- quality wooden model WWI and WWII airplanes -
- quality wooden model WWI and WWII airplanes -
C-47 Dakota, Air America
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Scale 1:60 Length 12.8"
Wingspan 19.1"
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Few aircraft are as well known or were so widely used for so long as the C-47 or "Gooney Bird" as it was affectionately nicknamed. 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. During WWII C-47s 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.
In 1950 the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) bought Civil Air Transport that had made a name for itself flying numerous missions of adventure and international intrigue airlifting supplies and food into war-ravaged China during the Chinese Civil War and - importantly - ammunition to assist the Chinese Nationalist forces. It was only natural to proceed to more clandestine missions to fight communism in Asia. CAT continued to fly scheduled passenger flights while simultaneously using other aircraft in its fleet to fly covert missions. During the Korean War, CAT airlifted thousands of tons of war materials to supply United States military operations. In 1954 CAT aircrews airdropped supplies to the French at Dien Bien Phu in Indochina. In 1959 CAT was renamed Air America. While CAT continued to fly scheduled passenger flights, Air America flew all other types of air operations in Laos and South Vietnam. Throughout the 1950s CAT flew this fascinating combination of scheduled commercial flights and clandestine missions. With the spread of communism throughout Southeast Asia, CAT’s mission changed. In 1959 CAT was renamed Air America. Flying a variety of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters in the region's mountainous terrain, Air America crews flew with skill and courage. Missions included air dropping thousands of tons of food, evacuating civilians, rescuing downed US aircrews, emergency medical evacuations and generally supplying the anti-communist forces in Southeast Asia. After the fall of Saigon, Air America’s 26 year tenure as the CIA’s airline came to a close. The CAT/Air America experience is unparalleled in commercial aviation history. More than two hundred and forty civilian CAT and Air America employees gave their lives in Asia from 1946 to 1975. Crew:
Six
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