Propliners Off-airport

Africa

 

MALI


C-47 preserved at Salle de Gym Cap Para (Bamako, Mali)
Unidentified C-47, its fuselage preserved at Salle de Gym Camp Para in Bamako. It is visible at this position
for the first time on Google Earth imagery from January 2008.

 

 

 

George John Tonking shared this photo on Facebook's 'Aviation Wrecks and relics', in Dec.2020.
DC-3 off-airport, Benoni, S Africa
John wrote: "Benoni South Africa C47/Dc3. Photo 17Dec20".


Comments on this post, the ones relevant: "It's in the yard of the daughter of a Dakota legend flippie Vermeulen."
"It's ZS-BXJ, cn 12413, been there since 2007 or so."
"www.flickr.com/photos/tristar1011/43003475814/ -Cockpit shot of 2018"

A 2005 by Michal Petrykowski is shown on my website HERE..

From my (RL) files:
'C-47A c/n 12413 ¬Ex/SAAF 6829, rereg to ZS-BXJ dec95 South African Aws Hist. Flight. Still under restoration 1988. SAA Historical Flight to be discontinued 'WIE' (mar99). Ln Swartkop AFB 5jun99. Same jul00, incomplete. Current 2002 with SAHF but under rebuilt. Ln 15Nov04 @Swartkop, dismantled and no m/s, restoration by SAHF.'

Benoni is not far from O.R. Tambo Int'l Airport. Have yet to find it on Google Maps or GE.

Michael Prophet sent these photos, published with permission; click on the photo for a larger image.
Click here   Click here
C-47B (cn15654/27099); ex: Sudan AF, on display inside Ceasars Casino adjacent to SAA tech area (Johannesburg-Jan Smuts IAP (Feb.2004).

Alexandre of ATDB - www.aerotransport.org wrote: "6850 is c/n 26746. Made forced landing 04Aug72 (not 02Sep72 as in Air-Britain book). Wreck moved to Swartkop, then to Caesars Palace by 2001.
C/n 27099 was Sudan Air Force and I have seen suggestions it became 6850, but would like to see some evidence."
Morne Booij-Liewes added: "Caesars Palace has now been renamed Emperor's Palace after a change in ownership in 2005."

 

I came across this on Facebook in March 2019, someone posted a Convair photo at an Auto Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. Google's satellite map has not recorded it yet. Below photo (without name) I found on
www.sa-venues.com/attractionswc/wijnland-auto-museum.php
Convair ZS-LYL at Auto Museum in Capetown
Identified as Convair CV580 ZS-LYL (c/n 39; see also Flickr.com photographed in 2014)

According to ATDB.aero 'trucked 26/9/17 to Wijnland Auto Museum'. C/n 39 history by Aerotransport.org:
History of ZS-LYL by ATDB.aero

I had a note it was registered C-GOFB for Watson Skyways (Wawa,ONT.) on 07Jun12 (source: Aviation Letter Dec.2012), but I don't see that among the above operators. Instead I found C-GOFB being a deHavilland Canada DHC-3T Vazar Turbine Otter (A.Net, 2008) for Watson's Skyways.

ET-AJH at Asmara C-47A ET-AJH (c/n 19283) is seen here at "Expo Park" in Asmara, Eritrea, photographed by Eric Taylor in June 2006.

Read more about Eric's Survivors at Asmara.

CCCP-12114 Another photo by Eric Taylor, he wrote:
"This is An-12BP CCCP-12114 in Asmara's Expo Grounds, on the southern outskirts of the city; june 2006."
Aad v.d. Voet provided the c/n: 402411.

 

Oleg sent me this tale of an An-12 preserved (if that is the word for it) at (Expo di) Asmara:
"Just happened to stumble upon your webpage, concerning a somewhat castrated hull of AN-12 CUB now on display at the recreational park grounds in the Southern suburbs of Asmara, Eritrea.
Part of my history: in 1986 I was serving with the Soviet Military Advisers team and in August I had got new assignment to Asmara.
Once I was accompanying our Commanding General on his visit to the Asmara AF Base. There at the outskirts of the field we saw a damaged Soviet AN-12. The plane had been hit by a couple of small fragments of shrapnel produced by explosion of some EPLF rocket. It was an interesting case – one of those splinters penetrated forward starboard section skin hitting oxygen equipment package located on rear bulkhead of the pressurized passengers’ cabin (just aft of flight deck). Small punctures – critical damage: flight deck and pressurized cabin were burned-down.
Relief squadron commander declared the aircraft beyond salvage and decided to cannibalize her.
The plane had been gradually stripped of engines, avionics, landing gears, etc. when our General happened to pass by… Bang! Generals are prone to have sparks of genius: the plane would be converted into the make-shift Barracks for the enlisted personnel of the Soviet signal detachment at the Advisers’ Group HQ (Kagnew Station)! The inventive moron would not be bothered by the fact that signal platoon troops had been already billeted in the rather comfortable rooms (in the former US Officers’ Club house). General just had his whim!

In the next few days AF technicians dismantled wings and horizontal stabilizer, then two Signals warrant-officers were dispatched to prepare the airframe for towing into the down-town. They simply hacked the tail section off (down to the loading ramp) using simple axe and a push-pull felling saw!
The crippled hull then was towed to the rear fire gates of the Kagnew station (opening to Beirut street) and man-handled inside by combined efforts of the Soviet advisers team (the General would not leave the scene and was running around, adding to the confusion, shouting and directing privates and colonels alike – a big crowd of local bystanders quickly assembled, and Ethiopians were having BIG time, nearly laughing their heads off).
After two hours of pulling, pushing and swearing aloud, the crippled An-12 was placed against the wall of the former Officers Club.
In the next few days Soviet soldiers had dropped the hull on the worn-out car tires, appended it with skillfully carved wooden stairs 'Russian traditional village-style', lined the interior with canvas (tents taken from cargo trucks) and brought in beds and chairs.

One thing should be kept in mind – Asmara lays at an altitude of approximately 2.500 meters ASL, if I’m not mistaken. Therefore it is rather cold at night – and our soldiers had to sleep in their winter field jackets and Army shapkas, sometimes even covering themselves with mattresses against cold and moisture mountain air... During day time, it was all different and African sun was heating the aircraft metal mercilessly and the night shift signal operators had to strip off even their underwear trying to get some sleep in extricating oven heat!
The Commanding General, Chief Military Adviser, 2nd revolutionary Army group Asmara, Mr Cherevaschenko would not hear of complaints… he just had one more of his dreams come true and proudly presented his 'Invention' to the visiting Ethiopian and Soviet dignitaries alike…
There is some history behind this simple playground toy for Eritrean kids…. Here it has found a home– at least we’d left something good for kids to play with behind us: http://www.asmera.nl/asmara53.jpg

Courtesy Google Earth I can present the following photo to illustrate Oleg's story:
An-12 at Asmara

 

CCCP-11815 An-12 An-12BP CCCP-11815,
cn 7345101.
Photos by Eric Taylor, June 2006.
It was damaged upon landing (1994?): ASN report
In use as restaurant at
central busstation in
Massawa, Eritrea.		 An-12 restaurant Massawa

Off-airport Index page


To email me, click on the image and write the correct adress as given below
(replace -AT- by the @ symbol).

Sorry for the inconvenience, but this is because spam has increasingly become a problem.