ROBERT HODGSON MEMORIAL COLLECTION
No. 11360. Douglas DC-2-142 R2D-1 (NC39165 c/n 1404) "Uiver"
Photographed at Leeuwarden, Netherlands, September 17, 2011, by Robert Hodgson

Douglas DC-2-142 R2D-1

09/30/2012. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "As early as 1934, the USN purchased its first example of the DC-2, carrying the USN designation R2D-1 and five were assigned BuNo 9620 to 9622 (c/n 1325 to 1327) and 9993, 9994 (c/n 1404, 1405). BuNo 9993 was delivered to NAS Anacostia, Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1935. It went to NAS Pensacola on August 28, 1940, and to NAS Anacostia on January 4, 1941 and back to NAS Pensacola on August 28, 1941, before being struck off charge on August 28, 1944.

In April 1945 it was registered to its first civil owner as NC39165, during 1969 it was painted in General Air Lines livery, and by 1983 it was owned by Colgate W. Darden III of Cayce, South Carolina, USA. In November 1983 it was shipped to the Netherlands and was painted in an ancient KLM livery as PH-AJC "Uiver" (Stork) with racer number 44 for a special commemorative flight to Australia for the anniversary of the London to Australia air race of 1934. It completed the return flight, despite an engine change, between December 18, 1983 and February 5, 1984.

It was returned to the USA and retained in flying condition. After a successful fund-raising campaign the aircraft was bought by the Dutch aviation museum Aviodrome at Lelystad in 1999, although the only remaining airworthy DC-2 is still registered in the USA."


Created April 30, 2012