| | This aircraft was built as C-53D Skytrooper, USAAF s/n 42-68810, and delivered to USAAF on 6/16/43. It was assigned to North African theatre, arriving in Oran, Algeria on 8/14/43. Returning to USA at the end of the war, it was assigned to Reconstruction Finance Corp. on 9/1/45. Registered as NC86543, it was leased to TWA on 10/17/45, and purchased by them four years later. Subsequent changes of hands led to new registration in 1952 as N67B. The next year it became N671P, then N671G and later N163VW. In 1968 the plane was registered N889P while operated by Pointer Oil of Northfield, IL. October 1972 led to another change of hands to F.J. Lindsay of Ft. Lauderdale, FL before going to Skyways Aviation on 6/11/72. Joel Turpin’s comments continues the history from there |
