VH-MIN
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| Type: | Douglas C-47A-25-DK |
| MSN: | 13459 |
| Previous Identities: | 42-93536 KG647 G-AIAZ KG647 VH-SMI |
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Note:
This aircraft never served with Adastra but as an Australian survey
DC-3 its story deserves to be told somewhere.
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History:
| 29MAY44 | Handed over to the USAAF 42-93536. (Source: 1) | |
| 04JUN44 | Delivered to the RAF at Montreal as KG647. (Source: 1) | |
| 12JUN44 | Arrived in the UK. (Source: 1) | |
| 02OCT44 | Issued to No 575 Sqn. (Source: 1) | |
| 29SEP45 | Issued to No 1680 Flight. (Source: 1) | |
| 03APR46 | Leased to BOAC as G-AIAZ. (Source: 1) | |
| 31JUL46 | Returned to No 22 Maintenance Unit, Silloth as KG647. (Source: 1) | |
| OCT46 | Sold to John Fairfax & Sons, Sydney. (Source: 2) | |
| 09DEC46 | Registered VH-SMI to Sydney Morning Herald. CofR 1125. (Source: 4) | |
| 14FEB47 | Arrived at Mascot. (Source: 2) | |
| 16APR47 | Ownership changed to John Fairfax & Sons Pty Ltd. (Source: 2) | |
| 11JUN47 | CofA application. (Source: 2) | |
| DCA file refers to SMI being fitted with a dropping chute capable of taking 1500 lb of newspapers in bundles in a single drop. (Source: 2) | ||
| 08JUL47 | First entry: CofA issue overhaul completed. (Source: 2) | |
| 09JUL47 | Test flown. (Source: 2) | |
| 10JUL47 | Newspaper delivery run 5 hr 35 mins. Then almost daily runs averaging 5.5 hours each day until 1949, then once every 3 or 4 days. (Source: 2) | |
| 25MAY52 | Last SMH flight "Prepared for long-term storage". (Source: 2) | |
| 27MAY52 | Struck-off Register as withdrawn from service. (Source: 2) | |
| 12SEP52 | Re-added Register: John Fairfax & Sons Pty Ltd. (Source: 2) | |
| 02MAR53 | Withdrawn from service. (Source: 2) | |
| MAR53 | Note in DCA file says SMI & Hudsons SML & SMM were all expertly stored at Camden and maintained in excellent condition. (Source: 2) | |
| 18MAR53 | Struck-off Register as withdrawn from service. (Source: 2) | |
| To VH-MIN. (Source: 2) | ||
| 10NOV53 | Inspection at TAA Essendon. (Source: 2) | |
| 20NOV54 | Test flown Essendon as VH-MIN. (Source: 2) | |
| 01DEC54 | Registered VH-MIN to Bureau of Mineral Resources, Melbourne. CofR 2318. (Source: 4) | |
| TAA provided flight crew, engineering and full airworthiness responsibility. (Source: 7) | ||
| JAN55 | Hobart, Essendon, Hamilton, Essendon, Broken Hill. (Source: 2) | |
| 12JAN55 | To 14JAN55 Sth West Tasmania and King Island (Project #131) 625 Kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 01FEB55 | To 15MAR55 Broken Hill NSW (Project #118) 7,700 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| APR55 | Based Essendon. (Source: 2) | |
| 26APR55 | To 03AUG55 Wodgina-Marble Bar WA (#144) 22,300 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 26APR55 | Essendon-Parafield. (Source: 2) | |
| 28APR55 | Parafield-Katherine. (Source: 2) | |
| 02MAY55 | Guildford-Geraldton-Pt Hedland-Geraldton-Guildford. (Source: 2) | |
| 09MAY55 | Based Guildford until 27JUL55. (Source: 2) | |
| 55 | Mid (?) 1955 Wilgie Mia WA (#143) 625 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 55 | Mid (?) 1955 Lake Dundas WA (#126) 188 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 28JUL55 | Kalgoorlie. (Source: 2) | |
| 02AUG55 | Ceduna. (Source: 2) | |
| 03AUG55 | Essendon. (Source: 2) | |
| 06SEP55 | Brisbane. (Source: 2) | |
| 12SEP55 | To 31OCT55 Chillagoe-Einasleigh-Gilberton Qld (with VH-GVC) (#119) 17,840 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 13SEP55 | Cairns. (Source: 2) | |
| 03OCT55 | To 04OCT55 Cloncurry-Mt Isa Qld (#121) 1,000 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 04OCT55 | Mount Isa then Cairns, Townsville. (Source: 2) | |
| 30OCT55 | Mascot. (Source: 2) | |
| 10MAY56 | To 11MAY56 Nowa Nowa Vic (#159) 1,025 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 21MAY56 | Cranbourne- Carrum Downs Vic (#149) 560 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 01JUN56 | To 11SEP56 Carnarvon Basin (Rough Range, Barrabiddy, Gascoyne, Freycinet WA) (#147) 41,730 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 24SEP56 | To 12OCT56 Southern Cross WA (#161) 11,000 kms. (Possible errors in dates. See following). (Source: 3) | |
| 21SEP56 | To 12OCT56 Carnarvon Basin (Corkscrew Well, Redcliffe) WA (#165) 34,140 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 27FEB57 | To 03OCT57 Perth Basin WA (#176) 50,540 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| MAR57 | Guildford then based Busselton until APR57. (Source: 2) | |
| APR57 | Based Guildford until JUN57. (Source: 2) | |
| 21JUN57 | To 22JUN57 Collie Basin WA (#167) 625 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| JUL57 | Essendon. (Source: 2) | |
| AUG57 | Carnarvon until NOV57. (Source: 2) | |
| JAN58 | Overhaul at Essendon. (Source: 2) | |
| 08MAY58 | To 16MAY58 Inverell-Tinha-Stannifer-Elsmore NSW (#188) 2,960 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 21MAY58 | To 29MAY58 Great Artesian Basin Qld (#187) 7,200 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 23JUN58 | To 09SEP58 Bonaparte Gulf Basin WA & NT (#183) 26,320 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 15SEP58 | To 20SEP58 Chillagoe- Mungana Area Qld (#186) 2,480 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 10APR59 | To 05MAY59 Eyre Peninsula (Nth) SA (#199) 15,120 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 27MAY59 | To 28JUL59 Boorabbin-Norseman WA (#197) 22,100 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 14AUG59 | To 10NOV59 Carnarvon Basin (Nth and Sth Areas) WA (#198) 37,360 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 22JAN60 | To 24MAR60 Burra Area SA (#205) 12,000 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 05APR60 | To 05MAY60 Forbes, West Wyalong NSW (#207) 15,100 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 13MAY60 | To 31MAY60 Bourke NSW (#206) 11,250 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 15JUN60 | To 14OCT60 [?] Tennant Creek NT (#222) 22,900 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 60 | Mid [?] 1960 Halls Creek WA (#208) 28,240 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 22OCT60 | To 23OCT60 Rawlinson Range- Young Range WA & NT (#219) 1,575 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 23OCT60 | To 25OCT60 Mann Area WA (#213) 2,015 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 26OCT60 | To 30NOV60 Lake Johnston WA (#210) 10,400 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 31OCT60 | To 30NOV60 Ravensthorpe WA (#220) 3,200 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 06FEB61 | To 22FEB61 Chowilla SA (#228) 7,800 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 08MAR61 | To 12APR61 Childara- Gairdner SA (#227) 23,800 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 01MAY61 | To 01AUG61 Carnarvon Basin (Onslow-Yarraloola) WA (#225) 24,700 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 01MAY61 | To 01AUG61 Carnarvon Basin (Geraldton- Yalgoo) WA (#226) 19,200 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 18AUG61 | To 06OCT61 Bowen Basin Qld (#223) 21,000 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 23NOV61 | To 12DEC61 Narromine NSW (#231) 17,300 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 23NOV61 | To 12DEC61[?] Bathurst NSW (#230) 8,800 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 03MAR62 | To 30APR62 Andamooka, Torrens SA (#234) 20,550 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 07MAY62 | To 24MAY62 Curnamona SA (#241) 10,960 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 09JUN62 | To 07AUG62 Tanami, The Granites NT (#255) 24,345 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 20AUG62 | To 30NOV62 Bowen Basin Qld (#238) 41,520 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 24JUL63 | To 23AUG63 Bowen Basin Qld (#262) 13,535 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 30AUG63 | To 17DEC63 Georgina Basin NT (#270) 42,870 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 03APR64 | To 31AUG64 Georgina Basin NT & Qld (#284) 91,040 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 01SEP64 | To 30SEP64 McArthur River Area NT (#287) 250 [?] kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 02OCT64 | To 02DEC64 Leonora- Menzies WA (#288) 24,130 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 03MAR65 | To 29APR65 Orroroo, Parachilna SA (#314) 22,820 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 25MAY65 | To 25OCT65 Amadeus Basin NT (#301) 53,650 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 26NOV65 | To 28JAN66 Goulburn NSW (with VH-BMG) (#310) 10,990 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 05FEB66 | To 27MAR66 High Level Tasmania (#329) 5,150 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 13APR66 | To 04JUN66 Central SA (#319) 22,120 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 16JUN66 | To 19AUG66 Laverton, Edjudina WA (#323) 23,840 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 16AUG66 | To 16AUG66 Merredin- Perth WA (#324) 1,920 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 06SEP66 | To 12SEP66 Sydney Basin (western part) NSW (#327) 1,630 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 26APR67 | To 13JUL67 Sir Samuel, Duketon WA (#342) 23,100 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 29JUL67 | To 21OCT67 Musgrave Block SA (#338) 30,860 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 01NOV67 | To 23NOV67 Herberton Qld (#337) 2,355 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 28MAR68 | To 18JUN68 Central Great Artesian Basin Qld (#346) 35,790 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 20JUL68 | To 03OCT68 Sandstone, Youanmi WA (#354) 18,890 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 04NOV68 | To 05NOV68 [?] Gosses Bluff NT (#351) 640 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 07OCT68 | To 16JUL69 Byro-Belele, Murgoo-Cue, Yalgoo-Kirkalocka WA (#371) 50,400 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 22AUG69 | To 18NOV69 Southern Cape York Qld (#367) 27,745 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 06APR70 | To 26AUG70 Eucla Basin (Cook, Oldea, Barton) SA (#375) 28,860 kms. (Source: 3) | |
| 08DEC70 | Last flight, withdrawn from service. (Source: 2) | |
| - | Ferried Tamworth-Canberra. (Source: 2) | |
| 13MAY72 | Ferried Canberra-Tamworth. (Source: 2) | |
| 06JUL72 | Registered to Keith Singh, Tamworth, NSW. (Source: 4) | |
| 12JUL72 | Test flown Tamworth: Owner in logs as Airfast Helicopter Utilities Pty Ltd, Sydney. (Source: 2) | |
| 20JUL72 | Registered to Helicopter Utilities, Mascot, NSW. (Source: 4) | |
| 17OCT72 | Registered to Airfast Helicopter Utilities, Mascot, NSW. (Source: 4) | |
| 01AUG74 | Registered to Connair, Alice Springs, NT. (Source: 4) | |
| 18JUN80 | Registered to Northern Airlines (Operations), Alice Springs, NT. (Source: 4) | |
| 05FEB81 | Registered
to Setair, Melbourne, Vic. (Source: 4) In Setair service the aircraft was named "Karen". | |
| 11AUG83 | Registered
to Rebel Air, Mascot, NSW. (Source: 4) Australian Log Book 1 quotes VH-SMI "serial number 13459". (Source: 2) | |
| 01FEB84 | Registered to Wan-See, Hamilton, NSW. (Source: 4) | |
| 03FEB84 | Withdrawn from use for minor overhaul. (Source: 4) | |
| 24FEB84 | Restored to Wan-See. (Source: 4) | |
| 08DEC88 | Registered to Koomeela Australia, Maitland, NSW. (Source: 4) | |
| 10JUN94 | Registered to South Pacific Airmotive, Connells Point, NSW. (Source: 4) | |
| 01MAY98 | Registered to Dakota National Air (Australia), Bankstown, NSW. (Source: 4) | |
| 16FEB04 | Discovery Air Tours (formerly Dakota National Air) went into administration. (Source: 5) | |
| 25JUN04 | As of this date Discovery Air Tours were still operating with three DC-3s including VH-MIN. (Source: 5) | |
| 10OCT04 | By this date, VH-MIN was stored at the Australian Aviation Museum at Bankstown along with several other DC-3s from the Discovery Air Tours fleet. (Source: 5). | |
| 25MAR09 | The Discovery Air Tours fleet of six DC-3s was auctioned at Bankstown but all were passed in and no sales eventuated. (Source: 5) | |
| 10DEC09 | The Discovery Air Tours DC-3s were progressively transported by road from Bankstown to a property at Larras Lee near Molong, NSW. VH-MIN arrived at Larras Lee on this date. (Source: 6) | |
| 16 | While at Larras Lee, the aircraft was broken into and the cockpit stripped by thieves. | |
| 06JUN24 | A fuselage, clearly marked as VH-MIN, was photographed intact at Larras Lee on this date. Clearly, earlier reports that VH-MIN was sectioned for display at Moose Toys are incorrect. It is confirmed that the sectioned aircraft at Moose Toys is VH-BPN. |
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SOURCES
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1
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J.M.G. Gradidge, "The Douglas DC-3 and its Predecessors", Air-Britain 1984. |
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2
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Geoff Goodall. |
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3
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Doug Morrison. Compiler's Note: References to VH-MIN in Bureau of Mineral Resources geophysical survey indexes. The index is fairly reliable although it does have errors. The dates shown here indicate the first flight on a survey to the last flight on a survey - sometimes the aircraft did leave the survey midstream for maintenance or other projects so it is not a true record of aircraft movements. There are at times overlapping dates in projects. I have listed BMR project numbers (#) and reported approx kilometres flown on the project. This list gives a good idea of movements of VH-MIN in the period 1955-1970 but it does have flaws. No mention of survey bases/airports are shown in this index. |
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4
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Tony Arbon, AustAirData. |
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5
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The late Allan Bovelt. |
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6
|
Ralph Chrystall. |
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7
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Australian Airlines Engineering Department Engineering Report 147 Aircraft Owned / Operated / Maintained by TAA. Provided by Leigh Ryan. |
| Issue | Date | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 27FEB25 |
Added
confirmation that VH-MIN remains intact at Larras Lee.
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| 5 | 17JUN24 |
A
fuselage marked as VH-MIN was photographed intact at Larras
Lee on 06JUN24.
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| 4 | 31DEC22 |
Added
a Slideshow
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| 3 | 02SEP16 |
Aircraft
has been sectioned and parts displayed at Moose Toys in Moorabbin.
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| 2 | 06FEB16 |
Added
information from Source 7 at DEC54. Thanks to Leigh Ryan.
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| 1 | 02FEB11 |
Original
issue. Thanks to Geoff Goodall, Doug Morrison, Allan Bovelt
and Tony Arbon.
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