trying to locate a C-47

[T6558]

I am trying to locate a C-47A serial number 43-48225. Is there a database somewhere that tracks the WWII C-47s and whether they are still in operation? I know this plane was sold to a private company or person in January 1946 but have no further information.

Kind regards from a very cold Seattle area.
Patricia

 

[fubar57]

I'm not sure if this helps. From this website..C-47 civil conversion [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums


This aircraft sounds similar:
DC3/C47A Serial No 43-48225. Accumulated 772 hours with the Army Air Corps Transport Command up until January 1946.
Subsequently:

Jan 46 to Apr 46,
Billy D. Parker of Phillips Petroleum.
Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
8.00 hours.

Apr 46 to Jun 78
P.K. Wrigley of Chicago, Illinois.
Based on Catalina Island,
Avalon Airport, Catalina.
2707 hours.

Jun 78 to Apr 80
Naval Museum,
Pensacola, Florida.
1.00 hour.

April 80 to Jul 86
Robert A. Haefner III, President
GHK Oil Company.
Olahoma City,
247 hours.

July 86
Beat A. Wertli, President
Dream-Aire, Inc.
Wilmington.DE

Geo

 

[Airframes]

Good work Geo.

 

[T6558]

Yes Thank you Geo. You certainly found that quickly!. That is how I knew it had been sold but I lost this information about 6 months ago. Since I knew it was not complete I decided to go directly to this site to see if there was a database that may go beyond and tell the status of a plane. Do these planes change their serial number after being sold or given a different number? What is an N_number? When I found this six months ago I remembered researching the last company but could not find any information on that company. I assumed they were out of business. If a privatized war plane was destroyed would there be a record of that?

This was a plane my dad flew from June 1945 to Nov. 1945. He flew other C-47s during the war both in resupplies to the front lines and in combat missions but this is the only one I have any information on because he had a landing accident in it. I was able to get an accident report which gave me the information. On that forum there was a remark that the plane was sold because it was war weary but they knew it had been delivered new in June of 1945 and were suspicious about why the military would label it that. I tried sending an email to the person who was discussing it but it was an old thread and I never got a reply. Thanks for posting that information maybe that company information is now on the Internet. In my research I find things that I was looking for months ago are now on line. If you have any other ideas on how I may search for the current status please let me know. thanks for the help.
Patricia

 

[fubar57]

Hello Patricia, happy to help. As far as I know, the serial number always stays with the aircraft. The N denotes an U.S. registered aircraft(I think). In Canada it's a C. Here's another link that might help you.
FAA Registry - Aircraft - N-Number Inquiry

Geo

 

[T6558]

Geo,
Thanks for the lead. I took your advice and checked with them. There was no 43-48225 Serial number in their system so I emailed them and received this reply:

Ms Patricia,
I have researched the FAA aircraft records and can not find the serial number you have given. I also tried to cross reference with the names you have given below and have found nothing. It might have been a military aircraft and never registered with the US Civil Aircraft Registry.
Sorry.
SS

So I guess I need to see if I can find someone connected with the last known owner.

Thanks you have given me some good help just unfortunate that this plane fell off the face of the earth after 86. I hope that does not mean it was destroyed. I will keep searching though.
Kind regards,
Patricia

 

[fubar57]

Patricia...you might try this link though they do charge a fee. Locate a DC-3 by Number

Geo

 

[A4K]

Great stuff Geo!

Hope you can find her Patricia, will check myself a little later on.

 

[Aozora]

Hi Patricia, although this isn't relevant to its whereabouts now, according to Accident-Report.com - AIRCRAFT SERIAL NUMBERS on 11/17/45 a C-47A 43-48225 had an accident in Germany, and a request can be can be made for a report: would that be the landing accident your father was involved in?

Another lead is 43-48225 - DC-3 (ATDB) which shows 43-48225 C‑47A‑DK (meaning manufactured by Douglas Longbeach) 25486 : the highlighted number is the manufacturer's number which is important: civil registrations, such as the N-number, can change, the manufacturer's number doesn't - that stays with the airframe.

Having the manufacturer's number, plus type of aircraft - Douglas C-47A-DK, plus the serial 43-48225 means that you can enquire about this aircraft through the FAA database FAA Registry - Aircraft - Make / Model Inquiry and look for the manufacturer's number or the Armed Forces serial number under "Serial Number" (eg: there are 17 C-47s listed in California FAA Registry C-47s California )

Or you can make enquiries at the likes of The DC-3 Hangar on douglasdc3.com DC3 C47 C-47

Hope this helps.

 

[evangilder]

All I could find was this:
Douglas C-47A-30-DK
48225 (c/n 14041/25486) to RAF as Dakota III KG809. Returned to USAAF Oct 11, 1944