(Douglas) DC-3 & C-47 @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Douglas DC-3 Douglas DC-3
    Douglas DC-3
  • Douglas C-47A Skytrain Douglas C-47A Skytrain
    Douglas C-47A Skytrain
  • Douglas DC-3 Douglas DC-3
    Douglas DC-3
  • C-47s<br>Tempelhof<br>1948 C-47s<br>Tempelhof<br>1948
    C-47s
    Tempelhof
    1948
  • Douglas DC-3 Douglas DC-3
    Douglas DC-3
  • Douglas C-47B Dakota IV Douglas C-47B Dakota IV
    Douglas C-47B Dakota IV
  • DC-3 Aigle Azur, 1953 DC-3 Aigle Azur, 1953
    DC-3 Aigle Azur, 1953
  • Douglas DC-3 Douglas DC-3
    Douglas DC-3
  • C47-A Skytrain C47-A Skytrain
    C47-A Skytrain
  • Douglas DC-3 Douglas DC-3
    Douglas DC-3
  • DC-3 DC-3
    DC-3
  • Douglas Dakota Douglas Dakota
    Douglas Dakota
  • DC-3 DC-3
    DC-3
  • Douglas C-117D Super Dakota (US Navy, 1967) Douglas C-117D Super Dakota (US Navy, 1967)
    Douglas C-117D Super Dakota (US Navy, 1967)
  • C-47 C-47
    C-47
  • C47-A Skytrain (1944) C47-A Skytrain (1944)
    C47-A Skytrain (1944)
  • Douglas DC-3 Douglas DC-3
    Douglas DC-3
  • C-47A Skytrain - USAAF C-47A Skytrain - USAAF
    C-47A Skytrain - USAAF
  • On Floats! On Floats!
    On Floats!
  • A Nakajima L2D2 at Zamboanga, in 1945 A Nakajima L2D2 at Zamboanga, in 1945
    A Nakajima L2D2 at Zamboanga, in 1945
  • Douglas DC-3D - Sabena, 1949 Douglas DC-3D - Sabena, 1949
    Douglas DC-3D - Sabena, 1949
  • A C47-65ARTP with PWCanada PT6-65AR turbines A C47-65ARTP with PWCanada PT6-65AR turbines
    A C47-65ARTP with PWCanada PT6-65AR turbines
  • Nakajima<br>L2D3 Tabby Nakajima<br>L2D3 Tabby
    Nakajima
    L2D3 Tabby
  • C-47B Dakota IV C-47B Dakota IV
    C-47B Dakota IV
  • Lisounov Li-2 Lisounov Li-2
    Lisounov Li-2
  • DC-3 - Manchester - 1949 DC-3 - Manchester - 1949
    DC-3 - Manchester - 1949
  • The XC-47 (1943) of which only one exemplar was built The XC-47 (1943) of which only one exemplar was built
    The XC-47 (1943) of which only one exemplar was built

Douglas DC-3 / C-47

The DC-3 was engineered by a team led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond, and first flew from Clover Field, California on December 17, 1935 (the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk). It was to become the most numerous transport aircraft of the century. The plane was the result of a marathon phone call from American Airlines CEO Cyrus Smith to Donald Douglas requesting the design of an improved successor to the DC-2. The amenities of the DC-3 (including sleeping berths on early models and an in-flight kitchen) popularized air travel in the United States. With only three refuelling stops, eastbound transcontinental flights across America taking approximately 15 hours became possible. Westbound trips took 17 hours 30 minutes - still a significant improvement over the competing Boeing 247. Before the arrival of the DC-3, such a trip would entail short hops in commuter aircraft, during the day, coupled with train travel overnight.

From June 1936, American Airlines is the first company to have flown the DC-3, with an order for 8 DST's (Douglas Sleeper Transport) and 12 DC-3's designed for the transportation of 21 passengers. Other U.S. airlines like United, TWA and Eastern ordered over 400 DC-3s.

During World War II, many civilian DC-3s were drafted for the war effort and nearly 10,000 military versions of the DC-3 were built, under the designations C-47, C-53, R4D and Dakota. Peak production of the type was reached in 1944 with 4853 being delivered. The armed forces of many countries used the DC-3 and its military variants for the transport of troops, cargo and wounded.

After the war, thousands of surplus C-47s were converted to civil service and became the standard equipment of almost all the world's airlines, remaining in front-line service for many years. The ready availability of ex-military examples of this cheap, easily-maintained aircraft (it was both large and fast by the standards of the day) jump-started the worldwide, post-war air transport industry.

Douglas had developed an improved version, with a greater cargo capacity and a different wing, which it attempted to sell during this time frame but with all these surplus aircraft, the Super DC-3 did not sell in the civil market. The US Navy had 100 of their early R4Ds converted to Super DC-3 standard as the R4D-8, later C-117D.

Numerous attempts were made to design a DC-3 replacement, over the next three decades but no single type could match the versatility, rugged reliability and economy of the DC-3 and it remained a significant part of air transport systems, well into the 1970s. The common saying among aviation buffs and pilots is that "the only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3." The aircraft's legendary ruggedness is enshrined in the light-hearted description of the DC-3 as "a collection of parts flying in loose formation."

Some of the more common uses of the DC3 have been aerial spraying, freight transport, passenger service, military transport and sport skydiving shuttling.

10,655 DC-3s were built at Santa Monica, California and Long Beach, California in both civil and military versions. Over 2,000 were built in Russia, under license, as the Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab). 485 were built in Japan, as the L2D Type 0 transport. More than 400 remained in commercial service by the end of the century.

A wide variety of engines was fitted to the DC-3 throughout the course of production. The most popular was the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Double Wasp radial, but both the Wright R-1820 Cyclone and the Pratt & Whitney R-2000 radials saw use. Some DC-3s were upgraded to use Rolls-Royce Dart or Armstrong Siddeley Mamba turbines.

The Basler BT-67 is a derivative type of the DC-3. Basler refurbished DC-3s, fitting them with PT-6 turbo-prop engines, lengthening the fuselage by over 3 feet and strengthening the airframes in selected areas.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain

Descendant of the Douglas Sleeper, an enlarged version of the DC-2, the C-47 became the military version of the DC-3. Its main modifications included a reinforcement of the cabin, 2,400 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-93 engines and large cargo doors. The first C-47 flew on December 17, 1935 and entered service in the USAAC in 1941. It was followed by a total of 963 machines, including model A (Pratt & Whitney engines) and model B (Wright Cyclone engines).

Lisounov Li-2

In 1936, the Soviet Union signed a contract with Douglas for the production of the DC-3 on their home land. Boris Lisunov spent three years in California to study the realisation of this project. Under the designation PS-84, a much modified DC3 was then constructed, equipped with less powerful Russian Shvetsov engines. Later renamed the Li-2, it entered service in the Aéroflot in 1940. The Li-2 was adapted for military use after the war had started and many versions were created :

  • Li-2P for passenger transport.
  • Li-2G & Li-2T for military and civilian freight transport.
  • Li-2D for para dropping.
  • Li-2R for surveillance and as a small bomber.
  • Li-2PG convertible passengers / freight.
  • Li-2DB long range version.
  • Li-2V with supercharged engines.

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