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Otter 32 was
delivered to the RCAF on 22nd March 1954 with serial 3674. It was allocated
initially to the Station Flight at Trenton Air Base, Ontario. It was recorded
arriving in the Falconbridge, Ontario area on 26th June 1955 to assist in the
search for a missing person on Lake Wanapitec. It was posted in July 1955 to 408
Squadron at Rockcliffe. With the squadron it flew north to assist in the unit's
tasks in Quebec and Labrador. After flying with 408 Squadron for the summer, it
went to No.6 Repair Depot for storage in October 1955, returning to 408 Squadron
in April 1956. It is mentioned in the Squadron's history operating out of Knob
Lake (Schefferville, Quebec) during the early summer of 1956, and on 7th July
VC994, the Goose Bay-based C-47 arrived at Knob Lake with a crew for 3674, which
then flew to Goose, out of where it was to operate for the rest of the summer.
3674 suffered a mishap on 12th October 1956 while taking off from Rigolet,
Labrador with five
persons on board. During the run-up prior to taking off from a rough sea in high
winds, the port wing rose and the starboard float sank until the wing touched
the water. A flooded compartment in the right float contributed to the incident.
Some damage to the ailerons and flaps occurred. On 16th October, the Otter was
towed the length of Lake Melville back to Goose Bay by a USAF barge, and
repaired.
The following month, the Otter flew south and went on loan to DHC from November
1956 until February 1962. Based at Downsview, it was used for STOL research. At
one stage it was fitted with huge 'batwing' flaps, mounted on a ground test rig,
and had tufting fitted to show the effect of airflow on the flight surfaces.
After the tests, it was returned to conventional configuration. On 9th May 1961
it went into storage at Dunville, before being allocated on 27th July 1961 to 12
TSU, De Havilland, who prepared the Otter for return to RCAF service. On 16th
February 1962 the Otter was assigned to the Central Experimental Proving
Establishment (CEPE) at Uplands, Ottawa for what is described in the records as
a “Telecom Evaluation”. It was fitted with a set of amphibious floats (taken
from Otter 3689). Photographs of the Otter during this period show it in Rescue
marks with “Air Material Command” titles.
There followed quite a number of different postings for the Otter. On 16th May
'62 it went to the Cold Lake Station Flight, Cold Lake, Alberta and then on 18th
January 1963 it arrived at Rockcliffe and joined the Air Force Headquarters
Piston Training Flight, where it flew alongside the Flight's Expeditors and
Dakotas. The amphibious floats were taken off 6th September '63 (and installed
on Otter 3673) and 3674 reverted to an Otter on wheels. It continued in use with
the Piston Training Flight until 31st March 1964 when it transferred to the RCAF
base at Uplands, Ottawa for use by the Headquarters Training Flight. On 9th
April 1965 it was re-assigned to 402 Squadron, Winnipeg but was actually based
at Armstrong, Ontario servicing a Mid Canada Line radar site. The radar station
was located near to Armstrong on the northern shore of Lake Nipigon and had its
own flight of Otters, detached from other units, mostly from 402 Squadron,
Winnipeg.
On 28th May 1965 the Otter returned to the Headquarters Training Flight at
Uplands but on 23rd June '65 flew to Trenton before heading north for Goose Bay
and service with its Station Flight on 12th August '65. Here it remained until
11th October 1966 when it was re-assigned to 438 Squadron at St.Hubert, Quebec
which was to be its last posting. 438 “City of Montreal” Squadron was one of the
auxiliary squadrons, flying Otters and Beech Expeditors. The Otter's service
with 438 Squadron was to last little more than a year. On 7th January 1968, 3674
was engaged on a navigation training cross-country flight from its base at
St.Hubert. The pilot was on a ski-training exercise and after performing
circuits and landings on a bay, he proceeded to Lake Memphremagog, Quebec where
he flew a standard “strange lake landing pattern”.
After two touch-and-go landings, the Otter was landed on the ice. While taxying
for take-off, one ski broke through the ice, which then gave way and the Otter
sank. The two crew members evacuated the aircraft through the rear door and
managed to reach firm ice. They had no time to turn off the fuel or electrics.
The aircraft sank until it was supported by the wing tips resting on firmer ice.
As the crew were walking to the shore, the Otter exploded and sank to the
bottom. The investigation determined that the ice thickness was only four
inches, and that the Unit had failed to determine that there was adequate ice
thickness on the selected training areas. The official record notes “Salvage
attempt abandoned”. However, eight and a half years later, in June 1976, a
salvage company, Laffitte Salvage, managed to raise the fuselage after a
marathon twenty four effort. It was later seen in a scrapyard at St.Laurent,
Quebec.
History courtesy of Karl E Hayes from DHC-3
Otter: A History (2005) |
