De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou - Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, Albion Park Rail, NSW
Posted by: 
Tuena
S 34° 33.662 E 150° 47.455
56H E 297329 N 6173418
A De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou on display at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society's (HARS) museum.
Waymark Code: WMWYQ5
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 10/31/2017
Views: 5
The HARS website (
visit link) gives the following information about this aircraft & A4-234 in particular. The A4 of the serial number is not displayed on the aircraft.
De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou
Built in Canada by Hawker De Havilland as a rugged STOL (Short Take Off & Landing) battlefield cargo aircraft. Designed to land on rough dirt runways or roads right near the battle front to quickly resupply troops and evacuate wounded. The Caribou can take-off in ~220m and land in ~200m (even less into a head wind).
The Caribou was first flown in July 1958. The RAAF ordered its first Caribou in 1963 to replace the existing Dakota transport aircraft. A total of 29 were acquired over the years.
The Caribou can carry 32 fully armed troops, 22 stretcher cases or 2 x Land Rover (Jeep) or up to ~4 tonnes of supplies and munitions. It has a large rear access ramp for easy unloading and loading. These can be opened in flight to allow paratroopers to jump out or to drop cargo with parachutes.
History of A4-210 and A4-234
Our aircraft A4-210 & A4-234 entered RAAF service in late 1964 and 1965 respectively. Both are Vietnam veterans where they were part of RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam.
A4-234 was famously the last RAAF aircraft out of Vietnam and flew home to Australia in February 1972. Both aircraft were retired from the RAAF service in late 2009 with ~19,000 flight hours each. They were kept in open air storage at Oakey until 2011 when HARS successfully won the tender for the two aircraft plus spares.
Both aircraft are totally airworthy and are in excellent condition. They are a flying memorial to all Australian Service personnel who served in the Vietnam War.
The Australian & New Zealand Military Aircraft Serials & History (
visit link) says of this aircraft:
Delivered to RAAF 08/65.
Served with 35 Sqn in Vietnam 05/1970 - 02/1972.
Was in service 38 Sqn.
Retired to storage Oakey 7/09/2009
Was in storage at Oakey awaiting disposal.
Acquired along with A4-210 and 6 semi trailer loads of spare parts by HARS 09/2011.
Intended to fly for another 20 years as the "Vietnam Veterans Memorial Flight"
Departed Oakey 2/11/2011 for Albion Park.
Civil registration VH-VBB.