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Douglas DC-3 Dakota
Two-engine Troop Transport, U.S.A.
Archive Photos 1
1942 Douglas DC-3 Dakota (CF-TDJ, c/n 6261) (9/17/2003) Canada Aviation Museum, Ontario, Canada (Photos by John Shupek)
Douglas DC-3-201B Dakota (C-GDAK, c/n 2141, KN563 X) on display (9/22/2003) at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Mount Hope, Ontario, Canada (Photos by John Shupek)
Overview 2
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven airliner, the speed and range of which revolutionized air transport in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made. The major military version was designated the C-47 Skytrain, of which more than 10,000 were produced. Many DC-3/C-47’s are still used in all parts of the world.
Design and Development 2
The Douglas DC-3 was the culmination of a development effort that originated out of an inquiry from Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA) to Donald Douglas. TWA’s rival in transcontinental air service, United Airlines, was inaugurating service with the Boeing 247 and Boeing refused to sell any Boeing 247’s to other airlines until United’s order for 60 aircraft had been filled. TWA asked Douglas to design and build an aircraft that would enable TWA to compete with United. Douglas’ resulting design, the 1933 DC-1, was promising, and led to the DC-2 in 1934. While the DC-2 was a success, there was still room for improvement.
The Douglas DC-3 was the result of a marathon telephone call from American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith to Donald Douglas, during which Smith persuaded a reluctant Douglas to design a sleeper aircraft based on the DC-2 to replace American’s Douglas Condor II biplanes. Douglas agreed to go ahead with development only after Smith informed him of American’s intention to purchase twenty aircraft. The new aircraft was engineered by a team led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond over the next two years, and the prototype DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) first flew on December 17, 1935 ... the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. A version with 21 passenger seats instead of the sleeping berths of the DST was also designed and given the designation DC-3. There was no prototype DC-3, the first DC-3 built followed seven DST’s off the production line and was delivered to American.
The amenities of the DC-3 and DST popularized air travel in the United States. With only three refueling stops, eastbound transcontinental flights crossing the U.S. in approximately 15 hours became possible. Westbound trips took 17½ hours due to prevailing headwinds, still a significant improvement over the competing Boeing 247. During an earlier era, such a trip would entail short hops in slower and shorter-range aircraft during the day, coupled with train travel overnight.
A variety of radial engines were available for the DC-3 throughout the course of its development. Early-production civilian aircraft used Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9’s, but later aircraft (and most military versions) used the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp which offered better high-altitude and single engine performance. Three DC-3S Super DC-3s with Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasps were built in the late 1940’s.
Production 2
Total production of all derivatives was 16,079. More than 400 remained in commercial service in 1998. Production was as follows:
Production of civil DC-3’s ceased in 1942, military versions were produced until the end of the war in 1945. In 1949, a larger, more powerful Super DC-3 was launched to positive reviews; however, the civilian market was flooded with second-hand C-47’s, many of which were converted to passenger and cargo versions and only three were built and delivered the following year. The prototype Super DC-3 served the US Navy with the designation YC-129 alongside 100 C-47’s that had been upgraded to the Super DC-3 specification.
Turboprop Conversions 2
From the early 1950s, some DC-3’s were modified to use Rolls-Royce Dart engines, as in the Conroy Turbo Three. Other conversions featured Armstrong Siddeley Mamba and Pratt & Whitney PT6A turbines.
Each Dodson International Turbo Dakota began its life as a Douglas DC-3 or C-47. The aircraft went through a detailed process of remanufacturing and new certification under United States FAA Supplemental Type Certificate SA3820SW or South African CAA Modification Number M89/483 and M93/011E. Virtually every system is replaced with new technology and design features. A team of engineers and mechanics who worked with the original AMI Conversion Process (a progenitor of the DC-3 PT6 conversions) created this conversion. The low-time structures have been stripped, restored and corrosion-proofed. The center section has been reinforced for 29,300 GW and the cabin fuselage has been extended to 40 in. with cabin and flight control extensions added. The Dodson International DC-3 is widely licensable with mission-specific customization.
The Dodson International Turbo Dakota aircraft is maintained in accordance with a modified version of the Douglas AAIP with no fuselage life and a very easy to follow series of inspections, based upon hourly service. Owners/Operators receive an Illustrated Parts Catalog (IPC), Maintenance Manual (MM) and Airplane Flight Manuals (AFM) specifically for their aircraft. They receive the aircraft documentation in print and electronically. Due to its design, and because the Turbo Dakota is unpressurized, it has a virtually unlimited service life.
The Basler BT-67 is a conversion of the DC-3/C-47’s. Basler refurbishes C-47/DC-3’s at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, fitting them with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67R turboprop engines, lengthening the fuselage by 40 in (100 cm) with a fuselage plug ahead of the wing and strengthening the airframe in selected areas. The airframe is rated as having "zero accumulated fatigue damage." This and extensive modifications to various systems and avionics result in a practically brand-new aircraft. The BT-67’s have been supplied to civil and military customers in several countries.
Braddick Specialized Air Services International PTY Ltd in South Africa is another company able to perform a Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop conversion of DC-3s. Over 50 DC-3/C-47’s/65ARTP/67RTP/67FTP’s have been modified.
Conroy Aircraft also made a three engine conversion with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 called the Conroy Tri-Turbo-Three.
Operational History 2
American Airlines inaugurated passenger service on June 26, 1936, with simultaneous flights from Newark, N.J. and Chicago, IL. Early U.S. airlines like American, United, TWA and Eastern ordered over 400 DC-3’s. These fleets paved the way for the modern American air travel industry, quickly replacing trains as the favored means of long-distance travel across the United States.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines received its first DC-3 in 1936, it replaced the DC-2 on the service from Amsterdam via Batavia (now Jakarta) to Sydney, by far the longest scheduled route in the world at the time.
The first airline in Latin America to use DC-3’s was Cubana de Aviación, initially placing them in service in its domestic routes, and then using them to start its first international scheduled service, from Havana to Miami, in 1945. This was the first scheduled service to Miami by a Latin American airline. Cubana used DC-3’s in some of its domestic routes well into the 1960’s.
Piedmont Airlines operated DC-3/C-47’s from 1948 to 1963. A DC-3 painted in the representative markings of Piedmont, operated by the Carolinas Aviation Museum, was retired from flight in March 2011. Both Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines operate commemorative DC-3’s wearing period markings.
During World War II, many civilian DC-3’s were drafted for the war effort and just over 10,000 US military versions of the DC-3 were built, under the designations C-47, C-53, R4D, and Dakota. Peak production was reached in 1944, with 4,853 being delivered. The armed forces of many countries used the DC-3 and its military variants for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded.
Licensed copies of the DC-3 were built in Japan as Showa L2D (487 aircraft) and in the USSR as the Lisunov Li-2 (4,937 aircraft).
Thousands of surplus C-47’s, previously operated by several air forces, were converted for civilian use after the war and became the standard equipment of almost all the world’s airlines, remaining in front line service for many years. The ready availability of cheap, easily maintained ex-military C-47’s, both large and fast by the standards of the day, jump-started the worldwide post-war air transport industry. While aviation in pre-war Continental Europe had used the metric system, the overwhelming dominance of C-47’s and other US war-surplus types cemented the use of nautical miles, knots and feet in post-war aviation throughout the world.
Douglas had developed an improved version, the Super DC-3, with more engine power, greater cargo capacity, and a different wing but, with all the bargain-priced surplus aircraft available, this did not sell well in the civil aviation market. Only five were delivered, three of them to Capital Airlines. The U.S. Navy had 100 of their early R4D’s converted to Super DC-3 standard during the early 1950s as the R4D-8, later C-117D. The last U.S. Navy C-117 was retired July 12, 1976. The last U.S. Marine Corps C-117 (BuNo 50835), was retired from active service during June 1982. Several remained in service with small airlines in North and South America in 2006.
A number of aircraft companies attempted to design a DC-3 replacement over the next three decades (including the very successful Fokker F27 Friendship), but no single type could match the versatility, rugged reliability, and economy of the DC-3. It remained a significant part of air transport systems well into the 1970’s.
Douglas DC-3 Today 2
There are still small operators with DC-3’s in revenue service and as cargo aircraft. The common saying among aviation buffs and pilots is that the only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3. The aircraft’s legendary ruggedness is enshrined in the lighthearted description of the DC-3 as a collection of parts flying in loose formation. Its ability to take off and land on grass or dirt runways makes it popular in developing countries, where runways are not always paved.
Some of the uses of the DC-3 have included aerial spraying, freight transport, passenger service, military transport, missionary flying, and sport skydiving shuttling and sightseeing.
Perhaps unique among prewar aircraft, the DC-3 is in daily use. The very large number of civil and military operators of the DC-3/C-47’s and related types, means that a listing of all the airlines, air forces and other current operators is impractical. As of 2012, DC-3 #10 is still used daily for flights in Colombia. Buffalo Airways, based in Canada’s Northwest Territories, operates scheduled passenger service between their main base in Yellowknife and Hay River, plus some passenger charter operations, using DC-3’s. Some DC-3’s are also used by the airline for cargo operations.
The oldest surviving DC-3 is N133D, the sixth Douglas Sleeper Transport built in 1936. This aircraft was delivered to American Airlines on July 12, 1936 as NC16005. The aircraft was at Griffin-Spaulding County Airport, Griffin, Georgia as of November 2010, where it was being prepared for a ferry flight to Charlotte County Airport, Punta Gorda, Florida. The aircraft will be restored back to Douglas Sleeper Transport standards, and full airworthiness.
The oldest DC-3 still flying is the original American Airlines Flagship Detroit (c/n 1920, #43 off the Santa Monica production line), which can be seen at airshows around the United States and is owned and operated by the nonprofit Flagship Detroit Foundation.
Basic price of a new DC-3 in 1936 was around £18-23,000 and by 1960 used examples were available for £25,000.
Variants 2
Conversions 2
Military and Foreign Derivatives 2
Specifications (DC-3A) 2
General Characteristics
Performance
References