10/31/2008. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "Built by Boeing of Canada at Vancouver, it became RCAF Canso 9767 on March 4, 1943, and was allocated to Squadron 162, coded S, at Reykjavik, Iceland. In 1944, piloted by Flying Officers Thomas Charles Cooke and Eric Walter Wiskin, 9767 sank the German U-boat U-342 off the coast of Iceland on April 17. The amphibian was removed from the military service on April 1, 1946. The same year it was sold to Canadian Pacific Airlines, registered CF-CRR and assigned fleet number 233 (later 933), it was operated until 1959, thereafter by Northland Airlines (1960-1968), Midwest Airlines (1969-1970), and Ilford Riverton until 1973. The registration was changed to C-FCRR when Avalon Aviation acquired it as a water bomber in 1977, listed as Tanker number 791.

TAM (C-FCRR)

TAM (C-FCRR)

TAM (C-FCRR)

In 1995 the aircraft was bought by Powell Corp. of Parry Sound, Ontario, subsequently it was owned by the Canadian Air Legend. The French pilot Franklin Devaux bought C-FCRR in 1995 and converted it to a flying television studio, it was based at Le Bourget, Paris, France.

Operation Okavango (C-FCRR)

Operation Okavango (C-FCRR)

During 1996 C-FCRR was the star of monthly French television program Operation Okavango, while in September 1998 it was the eye catcher of the three-week Champs-Elysees (Paris) static air show. The following October the aircraft started an 8,078 mls (13,000 km) trip to Chile via Dakar (Senegal) and Natal (Brazil) to commemorate early Air France South Atlantic mail service, returning to France in June 1999. On January 19, 2002 the aircraft was stored at Orly Airport, Paris, and has not flown since. Its Canadian registration was cancelled on October 7, 2005."