MOTORBOOKS SIXTY GLORIOUS YEARS DOUGLAS DC-3 DAKOTA AIRLINER WW2 USAAF RAF RCAF RAAF KOREA VIETNAM HBDJ

HARDBOUND with DUSTJACK ***BRAND NEW CONDITION***

BY ARTHUR PEARCY (1995) 158 PAGES

INTO SERVICE AND WAR CLOUDS

FACTORY PRODUCTION

SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC

MIDDLE EAST

ALASKA ALEUTIANS

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA CBI / SEAC

BOAC

TROOP CARRIER COMMAND TCS USAAF

CASUALTY EVACUATION

AIRBORNE FORCES

ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCES RCAF

SUPER DC-3

BERLIN AIRLIFT

KOREAN WAR

VIETNAM WAR

AIR CARGO

US ARMY

UNITED NATIONS

AMERICAN AIRLINES, TWA, BRANIFF, BEA BRITISH EUROPEAN AIRWAYS, AER LINGUS, TRANS-CANADA, LUFTHANSA, AIR FRANCE, NORTHEAST AIRLINES, WESTERN AIRLINES, MID-CONTINENT AIRLINES, PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS, UNITED, DELTA, CONTINENTAL, PIEDMONT, OZARK, SOUTHERN AIRWAYS, TRANS-TEXAS, FRONTIER, WEST COAST, LAKE CENTRAL, NORTH CENTRAL, ALOHA AIRLINES, MOHAWK AIRLINES, HAWAIIAN AIRLINES

WW2 C-47 SKYTRAIN TROOP CARRIER SQUADRON, C-47 SKI INSTALLATION, EDO FLOAT INSTALLATION, GLIDER TUG PICKUP, BERLIN AIRLIFT

CLOSE-UP DETAIL PHOTOS: ENGINE, PROPELLER, SPEED PACK, LANDING GEAR, TAIL WHEEL, JATO, FUSELAGE BOARDING LADDER, THROTTLE QUADRANT

WW2 USAAF PILOT TRAINING

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Additional Information from Internet Encyclopedia

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line service with various military operators through the 1950s.

The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 in numerous modifications that included being fitted with a cargo door and a strengthened floor.

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. The U.S. Naval designation was R4D. More than 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City plant produced 5,354 C-47s from March 1943 until August 1945.

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. Besides dropping large formation of Allied Airborne Division in Normandy on D-day, in Holland during Operation Market Garden (Arnhem) and Operation Varsity (Rhine Crossing), 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 flying "The Hump" from India into China. The expertise gained flying "The Hump" was later be used in the Berlin Airlift, in which the C-47 played a major role, until the aircraft were replaced by Douglas C-54 Skymasters.

In Europe, the C-47 and a specialized paratrooper 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 United States.

The United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command had Skytrains in service from 1946 through 1967.

With all of the aircraft and pilots having been part of the Indian Air Force prior to Independence, both the Indian Air Force and Pakistan Air Force used C-47s to transport supplies to their soldiers fighting in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947.

Several C-47 variations were used in the Vietnam War by the United States Air Force, including three advanced electronic warfare variations, which sometimes were called "Electric Gooneys" designated EC-47N, EC-47P, or EC-47Qs depending on the engine used. EC-47s were also operated by the Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian Air Forces. A gunship variation, using three 7.62mm miniguns, designated AC-47 "Spooky" often nicknamed "Puff the Magic Dragon" also was deployed.

The Royal Canadian Air Force and later, the Canadian Armed Forces employed the C-47 for transportation, navigation, and radar training, as well as for search and rescue operations from the 1940s to the 1980s.

The Lisunov Li-2, originally designated PS-84 (NATO reporting name "Cab"), was a license-built version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by Factory #84 in Moscow-Khimki and, after evacuation in 1941, at TAPO in Tashkent. The project was directed by aeronautical engineer Boris Pavlovich Lisunov.  The Soviet Union received its first DC-2 in 1935. Although a total of 18 DC-3s had been ordered on 11 April 1936, the Soviets purchased 21 DC-3s for operation by Aeroflot before World War II. A production license was awarded to the Soviets on 15 July 1936. Lisunov spent two years at the Douglas Aircraft Company, between November 1936 and April 1939 translating the design. One of the engineers who accompanied him to Douglas was Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev. The Soviet version was given the designation PS-84 - Passazhirskiy Samolyot 84, passenger airplane 84 (i.e. made in GAZ/State Plant No. 84). The design incorporated 1,293 engineering change orders on the original Douglas drawings, involving part design, dimensions, materials and processes.  Some of the changes were substantial, such as the use of the Russian Shvetsov ASh-62IR engines, a Soviet development of the nine-cylinder Wright R-1820.

The Shôwa L2D and Nakajima L2D, given the designations: Shôwa Navy Type 0 Transport and Nakajima Navy Type 0 Transport, were license-built versions of the Douglas DC-3. The L2D series, numerically, was the most important Japanese transport in World War II. The L2D was given the Allied code name Tabby.

Variants

C-47: Initial military version of the DC-3 with seats for 27 troops, 965 built including 12 to the United States Navy as R4D-1

C-47A: C-47 with a 24-volt electrical system, 5,254 built including USN aircraft designated R4D-5

RC-47A: C-47A equipped for photographic reconnaissance and ELINT missions

SC-47A: C-47A equipped for Search Air Rescue; redesignated HC-47A in 1962

VC-47A: C-47A equipped for VIP transport role

C-47B: Powered by R-1830-90 engines with superchargers and extra fuel capacity to cover the China-Burma-India routes, 3,364 built

VC-47B: C-47B equipped for VIP transport role

XC-47C: C-47 tested with Edo Model 78 floats for possible use as a seaplane

C-47D: C-47B with superchargers removed after the war

AC-47D: Gunship aircraft with three side-firing .30 in (7.62 mm) Minigun machine guns

EC-47D: C-47D with equipment for the Electronics Calibration, of which 26 were so converted by Hayes in 1953; prior to 1962 was designated AC-47D

NC-47D: C-47D modified for test roles

RC-47D: C-47D equipped for photographic reconnaissance and ELINT missions

SC-47D: C-47D equipped for Search Air Rescue; redesignated HC-47D in 1962

VC-47D: C-47D equipped for VIP transport role

C-47E: Modified cargo variant with space for 27–28 passengers or 18–24 litters

C-47F: YC-129 re-designated, Super DC-3 prototype for evaluation by USAF later passed to USN as XR4D-8

C-47L/M: C-47H/Js equipped for the support of American Legation United States Naval Attache (ALUSNA) and Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) missions

EC-47N/P/Q: C-47A and D aircraft modified for ELINT/ARDF mission, N and P differ in radio bands covered, while Q replaces analog equipment found on the N and P with a digital suite, redesigned antenna equipment and uprated engines

C-53 Skytrooper: Troop transport version of the C-47

XC-53A Skytrooper: One aircraft with full-span slotted flaps and hot-air leading edge deicing

C-53B Skytrooper: Winterised version of C-53 with extra fuel capacity and separate navigator's station, eight built

C-53C Skytrooper: C-53 with larger port-side door, 17 built

C-53D Skytrooper: C-53C with 24V DC electrical system, 159 built

C-117A Skytrooper: C-47B with 24-seat airline-type interior for staff transport use, 16 built

VC-117A: Three redesignated C-117s used in the VIP role

SC-117A: One C-117C converted for air-sea rescue

C-117B/VC-117B: High-altitude superchargers removed, one built and conversions from C-117As all later VC-117B

C-117D: USN/USMC R4D-8 redesignated

LC-117D: USN/USMC R4D-8L redesignated

TC-117D: USN/USMC R4D-8T redesignated

VC-117D: USN R4D-8Z redesignated

YC-129: Super DC-3 prototype for evaluation by USAF redesignated C-47F and later passed to USN as XR4D-8. Wright R-1820 engines uprated to 1425 hp.

CC-129: Canadian Forces designation for the C-47 (post-1970)

XCG-17: One C-47 tested as a 40-seat troop glider with engines removed and faired over

R4D-1 Skytrain: USN/USMC version of the C-47

R4D-3: Twenty C-53Cs transferred to USN

R4D-5: C-47A variant 24-volt electrical system replacing the 12-volt of the C-47; redesignated C-47H in 1962, 238 transferred from USAF

R4D-5L: R4D-5 for use in Antarctica. Redesignated LC-47H in 1962. Photos of this type show the removal of underslung engine oil coolers typical of the R-1830 engine installation; apparently not needed in the cold polar regions.

R4D-5Q: R4D-5 for use as special ECM trainer. Redesignated EC-47H in 1962

R4D-5R: R4D-5 for use as a personnel transport for 21 passengers and as a trainer aircraft; redesignated TC-47H in 1962

R4D-5S: R4D-5 for use as a special ASW trainer; redesignated SC-47H in 1962

R4D-5Z: R4D-5 for use as a VIP transport; redesignated VC-47H in 1962

R4D-6: 157 C-47Bs transferred to USN; redesignated C-47J in 1962

R4D-6L, Q, R, S, and Z: Variants as the R4D-5 series; redesignated LC-47J, EC-47J, TC-47J, SC-47J, and VC-47J respectively in 1962

R4D-7: 44 TC-47Bs transferred from USAF for use as a navigational trainer; redesignated TC-47K in 1962

R4D-8: R4D-5 and R4D-6 remanufactured aircraft with stretched fuselage, Wright R-1820 engines, fitted with modified wings and re-designed tail surfaces; redesignated C-117D in 1962

R4D-8L: R4D-8 converted for Antarctic use, redesignated LC-117D in 1962

R4D-8T: R4D-8 converted as crew trainers, redesignated TC-117D in 1962

R4D-8Z: R4D-8 converted as a staff transport, redesignated VC-117D in 1962

Dakota I: RAF designation for the C-47 and R4D-1

Dakota II: RAF designation for nine C-53 Skytroopers received under the lend lease scheme. Unlike the majority of RAF Dakotas these aircraft were therefore dedicated troop transports, lacking the wide cargo doors and reinforced floor of the C-47.

Dakota III: RAF designation for the C-47A.

Dakota IV: RAF designation for the C-47B.

Airspeed AS.61: Conversion of Dakota I aircraft

Airspeed AS.62: Conversion of Dakota II aircraft

Airspeed AS.63:  Conversion of Dakota III aircraft