Arkia's DC-3/C-47's helped keeping Israel's southernmost city - Eilat - connected to the rest of the country in the late 1950's / early 1960's. However, the airframe shown here never carried the registration 4X-AES, which did exist though but had c/n 11923 (USAAF FY 42-92154 > RAF FL562 > HB-ATO > NC74136 > OO-AFB > to Israel DF) and then to Arkia between April 2, 1957 and June 26, 1966. The history of the airframe shown here is best described at http://www.dc-3.co.za/dc-3-individual-aircraft-history/cn-6223.html . "4X-AES" has since been moved a few miles north to the new Eilat Airport LLER.

This aircraft was built as C-47-DL 42-5635 for the RAF (allocated serial FD769), but the aircraft was not taken up and went to BOAC (which operated the aircraft in RAF colours). It went to the newly established Israeli air force in 1950 as 4X-FAG/1401. The Israeli borrowed the aircraft to Uganda probably from the early or mid sixties until 1973. It then returned to the Israeli air force as 4X-FMF/040. It is now preserved at Eilat airport (with fake registration 4X-AES).