Douglas C-47 Skytrain

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C-47A USAAF Serial #43-48052

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota was a military transport that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner.

History

During World War II, the armed forces of many countries used the C-47 and modified DC-3s for the transport of troops, cargo and wounded. Over 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The C-47 was vital to the success of many Allied campaigns, in particular those in the jungles of New Guinea and during Burma Campaign where the C-47 (and its naval version, the R4D) alone made it possible for Allied troops to counter the mobility of the light-travelling Japanese army. But possibly its most influential role in military aviation was flying The Hump from India into China where the expertise gain would later be used in the Berlin Airlift in which the C-47 would also play its part.

In Europe, the C-47 and a specialized paratroop variant, the C-53 Skytrooper, were used in vast numbers in the later stages of the war, particularly to tow gliders and drop paratroops. In the Pacific, with careful use of the island landing strips of the Pacific Ocean, C-47s were even used for ferrying soldiers serving in the Pacific theater back to the US.

C-47s in British and Commonwealth service took the name Dakota. The C-47 also earned the nickname "Gooney Bird" during the European theater of operations.

After World War II the U.S. Navy also structurally modified a number of the early Navy R4D aircraft and re-designated the modified aircraft as R4D-8. The Air Force also continued to use the C-47 for various roles, including the AC-47 gunships - code named 'Puff the Magic Dragon' or 'Spooky' - and the EC-47 for counterintelligence during the Vietnam War.

Variants

C-47

Initial military version of DC-3.

C-47A

24 volt electrical system replacing the 12 volt of the C-47.

C-47B

R-1830-90 engines with superchargers and extra fuel capacity to cover the China-Burma-India routes

C-47D

C-47B with superchargers removed post war.

C-48 to C-52

various DC-3's taken into military service.

C-53

US Army passenger version of the C-47.

Specifications

Specifications (C-47B)

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Capacity: 28 troops or 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) of cargo
• Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
• Wingspan: 95 ft 6 in (29.11 m)
• Height: 17 ft (5.18 m)
• Wing area: 987 ft² (91.70 m²)
• Empty: 18,135 lb (8,225 kg)
• Loaded: 26,000 lb (11,800 kg)
• Maximum takeoff: 31,000 lb (14,100 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp R-1830-90C 14-cylinder radials with 1,200 hp (895 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 224 mph (360 km/h)
• Cruising speed: 160 mph (257 km/h)
• Range: 1,600 miles (2,575 km)
• Service ceiling: 26,400 ft (8.045 m)
• Rate of climb: 10,000 ft/min (3,050 m/min)
• Wing loading: 26.3 lb/ft² (128.6 kg/m²)
• Power loading: 10.8 lb/hp (6.59 kg/kW)

Units using the C-47 or Militarized DC-3

United States Army Air Force

Flown by the 438th Troop Carrier Group (87th, 88th, 89th, and 90th Troop Carrier Squadrons) of the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing. The 438th TCG was the lead TCG in the airborne invasion of Normandy June 6, 1944.

Royal Air Force

• Dakota I - C-47
• Dakota II - C-53
• Dakota III - C-47A
• Dakota IV - C-47B

• No. 10 Squadron - No. 18 Squadron - No. 21 Squadron
• No. 24 Squadron - No. 27 Squadron - No. 30 Squadron
• No. 31 Squadron - No. 46 Squadron - No. 48 Squadron
• No. 52 Squadron - No. 53 Squadron - No. 62 Squadron
• No. 70 Squadron - No. 76 Squadron - No. 77 Squadron
• No. 78 Squadron - No. 96 Squadron - No. 110 Squadron
• No. 113 Squadron - No. 114 Squadron - No. 117 Squadron
• No. 147 Squadron - No. 167 Squadron - No. 187 Squadron
• No. 194 Squadron - No. 204 Squadron - No. 206 Squadron
• No. 209 Squadron - No. 215 Squadron - No. 216 Squadron
• No. 231 Squadron - No. 233 Squadron - No. 238 Squadron
• No. 243 Squadron - No. 267 Squadron - No. 271 Squadron
• No. 353 Squadron - No. 357 Squadron - No. 435 Squadron (RCAF)
• No. 436 Squadron (RCAF) - No. 437 Squadron (RCAF) - No. 511 Squadron
• No. 512 Squadron - No. 525 Squadron - No. 575 Squadron
• No. 620 Squadron

South African Air Force

• 35 Squadron (Still in use, flying the Turbo Dakota.)
• No. 44 Squadron SAAF (employed in 1944 and 1945 to support operations in the Greek Civil War

Greek Air Force

• No. 355 Squadron RHAF (employed in the Greek Civil War from 1946 through 1948)

Douglas DC-3, Dakota, C-47 Skytrain and Lisunov Li-2 Cab Operators

• Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, China, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Finland, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Laos, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauretania, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, North Vietnam, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Papa New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Rhodesia, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea, South Vietnam, Somalia, Soviet Union, Sri Lanka, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, Uruguay, United Kingdom, United States (Army Air Corps, Army Air Force, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy), Venezuela, Vietnam, Yeman, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia,

References

• Flintham, V. (1990) Air Wars and Aircraft: A Detailed Record of Air Combat, 1945 to the Present. Facts on File. ISBN 0816023565
• Francillon, René (1979). McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume I. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-87021-428-4
• Yenne, Bill (1985). McDonnell Douglas: A Tale of Two Giants. Greenwich, CT: Bison Books. ISBN 0-517-442876

External links

• The Assault Glider Trust

Related content

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Related development

• Douglas DC-3

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• C-46 Commando

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the United States