DOUGLAS C-47 SKYTRAIN
Few aircraft are as well known or were so widely used for so long as the C-47. The aircraft was adapted from the DC-3 commercial airliner which appeared in 1936.
The first C-47s were ordered in 1940 and by the end of WW II, 9,348 had been procured for AAF use. They carried personnel and cargo, and in a combat role, towed troop-carrying gliders and dropped paratroops into enemy territory.
After WW II, many C-47s remained in USAF service, participating in the Berlin Airlift and other peacetime activities. During the Korean Conflict, C-47s hauled supplies, dropped paratroops, evacuated wounded and dropped flares for night bombing attacks. In Vietnam, the C-47 served again as a transport, but it was also used in a variety of other ways which included flying ground attack (gunship), reconnaissance, and psychological warfare missions.
The C-47 was affectionately nicknamed “Gooney Bird.” The C-47 was commercially known as the DC-3, also known as the R-4D by the Navy, and the Dakota by the English.
The C-47 carries 30 passengers, 28 paratroopers, or 7500 pounds of cargo. The C-47 was used during WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam war, and other areas. The C-47 flew the hump in China/Burma, food to Berlin, and paratroops on D-Day. The gun ship in Vietnam could fire 18,000 rounds of bullets in one minute to suppress enemy ground fire.
| SPECIFICATIONS | |
| Span: | 95 ft. 0 in. |
| Length: | 64 ft. 5 in. |
| Height: | 16 ft. 11 in. |
| Weight: | 33,000 lbs. loaded |
| Armament: | None |
| Engines: | Two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder, twin-row radials engines at 1,250 hp |
| Crew: | Three (3) |
| Cost: | $ 138,000 |
| Tail Number: | 43-49507 |
| Nickname: | Gooney Bird |
| Years in Service: | 1936 – Present |
| PERFORMANCE | |
| Maximum Speed: | 232 mph |
| Cruising Speed: | 175 mph |
| Range: | 1,513 miles |
| Service Ceiling: | 24,450 feet |