Bharat Rakshak:Indian Air Force

Hobbycraft 1/72 DHC-3 Otter

The first batch of Otters for the Indian Air force was received from Canada in Sep 1956 to supplant earlier received Devons in the light utility role. No 41 squadron was the first sqn to convert. The Otter’s main role was supplanting porters and mules carrying supplies and evacuating wounded from the unreachable airstrips in the hills of Assam in India ’s Far East in the tri junction of Tibet , India and Burma . The aircraft was constantly in action in 1960s while ousting the Portuguese from the enclave of Goa in Dec 61, supporting mountain troops operating against the Chinese invasion in Oct 62 and in support of action against Pakistani forces along the western front in Sep 65 and Dec 71. Its greatest moment of glory was when airlifting reinforcements in the shape of the 4/11 Dogras and heavy mortars into the Chinese besieged Walong airstrip. The Otters flew their last mission into Walong on 16 Nov 62 to evacuate wounded as Chinese shells continuously bracketed the strip, One Otter being lost on the ground. The Otter continued in service till 1995 being finally replaced by the Dornier 228. All the otters were stored at kanpur/Chakeri until sold back to Canadian bush airlines. Initial otters were received in the then standard silver scheme and some were camouflaged grey/green, brown/green for the 62 and 65 ops. All otters later became overall olive like their Caribou counterparts. Some otters were also in light blue/green and some were modified for VIP carriage with the standard dark blue/sky scheme of the VIP sqn. The ac provided yeoman service in its 40 yrs in the IAF, its niche STOL capabilities prevented it from being fully replaced by any other type even today. I bought this model (with skis) a long time ago but was daunted by the surgery required to convert it to the wheeled version. So here it is with completely scratch built undercarriage and wheels. I’ve chosen the rare green/grey scheme, basically RAF WW II temperate colours. I’ve still to finish it with the white serial (impossible to print on my printer).