundiawaw finally withdrew from service on 30 October 1966. This aircraft was noted at Bankstown in 1968 awaiting sale. The extreme popularity of the Otter in Canada was such that the aircraft remaining, VH-SBR and VH-SBT, were sold tone w owners in the country. VH-SBT was sold as CF-XRI and VH-SBR was noted at Bankstown in its new markings of CF-YLZ during April 1969 prior to departure soon after.

However, Otter operations in Australia did not cease there.

In August 1960, the Department of Supply announced the purchase of two Otters to be used at Woomera by the Weapons Research Establishment, to be maintained and flown by the RAAF. In February 1961 the first aircraft A100-392 in an all white colour scheme arrived at Bankstown. It joined the RAAF on 17 February to be followed by its sister aircraft A 100-390 on the 24th

some days later. Both aircraft were used for freight and passenger roles at Woomera and when the RAAF withdrew from the area in April 1967 the WRE assumed their control. A100-300 and A100-392 assumed civil registrations VH-UPL and VH-UPM respectively until 25 August 1980 when the registrations were cancelled. Both aircraft were stored at Woomera awaiting disposal. They were in perfect condition and were sold to Bannock Aerospace of Toronto, Canada for $50,000 each. The transportation of both the Otters to their new owners was by shipping containers. Thus ended the Otter’s Australian association spanning 22 years.

Specifications of the Beaver and Otter are as follows.