JACK McKILLOP COLLECTION
No. 5375. Douglas DC-3-360 C-47 (EI-ACD c/n 9140) Aer Lingus "St. Patrick"
Photograph from Aer Lingus, taken at Dublin Airport, Ireland, late 1940s

Douglas DC-3-360 C-47

02/12/2011. Remarks by Jack McKillop: "Built as a Douglas Model DC-3-360, this aircraft was delivered to the USAAF on May 12, 1943 as C-47-DL Skytrain, s/n 42-32914. The C-47 was noted at Oran, Algeria, on May 12, 1943, in the UK assigned to the USAAF Eighth Air Force on February 20, 1944 and later assigned to the USAAF Ninth Air Force.

After the war, it was sold to Aer Lingus who took delivery on December 14, 1945 and it was registered EI-ACD. Aer Lingus named their aircraft after Irish saints and this DC-3 was named "St. Patrick" between 1945 and 1954, "St. Gall" between 1954 and 1957, and "St. Seanan" between 1957 and 1963.

In the 1950s, Aer Lingus purchased Fokker F.27-100s and Vickers 707 and 808 Viscounts which replaced the DC-3s on passenger flights. By the early 1960s, the DC-3s were relegated to cargo flights and EI-ACD was sold to the Portugese airline SATA (Sociedade Açoriana de Transportes Aéreos Ltda.) in the Azores Islands and registered CS-TAD on June 15, 1963; it was delivered to SATA on August 22, 1963. SATA provided inter-island service in the Azores.

In May 1975, the aircraft was registered in the US as N47027 to an unknown owner until sold to the Honduran airline LANSA (Lineas Aereas Nacionales SA) of La Ceiba in January 1976 and registered HR-LAK. By November 1980, the fuselage was seen at La Ceiba Airport and it is assumed that this aircraft was scrapped."


Created May 15, 2006