Douglas C-47 Skytrain

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain is a twin radial engined military transport monoplane aircraft. The British Commonwealth designated it as the Dakota and the US Navy as the R4D. It first flew in December 1943 and participated in World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. Developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner, the C-47 had numerous modifications, including a cargo door, strengthened floor, shortened tail cone and Astrodome. The C-47 has been used in multiple roles, including troop/cargo transporter, search and rescue, glider tug. Several variations served in the Vietnam War with the USAF, in the electronic warfare “Electric Gooneys” and gunship, AC-47 “Spooky” missions. Post World War II, many surplus C-47s underwent conversion for civilian use. Production of the C-47 and variants ended in August 1945 with more than 10.000 airframes built.

The airframe is mostly an aluminium alloy structure with a semi-monocoque fuselage, low mounted cantilever wings and a conventional tail. The retractable undercarriage is a tricycle type with the primary units retracting rearward into the inboard engine. The flight crew of four consisted of two pilots, a radio operator, navigator; the passenger cabin seats up to 28 troops.

The C-47 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, wing-mounted, driving 3-bladed constant-speed propellers. The C-47 has a maximum speed of 360 km/h (224mph) with a service ceiling of 8,000 m (26,400 ft) with a range of 2600 km (1,600 mi).