British Army Beavers

[airsmiles]

I'm just re-reading Alex Kimball's book 'Think Like a Bird' and thought of a question or two.

Could anyone tell me why different coloured propellor spinners were used on the Beavers, as I've seen photos with yellow, blue and red used so far. Surely, something to do with different Army units, but how many colours were used and by which units?

Having researched all British Army Beavers I see quite a few were written-off abroad. Is it likely those a/c were abandoned or would they have been transported back to the UK for spares use? I ask because the production lists I've seen don't seem to know what the final determination was for the w/o aircraft.

If anyone has any interesting information, photos etc. about ANY Beavers I'd be interested to converse.

Thanks

[albatross]

DHC-2 (http://www.dhc-2.com)

Lots of good stuff there!

Ah the Beaver one of my favourite Aircraft to fly - especially on floats.
Heck they even wrote a song about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w_v0k57KhE

Good times!
Cheers
Albatross

[airsmiles]

Oh yes, this is Neil Aird's great website and a real winner. I keep in touch will Neil to top up on the news.

I've never heard of the Beaver Ballard before and the photos used in the video are great.

[Beaver man]

Nothing quite so complicated as different units Airsmiles!

I served with the Beaver Flight in NI from 76 to 78 and was there when the spinners were painted. The OC at the time had managed to take the wrong a/c on a sortie, so he needed something to help him recognise which aeroplane was which. All we had to say to him after that was, " the red one sir", or "the yellow one boss"!! Made life easier for all concerned.

He was a cracking boss, as were all the OCs during my time with the unit. It was one of the best tours of my time in the mob. Great blokes and a great aircraft, except when the starter was u/s and we had to hand crank the engine!

BM

[evansb]

I recall in the 1970s DHC-2 Beavers operated by Royal Army BATUS Ralston from CFB Suffield in Alberta, Canada, had olive drab spinners. One did have a red spinner though, so I'm probably not helping..

[Capot]

From Beaver Man's post I'm guessing that the red one was the CO's aircraft.....it's a calumny of course to suggest that a CO needs help to find his/her aircraft, but probably quite true.

[Noah Zark.]

airsmiles,
If you type in 'Britsh Army Beavers' into the search bar at the top of the page you will come across several threads on the subject, including one which I started on April 7th., 2011, which had quite a few excellent contributions from fellow Prooners! :ok:

[airsmiles]

Thanks all. The different coloured spinners obviously aren't official then. As for the CO need a way to help him find his aircraft, surely he must have known the serial number of his regular aircraft?

Will check those other threads.

[Beaver man]

It certainly was unofficial. It was only the NI Flight a/c that were "modded".

You may find that the BATUS a/c was either on its major servicing or had been bent, and a NI a/c was covering for it.

Of course the Boss knew the number of the a/c he was to take, however, it was much easier for him to walk to the one with the yellow, red, blue or whatever coloured nose!

No, he didn't necessarily have the red one, he just took what was given to him by us reems. To a certain degree anyway.

We were a very small flight. Probably no more that 25-30 guys from the boss down. 5 a/c, with usually one away on major servicing. Plenty of totally unofficial things went on, "the fish runs" to The Mull of Kintyre, hunting for the Loch Ness Monster, and plenty of other trips. But, we also worked bl**dy hard, and carried out our duties to he best of our abilities.

Happy days!
BM

[teeteringhead]

Yes indeed, the NI Beaver Flight were an amazing organisation - lots of good blokes there ....

.... but no-one, nowhere, no-how is immune to the banter of the SH Songbook!! ;)

[To the tune of "What a Friend we have in Jesus"]


There's an Army aircraft airborne
to the south of Crossmaglen.
It's a funny looking aircaft
flown by funny looking men.
And its wings are put on sideways
but they don't go round at all.
Spends its whole time taking pictures
flying just above the stall

It's been fired upon by gunmen
as it bimbles around the sky.
This is really not surprising
since Pongoes weren't designed to fly.
Still, we need a better aircraft
and it's plain to me and you
that it's better done by Wessex
and the boys of 72.

[Haraka]

Re 72's banter.
The Wessex was indeed a fine work horse in N.I. in the 70's
However, unlike the Beaver and certain other platforms, it was simply not suitable for taking piccies of the neighbourhood.
The plank wing was also occasionally seen hovering over Helidet in a stiff breeze.

[Proplinerman]

In the only photo I've ever taken of an Army Beaver, the aircraft had a black spinner: 453 Barton airshow 22 05 94 Beaver | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/48975048@N06/4489156710/in/photolist-7QG6TC-b17yxc-bKzfvV-cLWcny-9YT4Kh-bNEdJH-bNEdA4-egit6C/lightbox/)

But here's a photo of a Beaver in pretty unusual markings-Taiwan/ROC Air Force: DSC_0103 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/48975048@N06/8705793482/in/photolist-egit6C-7QG6TC-b17yxc-bKzfvV-9YT4Kh-bNEdJH-bNEdA4/lightbox/)

[teeteringhead]

However, unlike the Beaver and certain other platforms, it was simply not suitable for taking piccies Exactly so Haraka. Only way you could take decent piccies from the Wesex cabin door was to shut down the stbd engine! :eek:

[Rosevidney1]

If only the designers of the Beaver could have made the cockpit doors bigger life would have been easier. Don't believe me? Then try getting into one wearing a bone dome and carrying a nav bag!

[India Four Two]

If only the designers of the Beaver could have made the cockpit doors bigger

They were actually more concerned with the aft doors. During the design process, DHC canvassed working bush-pilots (nobody had ever done that before) and one of the main requests was a door that was wide enough that you could roll fuel drums up planks and into the cabin.

[airsmiles]

Interesting point about the cockpit door though, as a huge proportion of Beavers were sold to the US military who would probably have worn the same kit as the UK Army pilots? I suppose the problem was that the original door design was set in stone before the military customers came along and it was too difficult/expensive to change the door design for later customers.

As for my original questions:-

Spinner colour - looks like a case of 'choose a random colour' then

Fate of written-off beavers abroad - no info so far, but does anyone have any ideas about where to find records that could be used for research (apart from Neil's DHC2.COM website that is)? I'm particularly interested in the UK and US military Beavers.

[Proplinerman]

I've just remembered that I have a photo of a Beaver in this not often seen Air Force's colours, so here's the link: 679 Bogota 20-5-08 Beaver | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/48975048@N06/9083627363/in/photostream)
And I see exactly what people mean about the door size and shape!

[airsmiles]

Proplinerman -do you have any more info on that display Beaver, as it's not thought to be the original FAC108 aircraft? A c/n perhaps?

[Proplinerman]

Sorry Airsmiles, but no.

[Proplinerman]

652 Chena Marina 26-9-05 Beaver 1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/48975048@N06/6564847809/in/photolist-b17yxc-bKzfvV-cLWcny-9YT4Kh-eQFXWT-bNEdJH-bNEdA4-egit6C)

[pigboat]

...one of the main requests was a door that was wide enough that you could roll fuel drums up planks and into the cabin.
And had the door been an inch wider you wouldn't skin your knuckles on the door frame when you rolled said drum up the plank. :D

[Fareastdriver]

If I was the commanding officer off a Beaver unit I would not expect different coloured spinners, numbers, etc. to identify the aircraft I was supposed to fly.

I would expect it to be parked adjacent to my office door.

[Haraka]

The "office" on N.I. Beaver Det. being composed in part by a section of Varsity fuselage.......

[evansb]

https://imageshack.com/a/img37/7025/a1qe.jpg

[India Four Two]

And had the door been an inch wider you wouldn't skin your knuckles on the door frame when you rolled said drum up the plank.

pigboat,

Ah, the voice of experience! ;)

I've never done it myself, but surely it must have been easier than trying to load drums into a Norseman?

[Rosevidney1]

Reference the side elevation of the Beaver:

I served in the Army Air Corps in Northern Ireland but somehow never met up with the other Beaver operator called The Royal Army Army Aviation Corps who were operating there and who even duplicated our serial numbers and camouflage. :confused:

[Herod]

A couple of old pictures dating from '67. These were taken at Habilayn, upcountry from Aden.

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr302/peter46/AdenArmyBeaverfromFalaiseatHabilayn_zps39f44b57.jpg (http://s494.photobucket.com/user/peter46/media/AdenArmyBeaverfromFalaiseatHabilayn_zps39f44b57.jpg.html)

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr302/peter46/AdenArmyBeaverfromFalaiseatHabilayn2_zpsd10f75d0.jpg (http://s494.photobucket.com/user/peter46/media/AdenArmyBeaverfromFalaiseatHabilayn2_zpsd10f75d0.jpg.html)

[ericferret]

Oddities in colours could be just accidental. Beaver spares came at times from civilian sources, so colour could be anything. An example would be the local purchase of a carburretor for the BATUS aircraft. Caused a lot of alarm and despondancy as they used all the petty cash for the whole exercise in one go. A good idea at the time!!!!!