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Douglas VC-47A Skytrain
Two-engine Four-crew Low-wing VIP Transport, U.S.A.
Archive Photos 1
Douglas VC-47A Skytrain (AF 43-15578, c/n 20045) on display (c.1998) at the March Field Air Museum, Riverside, California (Photos by John Shupek)
Overview 2
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF and RNZAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remains in front-line service with various military operators.
Design and Development 2
The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 in numerous modifications, including being fitted with a cargo door, hoist attachment, and strengthened floor, along with a shortened tail cone for glider-towing shackles, and an astrodome in the cabin roof.
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. Between March 1943 and August 1945, the Oklahoma City plant produced 5,354 C-47s.
The specialized C-53 Skytrooper troop transport started production in October 1941 at Douglas Aircraft’s Santa Monica plant. It lacked the cargo door, hoist attachment, and reinforced floor of the C-47. Only 380 aircraft were produced in all because the C-47 was found to be more versatile.
Operational History 2
World War II
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. C-47s were used to airlift supplies to the encircled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne in Belgium. 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 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 paratroop variant, the C-53 Skytrooper, were used in vast numbers in the later stages of the war, particularly to tow gliders and drop paratroops. During the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, C-47s dropped 4,381 Allied paratroops. More than 50,000 paratroops were dropped by C-47s during the first few days of the D-Day campaign also known as the invasion of Normandy, France, in June 1944. In the Pacific War, with careful use of the island landing strips of the Pacific Ocean, C-47s were used for ferrying soldiers serving in the Pacific theater back to the United States.
About 2,000 C-47s (received under Lend-Lease) in British and Commonwealth service took the name Dakota, possibly inspired by the acronym DACoTA for Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft.
The C-47 also earned the informal nickname gooney bird in the European theater of operations. Other sources attribute this name to the first aircraft, a USMC R2D’the military version of the DC-2 being the first aircraft to land on Midway Island, previously home to the long-winged albatross known as the gooney bird which was native to Midway.
Postwar Era
The United States Air Force’s Strategic Air Command had Skytrains in service from 1946 through 1967. The US Air Force’s 6th Special Operations Squadron was flying the C-47 until 2008.
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.
After World War II, thousands of surplus C-47s were converted to civil airline use, some remaining in operation in 2012, as well as being used as private aircraft.
Vietnam War
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-47Q depending on the engine used. Air International, Miami International Airport was a USAF military depot used to convert the commercial DC-3s/C-47s into military use. They came in as commercial aircraft purchased from third-world airlines and were completely stripped, rebuilt, and reconditioned. Long-range fuel tanks were installed, along with upgraded avionics and gun mounts. They left as first-rate military aircraft headed for combat in Vietnam in a variety of missions. Douglas EC-47s were also operated by the Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian Air Forces. A gunship variation, using three 7.62 mm miniguns, designated AC-47 Spooky, often nicknamed Puff the magic dragon, also was deployed.
Super DC-3 (R4D-8)
Large numbers of DC-3s and surplus C-47s were in commercial use in the United States in the 1940s. In response to proposed changes to the Civil Air Regulations airworthiness requirements that would limit the continuing use of these aircraft, Douglas offered a late-1940s DC-3 conversion to improve takeoff and single-engine performance. This new model, the DC-3S or Super DC-3, was 39 in (0.99 m) longer. It allowed 30 passengers to be carried, with increased speed to compete with newer airliners. The rearward shift in the center of gravity led to larger tail surfaces and new outer, swept-back wings. More powerful engines were installed along with shorter, jet ejection-type exhaust stacks. These were either 1,475 hp (1,100 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclones or 1,450 hp (1,081 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasps in larger engine nacelles. Minor changes included wheel-well doors, a partially retractable tailwheel, flush rivets, and low-drag antenna. These all contributed to an increased top speed of 250 mph (400 km/h; 220 kn). With greater than 75% of the original DC-3/C-47 configuration changed, the modified design was virtually a new aircraft. The first DC-3S made its maiden flight on 23 June 1949.
The changes fully met the new FAR 4B airworthiness requirements, with significantly improved performance. However, little interest was expressed by commercial operators in the DC-3S. It was too expensive for the smaller operators that were its main target; only three were sold to Capital Airlines. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps had 100 of their R4D aircraft modified to Super DC-3 standards as the R4D-8, later redesignated the C-117D.
Variants 2
Operators 2
Douglas DC-3/C-47 Family Specifications 3
| Douglas DC-3/C-47/C-49/C-117 and Lisunov Li-2 Family | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft ☛ | DST | DC-3A | DC-3C | C-47A-DL | C-47B-DK | C-49K-DO | C-117A-DK | Li-2 |
| Power Plant | Wright SGR-1802-G2 Cyclone | P&W S1C3-G Twin Wasp | P&W R-1830-92 Twin Wasp | P&W R-1830-92 Twin Wasp | P&W R-1830-90C Twin Wasp | Wright R-1820-71 Cyclone | P&W R-1830-90C Twin Wasp | Shvetsov ASh-62 (M-62) |
| Wing Span | 95 ft 0 in | 95 ft 0 in | 95 ft 0 in | 95 ft 6 in | 95 ft 6 in | 95 ft 0 in | 95 ft 0 in | 94 ft 103/16 in |
| Length | 64 ft 5½ in | 64 ft 5½ in | 64 ft 5 in | 63 ft 9 in | 63 ft 9 in | 64 ft 6 in | 64 ft 6 in | 64 ft 5⅝ in |
| Height | 16 ft 3⅝ in | 16 ft 11⅛ in | 16 ft 11 in | 17 ft 0 in | 17 ft 0 in | 17 ft 0 in | 16 ft 8 in | — |
| Wing Area | 987 ft² | 987 ft² | 987 ft² | 987 ft² | 987 ft² | 987 ft² | 987 ft² | 983 ft² |
| Empty Weight | 16,060 lb | 16,865 lb | 18,300 lb | 17,865 lb | 18,135 lb | 16,295 lb | 17,840 lb | 16,976 lb |
| Loaded Weight | 24,000 lb | 25,200 lb | 25,200 lb | 26,000 lb | 26,000 lb | 24,400 lb | 26,000 lb | 23,589 lb |
| Maximum Weight | — | — | 28,000 lb | 31,000 lb | 31,000 lb | 29,000 lb | 30,000 lb | 24,868 lb |
| Wing Loading | 24.3 psf | 25.5 psf | 25.5 psf | 26.3 psf | 26.3 psf | 24.7 psf | 26.3 psf | 24.0 psf |
| Power Loading | 12.0 lb/hp | 10.5 lb/hp | 10.5 lb/hp | 10.8 lb/hp | 10.8 lb/hp | 10.2 lb/hp | 10.8 lb/hp | 13.1 lb/hp |
| Maximum Speed | 212 mph at 6,800 ft | 230 mph at 8,500 ft | 237 mph at 8,800 ft | 230 mph at 8,800 ft | 224 mph at 10,000 ft | 218 mph at 5,500 ft | 230 mph at 12,500 ft | 174 mph |
| Cruising Speed | 192 mph | 207 mph | 170 mph | 160 mph | 160 mph | 156 mph | 160 mph | 137 mph |
| Climb Rate | 850 fpm | 1,130 fpm | — | 10,000 ft in 9.6 min | 10,000 ft in 9.5 min | 10,000 ft in 10.0 min | 10,000 ft in 9.4 min | — |
| Service Ceiling | 20,800 ft | 23,200 ft | — | 24,000 ft | 26,400 ft | 22,750 ft | 26,400 ft | 18,375 ft |
| Normal Range | — | 2,125 mi | 1,025 mi | 1,600 mi | 1,600 mi | 1,650 mi | 1,600 mi | — |
| Maximum Range | — | — | — | 3,800 mi | 3,600 mi | 1,800 mi | 3,600 mi | — |
References