Courtesy of the United States Army Center of Military History

This aircraft is a single-engine, high-wing, STOL (short takeoff and landing) aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and is primarily known as a "bush" plane. It has a square fuselage, large doors, high lift wings with generous flaps. It was designed to be a rugged and versatile flying truck that could utilize primitive runways.

It was already in production for private use when the U. S. Army selected it for military use. Ultimately close to 1,000 were delivered to its various units. It served in both Korea and Vietnam as a liaison aircraft in a variety of missions including the hauling of freight and personnel, leading search and rescue missions, and for mapping of enemy positions.

The "Beaver" concept was enlarged, resulting in the "Otter." The success of the "Otter" also resulted in the design of a twin-engine turboprop version, the "Twin-Otter," which you can see on many commuter airlines all over the world today.

This particular airplane was used in electronics work. It has an unusual number of antennas, including the two "towel-bar" antennas on top of the wing. It served a tour in Vietnam and several years of distinguished search and rescue duty with the New Hampshire National Guard.

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