The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troop transport, cargo, paratrooper, for towing gliders and military cargo parachute drops

It was the plane that made the airborne drops over Normandy possible, revolutionized commercial travel and soldiered on into the 21st Century: The C-47 Skytr...

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain is a military development of the civilian DC-3 aircraft. It was a military transport used widely by the Allies of World War II and had been in service with different military operators for several years.

Jul 27, 2019 · While the team at Coventry are busy working on Night Fright and restoring her cockpit Charlie gives you a quick overview from the cockpit of another Dak. The aircraft in question is G-ANAF,...

Nov 20, 2023 · More cockpit action in the C-47. This view should allow you to see a lot more of those fancy instruments. Special thanks to the folks over at Hoosier Aviatio...

Learn more about the Douglas C-47, used as a cargo transport to fly the notorious “Hump” over the Himalayas, as well as carrying paratroops into combat.

"The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.

Sep 15, 2017 · Bateman sits right seat in our C-47 today. The cockpit is his home and after flying “nearly everything” he seems to take a comfortable solice among the simple, basic flight controls of the C-47.

Affectionately nicknamed the "Gooney Bird," this aircraft was adapted from the Douglas DC-3 commercial airliner. The U.S. Army Air Corps ordered its first C-47s in 1940, and by the end of World War II, procured a total of 9,348. These C-47s …

Detailed look at the cockpit instrument panel of the Douglas C-47 Skytrain / Dakota Mk I.

The C-47 was a military derivative of the world famous Douglas DC-3 commercial airliner. The first contract for fully militarized C-47s was let September 16, 1940. Deliveries of DC-3s and DC-3As to US and foreign airlines reached 430 before the US entry into World War II.

By 1941 the old Air Corps had been transformed into the Army Air Forces, and it selected a modified version of the DC-3, the C-47 Skytrain, to become its standard transport aircraft. As a supply plane, the C-47 could carry up to 6,000 pounds of cargo.

The most memorable C-47 mission was the dropping of paratroopers in Normandy in the hours before the 6 June 1944 invasion of Europe by Allied armies. But the C-47 was everywhere in Burma, an enterprising Skytrain pilot poked a Browning automatic rifle out of his cockpit and shot down a Japanese Zero fighter.

This cockpit is from a Douglas C-47 Dakota, a type of aircraft which played a vital role in delivering paratroopers on D-Day. The Douglas Dakota – as it was known to the British – was an American design, converted for military use from a civilian airliner.

The C-47, a modified DC-3, became famous for carrying paratroopers and towing gliders full of soldiers and heavy equipment into battle. The C-47 was used to deploy the first airborne troops in July 1943 when C-47s dropped almost 4,000 paratroopers into Sicily.

Aug 2, 2017 · The C-47 was capable of carrying up to 18 combat-loaded paratroopers or a two and one-half to three-ton cargo payload. The 75mm pack howitzer was the heaviest weapon it could transport, and subsequently this versatile gun became the standard issue of American airborne artillery units.

The document provides an overview of the cockpit and systems of a Douglas C-47 aircraft. It includes descriptions of key instruments and controls such as the radio altimeter, fuel quantity gauges, overhead panels, windows, cowl flaps, intercom, …

The C-47 Skytrain was a twin-engine, low-wing monoplane with a streamlined fuselage and a tailwheel landing gear configuration. It featured a reliable and robust design, capable of carrying cargo, troops, and wounded personnel.

The first C-47 flew on 23 December 1941, a mere sixteen days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The C-47 underwent several modifications over the civilian DC-3 including a strengthened floor, larger cargo door, hoist, and Astrodome behind the cockpit for celestial navigation.

Two engines were mounted at each wing leading edge and provided some 1200 horsepower each. The pilot and co-pilot sat at the extreme front of the fuselage with an observation blister directly behind the cockpit. Entry/exit doors were situated at the forward and aft fuselage sides.

Feb 11, 2025 · Originally developed in the 1930s, the C-47 Skytrain was the military variant of the old Douglas DC-3, ... Air Force engineers mounted these potent weapons on the left side of the aircraft. The ...