03/31/2011. Remarks by Jack McKillop: "Produced by Douglas as a Model DC-3A-456 at Long Beach, California, USA, this aircraft was delivered to the USAAF as a C-47A-65-DL Skytrain with s/n 42-100523 on October 26, 1943. It arrived in England on January 20, 1944 and by August it was assigned to the 79th Troop Carrier Squadron, 436th Troop Carrier Group, Ninth Air Force. This group participated in airborne assaults on Southern France in August 1944, Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands in September 1944 and towed gliders and dropped paratroopers on Wesel, Germany supporting the Allied assault across the Rhine River in March 1945. By July 1945, this aircraft was back in the USA.

Sold as surplus after a taxiing mishap at Munich AB, Germany, January 31, 1946, it was transferred to the Reconstruction Finance Corp at Bush Field, Augusta, Georgia for sale. It was sold in Florida on May 9, 1946 and registered NC17071 and resold on July 5, 1946 and reregistered NC66055. The next sale took it to Colombia when it was sold to SAM (Sociedad Aeronautica Medelin SA) of Medelin. Initially registered C-501, it was later registered as HK-501. It was later sold in the US and registered N3932C.

On June 20, 1951, it was taken on strength by the RCAF as a Dakota Mk.III, s/n 10913. On June 26, 1970 it was redesignated CC-129, s/n 12968 on integration into the Canadian Armed Forces, and operated by the Air Navigation School of Training Command at CFB Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was struck off charge on August 25, 1975, and appeared on the Canadian registry as a DC-3C, C-GWYY owned by two corporations in Alberta.

This DC-3C returned to the US when sold to Basler Flight Service of Oshkosh, Wisconsin on May 7, 1978 registered N59316. It was sold to the Avco Corp of Cincinnati, Ohio on October 1978 but went back to Basler on July 23, 1980.

The last owner was McNeely Charter Service Inc. of West Memphis, Arkansas who purchased it on October 24, 1985. After 12-years of freighter service with the company the aircraft was damaged beyond repair in a forced landing in the Mississippi River due to fuel starvation on approach to its destination, West Memphis Municipal Airport, West Memphis, Arkansas, on November 7, 1997. The two crew (only occupants) escaped serious injuries."