Douglas C-47 Skytrain plane in period camouflage markings including D Day 'invasion stripes'. Second World War transport plane flying at airshow
The Douglas DC-3 is a fixed-wing propeller-driven airliner. Its speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made. The major military version of which more than 10,000 were produced was designated the C-47 Skytrain in the USA and the Dakota in the UK. Many DC-3s and converted C-47s are still used in all parts of the world. Total production of all derivatives was 16, than 400 remained in commercial service in 1998. Production was as follows: 607 civil variants of the DC-3. 10,048 military C-47 and C-53 derivatives were built at Santa Monica, California, Long Beach, California, and Oklahoma City. 4,937 were built under license in Soviet Union as the Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab). 487 Mitsubishi Kinsei-engined aircraft were built by Showa and Nakajima in Japan, as the L2D Type 0 transport (Allied codename Tabby). Production of civil DC-3s ceased in 1942; military versions were produced until the end of the war in 1945. During World War II, many civilian DC-3s were drafted for the war effort and just over 10,000 US military versions of the DC-3 were built, under the designations C-47, C-53, R4D, and Dakota. Peak production was reached in 1944, with 4,853 being delivered. The armed forces of many countries used the DC-3 and its military variants for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded. The C-47 was vital to the success of many Allied campaigns, in particular those at Guadalcanal and in the jungles of New Guinea and Burma, where the C-47 (and its naval version, the R4D) made it possible for Allied troops to counter the mobility of the light-traveling Japanese army. Additionally, C-47s were used to airlift supplies to the embattled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne. Possibly its most influential role in military aviation, however, was D-Day
Size: 3940px × 2611px
Location: Abingdon, Oxon, UK
Photo credit: © Avpics / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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