DOUGLAS DC-3 VH-ANR

Many aviation museums display examples of the Douglas DC-3 and rightly so as it is one of the most significant transport aeroplanes ever built. Most museum examples represent the military C-47 as this was the most prolific version of the aircraft. Some of these aircraft are displayed in their military C-47 configuration while others are displayed as civil conversions of the C-47. However, QAM’s DC-3 was built in 1937 as a civil airliner with a single passenger door and it has always been a genuine DC-3 even though it served with the military during WWII. Originally built for the Dutch airline KLM, it saw use in the Netherlands East Indies up until the outbreak of war. The aircraft evacuated the Dutch Governor to safety in Australia and was the last civil aircraft to escape the Japanese invasion of the NEI. On arrival in Australia the aircraft was commandeered by General Douglas MacArthur who used it to fly to Canberra for a meeting with Prime Minister John Curtin. Postwar, the aircraft returned to airline service with Australian National Airways, Butler Air Transport and Airlines of New South Wales.

https://www.qam.com.au/qam-content/aircraft/dc-3/vh-anr.htm

Submitted by Ron Cuskelly, QLD Air Museum