U-6A Beaver All-Purpose Utility Transport

Last updated: 13 Sep 2021

Point of Contact
Naval Air Systems Command
Public Affairs

47123 Buse Road, Unit IPT
Bldg. 2272, Suite 075
Patuxent River, MD 20670-5440

(301) 757-1487

Description
The Beaver was designed as an all-purpose utility capable of being equipped with wheels, skis, standard floats, or amphibious floats. The wings are high-mounted and rectangular with blunt tips. One piston engine is mounted in the nose section. A later development, MK III, has a turboprop engine, which changes the configuration of the nose significantly. The fuselage is club-shaped with blunt nose and sharply tapered tail section. The tail flats are high-mounted on body and equally tapered with blunt tips. It was equipped with a belly camera hatch and could be fitted with canoe racks. It has seen wide service around the world for all types of transportation requirements. Among its many uses were forest patrol, water bombing, parachute drops, aerial photography, aerial fish stocking, transportation, and cargo delivery. The aircraft's reliability and stability make it ideal for these types of operation.

Features
The U-6A is the military version of the deHavilland DHC-2 used for many years by commercial industry for messenger service, light cargo transport, and reconnaissance duties.

Background
The U-6A "Beaver" was manufactured by deHavilland Aircraft of Canada, Ltd. Nearly 1,700 DHC-2 Beavers were built by deHavilland Canada between 1947 and 1967; of those, about 970 went to the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force as U-6As. The principal mission of the U-6A was aerial evacuation of litter and ambulatory patients. Other missions included courier service, passenger transport, light cargo hauling, reconnaissance, rescue, and aerial photography. At the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (TPS), gliders get to altitude with a little help from one of the two TPS U-6A Beavers via a towline.

Service
Navy

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Trainer and Utility

Contractor: deHavilland

Date Deployed: 1952

Unit Cost: $45,000

Propulsion: One Pratt & Whitney 450 hp R985 Wasp Junior SB-3 reciprocating radial engine

Length: 30 feet 4 inches (9.24 m)

Height: 10 feet 5 inches

Wingspan: 48 feet (14.64 m)

Weight: Maximum Design Takeoff Weight 5,100 pounds; Maximum payload 1,675 pounds

Airspeed: 163 miles per hour maximum

Ceiling: 18,000 to 20,000 feet

Range: 455 miles

Crew: 2 pilots and 5 crew

Armament: None

Point of Contact
Naval Air Systems Command
Public Affairs

47123 Buse Road, Unit IPT
Bldg. 2272, Suite 075
Patuxent River, MD 20670-5440

(301) 757-1487

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