Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Commercial airliner / military transport

Power Plant:

(DC-3A) Two 895 kw (1,200 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp fourteen-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engines; or
(DC-3B) Two 821 kw (1,100 hp) Wright GR-1820-G102 Cyclone nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engines

Specifications:

History:

The most famous and widely used transport aircraft of all time, the Douglas DC-3 was developed from the DC-1 and DC-2. The DC-1 was designed to a requirement of Trans World Airlines for an all-metal airliner able to carry 12 passengers at 235 km/h (146 mph) with the ability to take off from one of TWA’s aerodromes on one engine with a full payload and maintain height over the highest mountains on its routes on one engine. On 20 September 1932 TWA signed a contract for one DC-1 with an option on 60 further aircraft. The design incorporated the multi-cellular wing structure that had been developed by Northrop and the initial engine chosen was the Wright Cyclone of 530 kw (710 hp).

Rolled out on 22 June 1933 at Clover Field, California this aircraft, the only DC-1-109 X223Y (c/n 1137), made its first flight on 1 July 1933. The DC-1 survived for some years, eventually being lost in an accident as EC-AAE in December 1940 in Spain. Following the successful testing of the DC-1, TWA placed an order for 20, known as the DC-2, the first (NC14283) being flown for the first time on 11 May 1934. So successful was the DC-2 that in 1935, when the DC-3 was introduced, 23 United States airlines operated the type. A total of 130 DC-2s was completed for civil operators, a further 62 for military operations, and parts to make a further eight.

However, the DC-2 could only carry 14 passengers, so the Douglas design team decided to enlarge the fuselage to take three rows of three-abreast seating, making 21 seats. Wright Aeronautical Company at this time indicated it was able to increase the power of the engine to 746 kw (1,000 hp) and the Douglas engineers decided to build a new wider and longer fuselage, and a wing with a greater span. Known initially as the Douglas DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) the first aircraft X14988 (c/n 1494) made its first flight on Sunday, 17 December 1935, at Clover Field, which later became known as the Santa Monica Airport, California. The second DST (NC16001) flew on 4 June 1936. It was retained by Douglas for test flying before being handed over to American Airlines and becoming ‘Flagship Texas’. The DC-3 was slightly larger than the DC-2, and was designed to accommodate 24 passengers or be fitted to take 16 sleeping berths.

The type, which was placed in service by American Airlines on 25 June 1936, the first airline to take delivery, was initially powered by 686 kw (920 hp) Wright GR-1820-G5 Cyclone engines, but later 746 kw (1,000 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasps (DC-3A) and 821 kw (1,100 hp) Wright Cyclone G-102s (DC-3B) were installed.

The potential of the aircraft was soon noticed by the military, and an order was placed for 545 examples by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) in September 1940. These became known as the C-47 Skytrain. The type was later supplied to the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II under Lend-Lease arrangements, and the name Dakota was applied to these aircraft. In all 10,926 examples were built at three Douglas Aircraft Company facilities at Santa Monica, Long Beach, and Oklahoma. The DC-3 received a number of other appellations, including C-53, C-117, R-4D, etc, by other services.

A manufacturing licence was granted to Fokker in The Netherlands but it never went into production there. Nakajima in Japan also obtained a licence and the first Japanese aircraft was assembled in September 1938 for Dai-Nippon Airways. The State Aircraft Plant in the Soviet Union also obtained a licence, purchasing 18 aircraft in 1938-1939 and production commenced at that plant, American manufacturing methods being studied by Boris Lisunov. From 1940 production proceeded, the aircraft initially being known as the PS-84 but later being known as the Lisunov Li-2, of which examples still exist in Russia.

For the war years, production changed from the civil version of the DC-3 to the C-47 and C-53 variants. The C-53 was the US Army passenger carrying model, and the C-47 was the freight version. Whereas most DC-3s had Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines, the military version was generally fitted with the Wright Cyclone. The airline interior was modified to carry utility-type bucket seats along the cabin walls, and the maximum operating weight was increased from 11,340 kg (25,000 lb) to 13,290 kg (29,300 lb). The C-47A differed from the C-47 only in having a 24 volt electrical system.

In Australia a few DC-3s were operated by Australian National Airways (ANA) at the beginning of the war, and these were impressed by the RAAF for training wireless operators. DC-3-232 VH-UZJ (c/n 2002) became A30-1; DC-3-232 VH-UZK (c/n 2003) became A30-2; DC-3-G202A VH-ABR (c/n 2029) became A30-3; and DC-3-G202A VH–ACB (c/n 12285) became A30-4. The first two were returned to ANA during 1940.

Large numbers have been used by the Australian military services, particularly the RAAF, over the years, including: nine Dakota Is (A65-1 to A65-9); 50 Dakota IIIs (A65-10 to A65-59); and 65 Dakota IVs (A65-60 to A65-124). In addition, No 36 Squadron operated on loan from the Unied States one C-49 and 33 C-53s.

RAAF C-47s were also used for spraying experiments (A65-43), rain-making (A65-97 and A65-117), glider towing (A65-93), and research in the Antarctic (A65-81). This latter machine was tested with JATO rockets.

The C-47 was used by more Australian Defence Force Squadrons than any other aircraft type. These included Nos 2, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38 Squadrons; Nos 1 and 30 Communications Flights; the Governor General’s Flight from June 1948 to October 1950; the Antarctic Flight from June to December 1960; RAAF Transport Flight in Japan in 1955 and 1956; No 1 Service Flying Training School in 1941; Central Flying School from 1947 to 1980; the School of Air Navigation from 1950 to 1969; and the Aircraft Research & Development Unit (ARDU) at Edinburgh, SA from 1961 to 1999, the latter being the last unit to use the type, official retirement being on 26 March 1999 after 54 years of service.

The Douglas C-47 Dakota revolutionised air transport in the 1930s and was the mainstay of the RAAF in the transport role for many years until replaced by new modern designs. Some 124 Dakotas served with the RAAF between February 1943 and August 1945 and saw service in the freight, troop transport, medevac mission, para dropping, VIP flights, POW and refugee evacuation, flight training, supply and leaflet drops, mail delivery and other roles.

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) also operated four C-47s (N2-23, N2-43, N2-90 and N2-123). These aircraft were ex-RAAF machines which had their A65 serial applied until the RAN changed to the N2- designator late in the type’s service life.

Following the cessation of hostilities, large numbers of DC-3s and C-47s, etc, became available to civil operators throughout the world. In the order of 215 were registered in Australia, and these were used in a variety of roles. Until the advent of turbine-powered aircraft, the type formed the backbone of the Australian airline industry, serving with all the major airlines, including Qantas, Ansett, ANA, TAA (later Australian Airlines and then Qantas), East West Airlines and Butler Air Transport. The cost of fuel and other costs associated with running 60 year old aircraft has meant the type has almost disappeared from regular public transport (RPT) operations around the world and the largest operator of the type in this region in later years was Dakota National Air from Bankstown, NSW, operating tourist flights.

In 1949 the Super DC-3 appeared, with the cabin extended by 2 m (6 ft 7 in) to seat 31, re-designed wings and tail, and Pratt & Whitney R-2000 engines of 1,100 kw (1,475 hp). Only 100 were built, and these entered service with the US Navy as the R4-D8. More recently, DC-3s have been fitted with turbines, the Conroy conversion with Rolls Royce Darts, and the Basler conversion in South Africa with Pratt & Whitney PT-6s.

In 1979 the Australian Government announced that the remaining 16 Douglas C-47s still in RAAF service would be retired during 1980. In the event this did not occur until 1999, when the last few in service with ARDU at Edinburgh were auctioned, two of these going to the collection of the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS), initially at Bankstown, but later moving to the museum’s new premises at Albion Park, NSW where they became VH-EAE and VH-EAF.

One ex-RAAF machine (A68-69) was presented to the Berlin Airlift Museum in Germany to commemorate the part played by Australian aircrews in that operation. Anothers preserved included (N2-90) with the RAN Historic Flight for some years until transferred to HARS. Others have been held in museums and private collections or have been under restoration.

The type was also flown extensively by the RNZAF. Some 49 C-47As were obtained during the war years (NZ3501 to NZ3506, NZ3516 to NZ3524, and NZ3525 to NZ3558). The type was also used extensively by domestic airlines, and others were used on charter and freight work. A number were used for agricultural work, and these included ZK-CQA (c/n 26030) for about four years from 1966, initially by NZNAC and later by Fieldair; and ZK-CHV (c/n 34360) and ZK-BYF (c/n 20051) operated by Airland (NZ) Ltd; NZNAC also operated ZK-AWO (c/n 33480) and ZK-AZA (c/n 27144); and Southern Air Super operated ZK-AOI (c/n 34226).

A few have survived in museums in New Zealand, and others have operated on tourist flights. The New Zealand Warbirds Association operated one ZK-DAK (c/n 26480). One has been used as a McDonalds restaurant at Taupo ZK-CAW (c/n 189232); and another ZK-BKD (c/n 13521) is used as a wine-bar at Gisborne. Operators have included NZ Aerial Mapping, GYM Properties, etc. Others have been preserved with the MOTAT Museum in Auckland and the RNZAF Museum at Wigram.

Production of the series amounted to 10,174 completed in the United States during World War II, with 455 produced for operation by airlines prior to the war, bringing the total to 10,629. It was also produced, as noted, in the Soviet Union as the Li-2, official records indicating 4,937 were completed but some authorities have suggested production was as much as 7,000. Further, 487 are known to have been built by Showa and Nakajima in Japan as the L-2D.