By Adam Estes
Primus in Toto - First in Everything. That is the meaning of the Latin phrase painted within the emblem of the 62nd Troop Carrier Squadron emblazoned on the nose of a beautifully restored Douglas C-53D Skytrooper named The Yacht Club that was the subject of much attention during the 2024 EAA Airventure at Oshkosh. It is an aircraft with an incredible history behind it and a big journey ahead of it still, as it prepares to fly to a new home in Brazil.
The aircraft in question was originally manufactured at Douglas Aircraft’s Santa Monica, California factory as construction number 11665, it was delivered to the United States Army Air Force as serial number 43-68738 on March 30, 1943, and was flown first to Daggett Army Airfield (now Barstow-Daggett Airport), CA, then to Long Beach for further modifications before proceeding eastward on it way to Europe. According to its Army Air Force record card, 42-68378 was flown to Sedalia Army Airfield (now Whiteman AFB), MO, and Lawson Army Airfield at Fort Benning (now Fort Moore), GA. Soon afterwards, 42-68738 was flown to Morrison Field (now West Palm Beach International Airport) to join the 62nd Troop Carrier Squadron, 314th Troop Carrier Group, 52d Troop Carrier Wing. Morrison Field was also the last stop in the continental United States for aircraft set to fly the South Atlantic ferry route.
During the Second World War, aircraft being ferried from the United States to Europe either flew the North Atlantic route through Labrador, Greenland, and Iceland on the way to Britain, or on stops through the Caribbean, British Guiana and Brazil before crossing the South Atlantic from Natal, Brazil, to the British-held Ascension Island before landing at Dakar in French West Africa (now Senegal) to join the 12th Air Force in North Africa, just as the North African campaign was coming to a close, and clandestine preparations were underway for Operation Husky; the invasion of Sicily. On May 11, 1943, 42-68738 and the rest of the 314th TCG began the long series of ferry flights to Africa to join the 12th Air Force, flying from Florida through the Caribbean with refueling stops in Puerto Rico, Antigua, and British Guiana before making their way through Brazil, with the last airfield in the Americas being Parnamirim Airport in Natal, Brazil, on the easternmost tip of Brazil’s Atlantic coast. From there they proceeded to the tiny British-held Ascension Island, halfway in the South Atlantic between South America and Africa. After refueling at Wideawake Field, they landed in Dakar, French West Africa, before proceeding further up into North Africa as the Axis forces were gradually driven off the African continent.
42-68738’s wartime records show that the aircraft would participate in the largest airborne assaults in the European Theater of Operations, such as Operation Husky (the invasion of Sicily), the invasion of Normandy, Operation Market Garden, and Battle of the Bulge. 42-68738 would sustain several close calls, such as when it was damaged on December 23, 1944 when an 88m Flak shell exploded off the left aileron, rendering it inoperable. But the flight crew on The Yacht Club was able to safely land at an American forward airbase and be repaired to fly again. In March 1945, The Yacht Club also participated in the final major airborne operation in Europe during WWII, Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine in Germany), and when the war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945, the US Army Air Force began rotating many of its now surplus bombers and transports back to the United States, including 42-68738, which was stricken from the USAAF’s inventory on October 28, 1945. It was then offered for sale through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the War Assets Administration.
With its military service having ended, 42-68738 was acquired by Trans World Airlines and became a DC-3A with the airline number 303 and the civil registration NC86558. Following a brief tenure with TWA, the aircraft also flew for a short period of time with Northeast Airlines and United, but by the mid-1950s, with larger passenger transports such as the Douglas DC-4 and Lockheed Constellation taking over the long-range routes, The Yacht Club was flown by numerous owners with the registration number N66W.
By 2000, the aircraft was re-registered as N353MM and was later painted in a black and white livery with the name Thunderbird Flying Service emblazoned on the top of its fuselage, and with a passenger interior for scenic flights. Later registered as N43XX, Thunderbird Flying Service was flown at numerous airshows and fly-ins in southern California, and could be seen at airports such as John Wayne, Long Beach, Flabob, Cable, and Chino to name a few. The aircraft was also flown to EAA Airventure at Oshkosh. In 2021, however, the aircraft was brought to Aerometal International of Aurora, Oregon, to be restored as a wartime C-53 Skytrooper. For the next three years, Aerometal’s team worked on the aircraft. While the plane does retain some passenger seats dressed up in military colors, the historic atmosphere for the aircraft is still clearly evident. The aircraft would also receive the name The Yacht Club, with the wartime emblem of the 62nd Troop carrier Squadron (now the US Air Force’s 62nd Airlift Squadron) painted on the nose of the C-53.
The Yacht Club made its debut airshow appearance at Oshkosh during the 2024 Airventure, but it is set to find a new home in the WS Aircraft Museum in Campo Largo, Brazil. Established in 2015, this collection of meticulously restored aircraft already includes a Stearman biplane, Piper Cub, and T-6 Texan among others. 42-68738 represents the largest aircraft in the museum’s inventory. However, the aircraft has since been flown back to Aurora for further work at Aerometal before it makes the long journey back to Brazil for the first time in over 80 years. While many North Americans may be sad to see The Yacht Club leave, it must be remembered that while plenty of other airworthy DC-3, C-47s and C-53s can be found in the USA, this will represent an exciting addition to the Brazilian warbird community. Best of luck to The Yacht Club in its future travels!
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