History of a DC-3 - CF-CUE
Originally built as a C-47A Skytrain (registration 42-93108) and delivered to the US Army Air Force on April 10, 1944. It flew with the USAAF for just three years before becoming a civilian aircraft, going to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation on August 23, 1947.
Its first civilian registration was as N41407 with the Charles Babb Company of Glendale, California on January 16, 1947. It later was bought by Canadian Pacific Airlines and registered as CF-CUE, Fin #284. It was transferred to the Department of Transport in Ottawa on February 13, 1956.
Of the five DC-3's owned by the Department of Transport in Canada, this was the only one equipped with a cargo door, having a convertible cargo and passenger interior. It was used to transport department personnel, including pilots, airworthiness inspectors and communications and finance officers throughout Canada.
It was retired in 1990 and acquired by Buffalo Airways in 1992 (named for Mel Bryan). CF-CUE was the first aircraft to land on the runway of what is now the Yellowknife airport.
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