From

First off I want to extend my thanks to Mr. Lloyd Hayslip (Aircraft Maintenance Supervisor) and Mr. Hill Goodsby, museum historian of the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola for their assistance in obtaining the following information concerning aircraft of the museum that have Operation Deep Freeze associations.

C-47H (12418) Nickname "Que Sera Sera" is at the museum in all it's Antarctic dress including the skis. All indications are that it in fact is still owned by the Smithsonian Institute and on extended loan. Operation Deep Freeze authenticity on this one goes without saying.

U-1B (Otter) (BUNO unknown but modexd 665) came to the museum from NAS Pensacola when it was retired, however Hill has researched it and it is certified to have operated in Deep Freeze. He has also written an article on this aircraft and will be providing me with a copy later.

UH-34D (150227) is at the museum and at one time was painted with a color scheme representative of the H-34s that operated on the ice; however, it is pretty well assumed that this aircraft does not have any authentic Antarctic service.

Cessna 180F (51246) is no longer at the museum, however pictures show that the nose contains a statement something similar to "Arctic Research Program" and, althought it was not real distinguishable, appears to contain an emblem similar to CTF43. Hill did not think it had been to the South Pole but was not sure and two OAEs have since confirmed its existence in McMurdo and the Pole. Paraphrasing their reports, One writes "My cruisebook circa 71 shows Captain Elgin Long stopped @ McMurdo during his round the world flight over the poles, being greeted by Capt Van Reeth and Cdr Lefty Nordhill. Dated Nov 24, '71 and the other writes the Cessna did in fact land at the South Pole, it was '68 or '69. If I remember right he made it to the pole but crashed on takeoff trying to leave".

Additional info on the subject:
Jim's reply to my message. Interesting how things fall together.

The aircraft "QueSeraSera" was loaned/given by the Navy to the Smithsonian, as the NA Museum at Pensacola had not developed at that time. As the NA museum support grew and moved from the small hangar and they gained custody of all the Naval aircraft displayed at the bases they also gained "QSS". All the aircraft, which were on display at NAS Cecil Field belong to the NA Museum. They (the display aircraft have been removed from Cecil Field) have all been reassigned to new homes.

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I am a member of the NA Museum and VX-6 1965-70. My cousin Steve Dudra (VX-6 55-57) was flight radio on Que Sera Sera from the States to the Ice, up till the time his crew was bumped from the aircraft so the primary SP flight crew could make their flight. As they 'dinged' their aircraft and it could not make the flight. "QSS" was originally at the Silver Hill Museum near Washington for many years. I got a chance to see it long before I made my first trip to the Ice. The last few times I had been to the NA Museum at Pensacola, "QSS" was in cleaning and restoration. Prior to that it was in the display area near the front of the museum. In my discussions with the folks at the museum, I have discovered many do not know the significance of the specific aircraft they have.
Preserving an aircraft type seems to be the norm, as researching the in-depth history of each is beyond the interest of the average visitor. But, this is only my personal observation. Steve went on to complete his 20 years in the Navy and retire as a Chief into the Orlando area. I did my 30 and retired in 1990 into the Jacksonville area.