December 1, 2015 at 11:25 pm
I read that William Labussiere flew a Beech Staggerwing in Indochina following WWII. Can anyone provide details about this D.17S Staggerwing, including the purpose it was used for, color scheme, and perhaps some history? Even a biography of three war combat vet Labussiere would be welcome. Thank you for any suggestions, photos or references.
By: Farmgate - 13th January 2016 at 01:15
Dear Mssr. Counsel,
Thank you again for your extensive research including a full listing of all Staggerwings in French codes! Your work is much-appreciated ! I apologize for not responding sooner!
Thank you! Farmgate
By: J Boyle - 2nd December 2015 at 03:40
I have not had time to cross refer data with my copy of Peter Berry’s Staggerwing monograph to validate this further but I hope this helps!
Tim
What you provided matches Berry.
By: Consul - 2nd December 2015 at 00:54
For William Labussiere background this may help:
http://aerostories.free.fr/events/langson/
Using the following source you can establish that the Beech Staggerwing he operated was registered in the French Overseas Territories as F-OABR (c/n 4937)
The detailed history of the airframe is as follows:
4937 UC-43-BH 43-10889 1943-10-27 U.S. Army Air Force
4937 UC-43-BH 43-10889 194.-..-.. Oakland Airport (CA)
4937 UC-43-BH 43-10889 1946-11-14 Ex Inventory
4937 D17S PI-C93 194.-..-.. in Philippines
4937 D17S VR-HEE 1948-11-.. Lee Kim Bun
4937 D17S VR-HEE 1950-09-16 Eastern Air Associates
4937 D17S F-OABR 1951-08-21 CoA
4937 D17S F-OABR 1951-08-29 William Labussiere, Hanoi, Indo China
4937 D17S F-OABR 1953-03-04 written off at Xam Nho
4937 D17S F-OABR 1953-06-09 cancelled as destroyed
I have not had time to cross refer data with my copy of Peter Berry’s Staggerwing monograph to validate this further but I hope this helps!
Tim
By: J Boyle - 2nd December 2015 at 00:29
Can you provide a cn or registration number?
If you can, I have two books that might have some answers. about the aircraft/
BTW: Who is William Labussiere???