02/28/2011. Remarks by Jack McKillop: "This Douglas Model DC-3A-456 was ordered by the USAAF as a C-47A-75-DL s/n 42-100931 and was delivered on January 7, 1944. Initially assigned to the Air Transport Command, this aircraft was sent to England in March 1944 and served with the 97th Troop Carrier Squadron, 440th Troop Carrier Group and based at Exeter, Devonshire, England until moving to France in September 1944.

The aircraft returned to the US in September 1945 and was retained in the post war USAAF/USAF. Between 1945 and 1956, it served with the Air Transport Command, Continental Air Forces, Air Technical Service Command, Nevada Air National Guard, and the Strategic Air Command. It made a forced landing at Norton AFB, San Bernadino, California on April 19, 1956 and the aircraft was sold to and rebuilt by Remmert Werner of St. Louis, Missouri as a DC-3C registered N56U.

On May 25, 1957, it was sold to N.J. Neill in Canada and registered CF-JUV. On March 21, 1958, it was sold to Trans Canada Pipe Lines Ltd. of Toronto, Ontario. It was resold in Canada and from February 1959 to 1976 it was owned/operated by four companies: Vendomatic Ltd. (February 24, 1959), Du-plate Canada Ltd. (March 10, 1959), Smith & Stone Ltd. (September 24, 1962), and again Du-plate Canada Ltd. (December 23, 1964).

(Norman Sheppard Collection)

In 1976 it was sold to Northern Thunderbird Air of Prince George, British Columbia. It was again sold to Knight Air Ltd. of Fort St. John, British Colombia in May 1976 and used in support of oil exploration by MacKenzie Valley Oil. In May 1980 it was sold to North Cariboo Air of Fort St. John, British Columbia and reregistered to Northern Cariboo Flying Service in 1983.

The Canadian registration was canceled in March 1989 and it was sold to Classic Airlines Corp. of Spokane, Washington, USA and registered N394CA and reregistered to Salair, Inc., the owner of Classic Airlines, on July 21, 1992. On October 20, 1994 it was sold to Era Aviation of Anchorage, Alaska for tourist flights in the state. It was sold to private owners in the US on April 19, 1995, registered N1944M and placed in storage at Reno, Nevada at the end of 2003 until sold to Courtesy Aircraft Sales of Rockford, Illinois on April 1, 2005.

On May 9, 2008 it was sold to N1944M LLC of Wilmington, Delaware and reregistered N16005 and is still registered as of this date. The aircraft has been restored in American Airlines markings as NC16005 'Flagship Orange County' at John Wayne-Orange County Airport, Santa Ana, California. The original NC16005 was a DST-144 delivered to American Airlines as 'Flagship Texarkana' on July 12, 1936 and was impressed by the USAAF in WW II as a C-49E s/n 42-56092."