Douglas DC-3 VH-AES at Avalon in 2003. On 9 September 1946, VH-AES made the first scheduled flight for TAA, from Melbourne to Sydney.

The Douglas DC-3 (also known as the Dakota, C-47 and Skytrain) was a fixed-wing, propeller-driven aircraft which revolutionised air transport in the 1930s and 1940s, and is generally regarded as one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made (also see Boeing 707 and Boeing 747). reuploaded after stupid deletion File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... reuploaded after stupid deletion File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Trans Australia Airlines or TAA (IATA TN, renamed Australian Airlines in 1986) was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its sale to Qantas in 1992. ... Melbourne - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Sydneys skyline with the Opera House on the left Sydney is the capital city of the Australian state of New South Wales and Australias largest and oldest city, founded in 1788. ... The Douglas Aircraft Company was founded by Donald Wills Douglas in July 1921. ... Fixed-wing aircraft is a term used to refer to what are more commonly known as aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada) or airplanes in North American English. ... A propeller can be seen as a rotating fin in water or a wing in air. ... An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... Events and trends Technology Jet engine invented First atom was split with a particle accelerator Golden Age of radio begins in U.S. Science Nuclear fission discovered by Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann Pluto, the ninth planet from the Sun, is discovered by Clyde Tombaugh British biologist Arthur... Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Events and trends Technology First nuclear bomb First cruise missile, the V1 flying bomb and the first ballistic missile, the... Pan Am 707 The Boeing 707 is a four engined commercial passenger jet aircraft developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. ... The Boeing 747, which is also known as the jumbo jet, is the second largest passenger airliner after the Airbus A380. ...

History

The DC-3 was engineered by a team led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond and first flew on December 17, 1935 (the 32nd. anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk). The plane was the result of a marathon phone call from American Airlines CEO C.R. Smith demanding improvements in the design of the DC-2. The amenities of the DC-3 (including sleeping berths on early models and an in-flight kitchen) popularized air travel in the United States. With just one refuelling stop, transcontinental flights across America became possible. Before the DC-3, such a trip would entail short hops in commuter aircraft during the day coupled with train travel overnight. Arthur Emmons Raymond (March 24, 1899_March 22, 1999) was an engineer for the Douglas Aircraft Company and worked on designs from the DC-2 to the DC-8 and was a consultant on the Gemini and Apollo programs for NASA. Raymond was the Chief Engineer on the DC-3, The... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... First flight, December 17, 1903. ... American Airlines Boeing 757 American Airlines and American Eagle aircraft at San Juan American Airlines (AA) (NYSE: AMR) is the largest airline in the world. ... Cyrus Rowlett Smith Cyrus Rowlett Smith (September 9, 1899 – April 4, 1990), known throughout his life as C. R. Smith, was the CEO of American Airlines from 1934 to 1968 and from 1973 to 1974. ...

Early American airlines like United, American, 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. United Airlines Boeing 777 taking off at Schiphol, Amsterdam. ... TWA Lockheed Constellation over Manhattan, mid-20th century Trans World Airlines, commonly known as TWA, was an American airline which was acquired by American Airlines in April 2001. ... For the Chinese airline, see China Eastern Airlines. ... This article is about trains in rail transport. ...

During World War II the armed forces of many countries used the DC-3 for the transport of troops, cargo and wounded. Over 10,000 aircraft were produced (some as unlicensed copies in Japan as Showa L2D, and as licensed copies in the USSR as Lisunov Li-2) and the DC-3 was vital to the success of many Allied campaigns, in particular those in the jungles of New Guinea and Burma where the DC-3 alone made it possible for Allied troops to counter the mobility of the light-travelling Japanese army. In Europe, the DC-3 was used in vast numbers in the later stages of the war, particularly to tow gliders and drop paratroops. In the Pacific, with careful use of the island landing strips of the Pacific Ocean, DC-3s were even used for ferrying soldiers serving in the Pacific theater back to the US. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... Gliders are un-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. ...

After the war, thousands of surplus C-47s were converted to civil service, and became the standard equipment of almost all the world's airlines, remaining in front-line service for many years. The ready availability of ex-military examples of this cheap, easily maintained aircraft (it was both large and fast by the standards of the day) jump-started the worldwide post-war air transport industry.

Numerous attempts were made to design a "DC-3 replacement" over the next three decades (including the very successful Fokker Friendship) but no single type could match the versatility, rugged reliability, and economy of the DC-3, and it remained a significant part of air transport systems well into the 1970s. Even today, almost 70 years after the DC-3 first flew, there are still small operators with DC-3s in revenue service. The common saying among aviation buffs and pilots is that "The only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3." The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. ...

A Swedish DC-3 was shot down over the Baltic Sea in June 1952, see the Catalina affair. On June 13, 1952 a Swedish military DC-3 flying over the Baltic Sea disappeared east of Gotland. ...

Specifications

• Powerplants: 2 895 kW (1200 hp) Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp 14 cylinder twin row radial piston engines, or 2 895 kW (1200 hp) Wright Cyclone nine cylinder radials.
• Performance:
  • Max speed 346 km/h (187 kt), economical cruising speed 266 km/h (143 kt). Initial rate of climb 1130 ft/min.
  • Max range 2420 km (1307 nautical miles), range with max payload 563 km (305 nautical miles).
• Weights: empty 8030 kg (17,720 lb), max takeoff 12,700 kg (28,000 lb).
• Dimensions: Wing span 28.96 m (95 ft 0 in), length 19.66m (64 ft 6 in), height 5.16 m (16 ft 12 in). Wing area 91.7 m² (987 ft²).
• Capacity: Flight crew of two. Seating for between 28 and 32 passengers at four abreast or 21 three abreast.
• Production: 10,655 built, 2000 or so built in Russia under licence. More than 400 remained in commercial service in 1998

Categories: Stub | Aircraft piston engines ... Wright Cyclone was the name given to a family of air-cooled radial piston engines designed by Curtiss-Wright, and used in numerous American aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. ...

Specifications (variant described)

General characteristics

• Crew:
• Capacity:
• Length: m ( ft)
• Wingspan: m ( ft)
• Height: m ( ft)
• Wing area: m² ( ft²)
• Empty: kg ( lb)
• Loaded: kg ( lb)
• Maximum takeoff: kg ( lb)
• Powerplant: Engine type(s), kN (lbf) thrust or
• Powerplant: Engine type(s), kW ( hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: km/h ( mph)
• Range: km ( miles)
• Service ceiling: m ( ft)
• Rate of climb: m/min ( ft/min)
• Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: or
• Power/mass:

Units using the Dakota

United States Army Air Force

C-47A USAAF Serial #43-48052

Royal Air Force

• No. 10 Squadron - No. 18 Squadron - No. 21 Squadron - No. 24 Squadron
• No. 27 Squadron - No. 30 Squadron - No. 31 Squadron - No. 46 Squadron
• No. 48 Squadron - No. 52 Squadron - No. 53 Squadron - No. 62 Squadron
• No. 70 Squadron - No. 76 Squadron - No. 77 Squadron - No. 78 Squadron
• No. 96 Squadron - No. 110 Squadron - No. 113 Squadron - No. 114 Squadron
• No. 117 Squadron - No. 147 Squadron - No. 167 Squadron - No. 187 Squadron
• No. 194 Squadron - No. 204 Squadron - No. 206 Squadron - No. 209 Squadron
• No. 215 Squadron - No. 216 Squadron - No. 231 Squadron - No. 233 Squadron
• No. 238 Squadron - No. 243 Squadron - No. 267 Squadron - No. 271 Squadron
• No. 353 Squadron - No. 357 Squadron - No. 435 Squadron - No. 436 Squadron
• No. 437 Squadron - No. 511 Squadron - No. 512 Squadron - No. 525 Squadron
• No. 575 Squadron - No. 620 Squadron

South African Air Force

• 35 Squadron (Still in use, flying the Turbo Dakota.)

SAAF flag The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the Air Force of South Africa. ... 35 Squadron SAAF is a squadron of the South African Air Force. ...

External Links

• Centennial of flight Commission on the DC-3 (http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/DC-3/Aero29.htm)
• Aviation Records on the DC-3 (http://www.aerodyn.org/History/dc-3.html)
• Aviation History on the DC-3 (http://www.aviation-history.com/douglas/dc3.html)
• Airliners.net DC-3 Images (http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=188)
• Pionair (http://www.pionair.com/) Airline flying restored DC-3s