c/n 175
51-16475
USCG . . . .
x
• 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.