C-47 DakotaThe Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota was a military transport that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner.
History
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. Over 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The C-47 was vital to the success of many Allied campaigns, in particular those in the jungles of New Guinea and during Burma Campaign where the C-47 (and its naval version, the R4D) alone made it possible for Allied troops to counter the mobility of the light-travelling Japanese army. Additionally, C-47's were used to airlift supplies to the embattled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne. But possibly its most influential role in military aviation was flying The Hump from India into China where the expertise gain would later be used in the Berlin Airlift in which the C-47 would also play its part.
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. 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 US.
C-47s in British and Commonwealth service took the name Dakota. The C-47 also earned the nickname "Gooney Bird" during the European theater of operations.
After World War II the U.S. Navy also structurally modified a number of the early Navy R4D aircraft and re-designated the modified aircraft as R4D-8. The Air Force also continued to use the C-47 for various roles, including the AC-47 gunships - code named 'Puff the Magic Dragon' or 'Spooky' - and the EC-47 for counterintelligence during the Vietnam War.
General characteristics
* Crew: 3
* Capacity: 28 troops or 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) of cargo
* Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
* Wingspan: 95 ft 6 in (29.11 m)
* Height: 17 ft (5.18 m)
* Wing area: 987 ft² (91.70 m²)
* Empty weight: 18,135 lb (8,225 kg)
* Loaded weight: 26,000 lb (11,800 kg)
* Maximum Take-Off Weight: 31,000 lb (14,100 kg)
* Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90C Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial engines, 1,200 hp (895 kW) each
Performance
* Maximum speed: 224 mph (360 km/h)
* Cruise speed: 160 mph (257 km/h)
* Range: 1,600 miles (2,575 km)
* Service ceiling: 26,400 ft (8.045 m)
* Rate of climb: 1,130 ft/min (5.75 m/s)
* Wing loading: 26.3 lb/ft² (128.6 kg/m²)
* Power/mass: 0.09 lb/hp (0.15 kg/kW)
Picture added on 14 June 2006
