DC-47B Skytrain Dakota Cockpit 'Gooney Bird' Aircraft. GAV 2267-236
One of the most famous airplanes ever built, the "Skytrain", more commonly called the "Gooney Bird", saw action in three wars - something only a handful of aircraft can claim. Other nicknames that stuck on this Douglas product were: Dakota, Dizzy Three and Spooky. Used in every theater of the war, the C-47 was the backbone of the USAAF transport service. The Gooney Bird flew in the heat and the humidity of the Pacific to the frozen steppes of the Soviet Union. Not only did it simply carry cargo, it was the standard glider tug from 1942 onwards, playing a critical role in Operations Overlord - the invasion of France in 1944. During the first two months of the battle for Guadalcanal, Allied forces there were depended on the C-47 for all fuel, bombs and small arms ammunition, which were flown in from bases 650 miles away. On return flights the C-47 often carried seriously injured Marines to the rear for additional medical treatment. During the Japanese invasion of Burma, one pilot reportedly crammed over 70 refugees into a Gooney Bird and flew them to safety. This versatile aircraft also was the first weather reconnaissance aircraft to fly. It was used for photo reconnaissance , electronic warfare and as the platform for he first gunship, appearing in South Vietnam in the early 1960s. Called "Puff, the Magic Dragon", the AC-47 could put a 20mm slug in every square foot of a football field with a 3-second burst from its three electrically operated miniguns. Painted black and using red tracer rounds, the Viet Cong thought that Puff was a god, wreaking vengeance on them with its long red tongue. It soon became one of the most feared weapons in Southeast Asia, and much beloved by the "grunts". More than C-47s were still on Air Force rolls in 1961, and even now thousands of Gooney Birds still ply the airways serving governments, small airlines and bush pilots around the world. From 1941 thru to 1945 a total of were purchased by the USAAF and US Navy. Plus some
Size: 6031px × 4043px
Location: Dalcross Airport, Inverness. Highland Region. Scotland. United Kingdom.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, -1830-90, -47, -47b, -47s, .., 000, 1830-92, 2, 3, 5, 10, 354, 364, 1943, 1945., aeroplane, air, aircraft, airliner, ampy, armed, atlantique, august, aviation, beach, built, california, capacity, cargo, carrier, carrying, china-burma-india, city, civilian, control, controls, countries, coventry, cover, dakota, dc-3, dc-3s, dc-47b, designation, dials, differed, display, door, engines, equipped, extra, fitted, floor., forces, freight, fuel, ii, included, instrumentation, instruments, interior, long, march, modifications, modified, monica, naval, numerous, oklahoma, oklahoma., operators, panel, passenger, piston, plant, pollution, power, powered, pratt, produced, r4d., radial, role, routes, santa, serial, skytrain, strengthened, superchargers, transport, troop, troops, twin, vip, war, wasp, whitney, world, wounded., ww2
