Otter 437 was delivered to the United Nations Organisation (UN) on 15th February 1963 with serial 308. It was one of four delivered to the UN at that time, the other three being 433 (UN serial 305), 434 (UN serial 306) and 436 (UN serial 307). All four were packed into crates at  Downsview and shipped to the Congo, where they arrived at Leopoldville in June 1963. Three of the Otters (306, 307 and 308) were unpacked on arrival and transported by USAF Hercules to Aden in the Yemen where there was a requirement for Otters with the UN Observation Mission in the Yemen. In Aden, the three Otters were re-assembled and entered service with 134 Air Transport Unit (ATU), an RCAF unit which operated the Otters on behalf of the UN.

134 ATU also operated some Caribou aircraft, and had bases at Sanaa, Quizan and  Najran. Otters 306 and 308 were based at Najran. This operation continued until December 1963, when 134 ATU, was disbanded, and it was arranged to ferry the Otters to El Arish in Egypt where they would be put into storage with 115 ATU pending disposal. 115 ATU was another RCAF unit supporting a UN mission as part of the Arab-Israel cease fire. Both 306 and 308 encountered some difficulty on the ferry flight from Najran to El Arish, as the following extract from the 115 ATU history explains, referring to the 17th January 1964: “UN Otter 308 force landed in the desert fifty five miles from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia with a blown cylinder. The aircraft was towed to Jeddah. A crew was sent from El Arish on 4th February and changed the engine. The Otter was flown to El Arish on 29th February 1964. Also on 17th January, UN Otter 306 landed at Jeddah out of oil. Contamination was found in the oil filter. A crew was sent from El Arish on 4th February to repair 306 as well as change the engine on 308. Otter 306 was sold to Saudi Arabia on site”.

Having arrived at El Arish, Otter 308 remained in store there until sold to Field Aviation Company of Toronto on 15th July 1965. It was shipped back to Toronto, where it was rebuilt and sold to White River Air Services Ltd., of White River, Ontario, registered CF-SOX, later C-FSOX. The Otter continued to fly for White River Air Services until November 1974. That month, White River A/S became the parent company of Austin Airways Ltd., after which SOX flew for Austin Airways, based at Timmins, Ontario. In June 1981, the Otter was sold on to Leuenberger Air Service Ltd., of Nakina, Ontario. An incident was recorded on 20th February 1985. The Otter had landed at Ogoki Post, Ontario and while completing the landing roll, a gust of wind caused the aircraft to swing left and hit a snowbank. It was repaired and converted to a Vazar turbine Otter by Recon Air at Geraldton, Ontario. It flies alongside Leuenberger's other Otters C-GLCW (172) and C-GLCS (428) during the summer months, serving fishing lodges and the tourist industry.

To be updated.

Full history up to 2005 courtesy of Karl E Hayes © from DHC-3 Otter - A History (CD-ROM 2005)