The Douglas C-47 Skytrain was a military transport plane used by the US Air Force from 1941 onward. It is the most renowned cargo aircraft of all time. During World War II, it was extensively used in the Far East, especially during the British Burma and New Guinea campaigns to drop ammunition and food supply to Allied forces fighting in the jungle against the Japanese. During D-Day, on June 6, 1944, it was the main transport aircraft, dropping paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Div. behind enemy lines. It would also be used in the Korean War.
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain was developed from the DC-3 airliner, which had first flown in 1935. Then it was ordered by the US Army's Air Corps in 1940 as it underwent changes to adapt it to military use in time of war. To transform the airliner into a military transport, folding canvas seats were installed along the inner wall of fuselage and two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines replaced the DC-3's Wright Cyclone machines. This was the C-47A version, while the C-47B variant was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 radial engines, each producing 1,200 HP. War time production of the C-47 reached 10,087 planes. The Soviet Union also built it, with 2,700 aircraft, as the Lisunov Li-2.
More C-47As were produced than any other variant, with 5,253 being built at the two Douglas factories. The C-47B, on the other hand, was a high-altitude version for use on the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, flying the "Hump" route. This version was equipped with two-stage superchargers to the Twin Wasp engines.
Technical Characteristics
The Douglas C-47 was a twin-engine, low-wing monoplane. It had an all-metal fuselage, with a large split cargo door on the port side of its rear portion. The wings had a dihedral angle of inclination and they tapered towards the outer portion, which ended up in blunt tips. The C-47A variant was fitted with 24-volt electrical system. The cockpit was comfortable, with bucket seat for the crew. Landing gear was retractable.
Specifications
Type: military transport
Capacity: 28 seated combat troops
Length: 19.43 m (63 feet, 9 inches)
Wingspan: 29.11 m (95 feet, 6 inches)
Wing Area: 91.69 m2 (987 square feet)
Height: 5.18 m
Power Plant: two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92, Twin Wasp, 14-cylinder radial engines.
Maximum Speed: 370 km/h (230 mph)
Range: 2,575 km (1,600 miles)
Ceiling: 7,315 m (24,000 feet)
Crew: 4
Below, the Douglas C-47 flying off the coast of California in 1942.
The C-47A version, with natural metal fuselage, flying over the Hudson Bay in 1945, after the war in Europe.
A C-47B in flight in the skies over England in the Summer of 1944.
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain in action (video)
