- quality wooden model WWI and WWII airplanes -
- quality wooden model WWI and WWII airplanes -
C-47D Skytrain (Dakota), Normandy
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Photography by Action Asia Photo |
Few aircraft are as well known or were so widely used for so long as the C-47 Skytrain 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 WWII over 10,048 had been procured for the USAAF and US Navy. In WWII C-47s carried personnel and cargo and, in a combat role, towed troop-carrying gliders and dropped paratroops into enemy territory. The most widely used military transport in World War II, the C-47 also saw service with the US Navy as the R4D and with the RAF as the Dakota. After WWII, many C-47s remained in USAF service, participating in the Berlin Airlift and other peace-time activities. One hundred C-47J aircraft were re-engineered by Douglas and incorporated new wings, a new, taller vertical tail, modified landing gear, and more powerful engines. They entered US Navy service under designation C-117D. 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 for a variety of other missions which included flying ground attack, reconnaissance, and psychological warfare missions. The AC-47 "Spooky", a heavily-armed gunship version of the C-47, was equipped with three side-firing 7.62mm Mini-guns and was nicknamed "Puff the Magic Dragon." The last C-47 was retired from the US Air Force in 1975. Unofficial Nicknames: Gooney Bird, Goon, Dizzy Three, Grand Old Lady, Old Methuselah Crew:
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