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The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing, propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Because of its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II it is generally regarded as one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made. Many DC-3s are still used in all parts of the world.
) of Air Atlantique taking off at Hullavington airfield, England.]] With only three refuelling stops, eastbound transcontinental flights across the U.S. taking approximately 15 hours became possible. Westbound trips took 17 hours 30 minutes because of typical prevailing headwinds — still a significant improvement over the competing Boeing 247. During an earlier era, such a trip would entail short hops in slower and shorter range aircraft during the day, coupled with train travel overnight. A variety of engines were fitted to the DC-3 throughout the course of its development. The original civilian aircraft used Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9s, but later aircraft (and the majority of military aircraft) used the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial which offered better high-altitude and single engine performance. A few Pratt & Whitney R-2000 radials saw use.
Braddick Specialised Air Services International PTY Ltd (BSAS International) in South Africa is another company to perform a turbo-prop conversion to DC-3s designated by the Pratt & Whitney engine model PT6. Over 50 DC3/C47 65ARTP / 67RTP / 67FTPs have been built.
Conroy Aircraft also made a three engine conversion with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 called the Conroy Tri-Turbo-Three.
The initial design for the DC-3 was a product of conversations between the president of American Airlines, C.R. Smith, and Donald Douglas in 1935. American inaugurated passenger service on June 26, 1936, with simultaneous flights from Newark, N.J. and Chicago, IL. Early U.S. airlines like American, United, TWA and Eastern ordered over 400 DC-3s. These fleets paved the way for the modern American air travel industry, quickly replacing trains as the favored means of long-distance travel across the United States.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines received their first DC-3 in 1936 and it replaced their earlier aircraft types on the service from Amsterdam via Batavia (now Jakarta) and continuing to Sydney, by far the longest scheduled route in the world at the time.
Piedmont Airlines operated DC-3s from 1948 to 1963. A DC-3 painted in the representative markings of Piedmont, operated by the Carolinas Aviation Museum, continues to fly to air shows today. Both Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines operate "commemorative" DC-3s wearing period markings.
During World War II, many civilian DC-3s were drafted for the war effort and just over 10,000 US military versions of the DC-3 were built, under the designations C-47, C-53, R4D, and Dakota. Peak production was reached in 1944, with 4,853 being delivered. The armed forces of many countries used the DC-3 and its military variants for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded.
Licensed copies of the DC-3 were built in Japan as Showa L2D (487 aircraft) and in the USSR as the Lisunov Li-2 (4937 aircraft) The last U.S. Marine Corps C-117, serial 50835, was retired from active service during June 1982. Several remained in service with small airlines in North and South America in 2006.
A number of aircraft companies attempted to design a "DC-3 replacement" over the next three decades (including the very successful Fokker F27 Friendship), but no single type could match the versatility, rugged reliability, and economy of the DC-3. It remained a significant part of air transport systems well into the 1970s.
Some of the uses of the DC-3 have included aerial spraying, freight transport, passenger service, military transport, and sport skydiving shuttling and sightseeing.
Perhaps unique among prewar and wartime aircraft, the DC-3 is in daily use. The very large number of civil and military operators of the DC-3, C-47, and related types means that a listing of all the airlines, air forces and other current operators is impractical.
The oldest surviving DC-3 is N133D, the sixth Douglas Sleeper Transport built in 1935. This aircraft was delivered to American Airlines on 12 July 1935 as NC16005. As of November 2010, the aircraft was at Griffin-Spaulding County Airport, Griffin, Georgia, where it was being prepared for a ferry flight to Charlotte County Airport, Punta Gorda, Florida. The aircraft will be restored back to Douglas Sleeper Transport standards, and full airworthiness.
The oldest DC-3 still flying is the original American Airlines Flagship Detroit (c/n 1920, #43 off of the Santa Monica production line), which can be seen at airshows around the United States and is owned and operated by the nonprofit Flagship Detroit Foundation.
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Category:United States airliners 1930-1939 Category:United States military transport aircraft 1930-1939 Category:Vietnam War aircraft Category:World War II transport aircraft of the United States DC-03
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