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c/n 175
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c/n 175

51-16475

USCG . . . .

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51-16475 USAF #1012. L-20A No: 13. Command AF-1. Available 21-Dec-1951. Accepted 31-Dec-1951. Delivered to Elmendorf AFB., 12-Jan-1952.

USCG???? US Geological Survey, Greenland. Dates unknown.

Note: At this stage it is not known whether it retained its military serial or a civil registration when with the USGS, as two other ex USAF Beavers transferred over and appear to have received numerical registrations without the “N” prefix.

Fate Unknown

USAF History

51-16475

The aircraft was initially to have been delivered on 12-Jan-1952 to the Alaska Air Command at Ladd AFB, Alaska but was diverted en route to Elmendorf where it arrived on 11-Jan-1952 and was allocated to the 5039th Air Transport Group and its re-named units the 5039th Air Depot Wing and 5039th Air Base Group until 13-Apr-1953. During this assignment it suffered category 3 damage in a takeoff accident 25 miles SE of Sleetmute, Alaska on 20-Mar-1952.

Remaining at Elmendorf, as it did for its entire USAF career it was allocated to the 5th Liaison Squadron from 13-Apr 1953 until 01-Jun-1956. It suffered category 2 damage (minor / medium) in a taxiing accident with 51-16474 on the 30-Apr-1953 and its stay at 5th Liaison was interrupted by visits to the 5025th Maintenance Wing from 28-Sep until 15-Oct-1953, 14 to 20-Dec-1953 and 15-Feb until 09-Mar-1954. It is assumed these trips to maintenance were as a result of the accident but this is unclear from the records.

From 01-Jun-1956 it was back to the 5039th Air Base Group including the 5039th Air Repair (ARP) Squadron 20-Mar-1956 – 18-May-1956, 5039th Air Base Wing again 18-May-1956 -18-Oct-1956  and finally the 5039th Maintenance Squadron, 18-Oct-1956 -13-Nov-1956. Its USAF career then ended with it moving on to the Greenland Survey Project, which was part of the USA’s participation in the International Geophysical Year of 1956.

Emblem of the 5039th Maintenance Squadron

It appears not to have returned to military service but its further history is currently unknown.