Douglas C-47 Skytrain

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

File:DakotaC3.jpg

C-47A Dakota at RIAT 2004.

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 after the war.
C-48 to C-52 - various DC-3s pressed into military service.
C-53 - US Army passenger version of the C-47.

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,

Specifications (C-47B)

General characteristics

Crew: 3
Capacity: 28 troops or 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) of cargo

Performance

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