Douglas C-47 Dakota history

In December 1935 in North Carolina (USA), the first Douglas C-47 took off. Also known as the DC-3, this aircraft had to insure the civil and military logistics: 800 units were built for the civil aviation market, while 10,000 units were delivered for the military, from 1938.

The DC-3 is known as C-47 (U.S. Air Force) and R-40 (Marine Corps and U.S. Navy). Its role is initially primarily logistical: the "Dakota" transported military equipment, and it had a capacity and a speed more important than its predecessors. But the C-47 was also used as a carrier of military VIPs, communications relay, training aircraft and of course as parachutists transport aircraft.

Indeed, the airborne troops were born in 1942 in the United States, and the C-47, then known as the "Skytrain" is selected thanks to it its non-standard capacity. It took part in military operations in Sicily, during Operation Overlord in Normandy, and Holland during Operation Market Garden, but also in Asia and in the Pacific.

Built under license in the Soviet Union and in Japan, nearly 11,000 copies of the C-47 were manufactured between 1935 and 1946. After the Second World War, many Douglas C-47 joined the civil airlines around the world, since it could carry up to 28 passengers.

Douglas C-47 Dakota sheet

User: USA
Denomination: Douglas C-47 Skytrain

Lenght: 19,65 m
Wingspan: 28,96 m
Hauteur : 5,16 m
Curb weight : 7,700 kg
Maximum speed: 370 km/h
Range: 2,175 kilometers
Ceiling: 7,350 m

Transport : 28 passengers or 4536 kg cargo

Crew: 2 (pilot and co-pilot)

Motorisation : two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92, 14-star-cylinder of 1,200 hp each

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