Douglas C-47A Skytrain
|
Crew |
2 or more |
|
Dimensions |
95’ x 64’5” x 16’11” 28.96m by 19.63m by 5.16m |
|
Wing area |
987 square feet 91.7 square meters |
|
Weight |
16,970-25,2000 lbs (7700-11,430 kg) Absolute overload 33,000 lbs (15,000 kg) |
|
Maximum speed |
230 mph 370 km/h |
| Cruise speed | 185 mph 298 km/h |
|
Rate of climb |
20 feet per second 6.1 m/s |
|
Ceiling |
24,000 ft 7300 meters |
| 2 1200hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90D Twin Wasp 14-cyl 2-row radial engines driving three bladed propellers | |
|
Range |
2125 miles at 170 mph 3420 km at 274 km/h |
| Capacity |
28 troops |
|
Production |
10,048 by 6/45 at Douglas Aircraft Company, Santa Monica, CA: 455 DC-3/DST 953 C-47 4931 C-47A 3241 C-47B 370 C-53 486 were produced by Nakajima as the L2D "Tabby" |
No combat aircraft, the C-47 was nonetheless a vital contributor to Allied victory in the war. It was the military version of the DC-3, capable of carrying 28 troops, or more in an emergency. It was used by virtually every combatant nation in the Pacific, including the Japanese, who had begun producing the DC-3 under license before war broke out. However, the Japanese never seemed to recognize the full potential of military air transport.
About a third of all C-47 aircrew were deployed against Japan.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2007-2008 by Kent G. Budge. Index
