Douglas DC-3 and C-47 Skytrain - A symbol of global aviation
Video from the channel Mundo de Aviación about Douglas DC-3, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 13:46. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
Educational piece about the Douglas DC-3 and its military version, the C-47 Skytrain: the order that gave rise to it, the innovations in its design, its variants and its long operational life.
Historical context
TWA sought to compete with United, whose Boeing 247s carried 10 passengers at about 280 km/h. Douglas responded with the DC-1, a 12-seat single prototype; TWA then ordered 20 units of a version with 900 hp engines instead of 700, the DC-2, with two more seats. At the request of American Airlines, which wanted a sleeper aircraft for its transcontinental overnight service, the DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) was born, with a widened fuselage, greater wingspan and more powerful engines. Its 21-seat daytime version was the DC-3, which flew on December 17, 1935, and displaced the railroad on long journeys in the United States.
In the Second World War, military variants were built with a reinforced floor and large cargo door: the C-47s dropped paratroopers over Normandy in June 1944 and, in British service, received the name Dakota. There was licensed production in the Soviet Union and in Japan (Showa and Nakajima L2D). Civilian production ended in 1942 and military production in 1945.
Key facts
A low-wing, all-metal twin-engine aircraft, with fillets between wing and fuselage and a circular-section fuselage. Maximum takeoff weight of 11,400 kg, range of 2,100 km, top speed of 370 km/h and 21 to 32 passengers, with 14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engines. With the gear retracted the wheels protrude about 40 cm, allowing it to land without deploying it. Its derivatives include the Vietnam-era AC-47 Spooky, the EC-47 electronic-warfare variant, the Super DC-3 (only three sold) and the Basler BT-67 turboprop. The video closes with an example from the Argentine Air Force bought in 1950 and modified with DC-4 engines, a Marboré II turbine with 400 kg of thrust, and JATO rockets to fly to the South Pole.