VH-ANX Douglas DC-3CG202A
'Tarrana'
(c/n 18949)
Built as a C-47A-65-DL for the USAAF (42-100486), this
aircraft was civilianized at the
end of 1945. After stints with Butler, Ansett-ANA, Airlines
of South Australia and Ansett
Airlines
of Australia, it was converted in 1970 to a freighter and seconded to
subsidiary
MacRobertson Miller
Airlines. After two years freight service with MMA, -ANX was
sold to Australian Aircraft Sales
in April 1972, and then onward sold to Island Air Transfer
of Honolulu as
N99131. This company had contracts to carry tourists'
outsized baggage
to island resorts using Beech 18s
and DC-3s. N99131 was still flying well
into the new
millennium with
Genavco Air Cargo in the islands with many tens of thousands of hours
on the
airframe by then.
Photos # 2,3 and 4 below,
are from the Geoff Goodall collection. No 2 shows -ANX at
Perth in March 1970 soon after
being delivered to MMA from Ansett-ANA storage at
Essendon, wearing the 1960s Ansett-ANA "Cargoliner"
scheme with titles painted over.
All MMA's DC-3s had been retired and
disposed of the previous year, so when the iron
ore mining
boom in WA's north generated unforecast traffic, what better "DC-3
replace-
ment" than more DC-3s?
Consequently, VH-ANX and - ANZ were transferred by
parent company Ansett-ANA to their
MMA subsidiary. Photo No 3 shows -ANX and
-ANZ together at Perth in November
1970, while in No 4 -ANX was seen at Perth in
April 1971
resplendent in MMA's new Ansett-based colour scheme.
After two years
freight service with MMA, VH-ANX
was sold to Australian Aircraft Sales in April 1972,
and departed Melbourne for Hawaii
27 August 1972. The color photo at the foot of the
entry illustrating c/n 18949 in US
markings is from the Peter Gates
collection.
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