DC-3/C-47 (NB old 2002 thread)

Edo equipped C-47

Is this the video on floats?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_8ccwoVZTc

Don’ forget the DC 2 1/2 During the problems in China a DC3 was hit and damaged, the outer wing was wrecked, they however had a DC2 wing available that was significantly shorter, so they threw a DC2 wing on one side and retained a DC 3 one on the other and the DC2 1/2 was born. It flew out with everyone on board…

Fascinating tale…

http://www.cnac.org/aircraft02.htm

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20111211-00000010-maiall-soci
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20111208-00000013-mailo-l15

2011/12/08:
In January 1946, a RAF DC-3 Dakota emergency landed on a beach on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
Brit and US military, plus up to 3,000 local villagers, collaborated to repair the aircraft, level the beach, build a temporary runway, and after about 40 days, the aircraft departed by air.
In November 2001, a memorial monument was unveilled at Kousen Kaigan (Kousen Coast), former Aikawa Machi (Aikawa Town), now part of Sado City after 2004/03/01.

Now, a movie titled “Tobe! Dakota” (literally “Fly! Dakota”) is being made.
On or about 2011/12/08, a DC-3 was bought in Thailand, disassembled, delivered to Sado by ship, and would be re-assembled for filming.

RE: DC-3/C-47

Hi Phantom,

If you’ve got problems with your e-mail, I can try & scan (I’m new to this scanning lark, so this’ll probably be easier)the article & mail it to you. Let me know & I’ll do what I can. You can contact me direct.

Best wishes,
Neil

RE: DC-3/C-47

Thanks, I’d really appreciate it. My home internet connection has been out for over a month so my computer internet access is limited. My e-mail is phantomf4e@hotmail.com.

RE: DC-3/C-47

Hi Phantom,

I’ve just found the copy of Aeroplane Mag. with the AC-47 in it. I can scan it & e-mail it to you, if you’re interested.

Thought you might like this night shot (pun intended!).

Neilly
Attachments:

RE: DC-3/C-47

Hi Phantom,
The DC-3 could be landed perfectly OK on land. The bit of the video, I mentioed, started off by looking at these bloody great floats (on dry land)& then panned up to the the Dak! The guy they interviewed said there were only 5 made, he didn’t say how many were still flying. The floats didn’t make much difference to the handling, either, just made the controls slightly more docile, than the usual DC-3.
If you’re interested the video was called Wings of World War Two & on the cover there’s a flight of P-51’s. All the usual Allied aircraft were featured- Mossie, Spit, Lanc, P-51, Avenger, Hellcat, B-17, B24 etc. Each aeroplane had it’s own bit of history & plenty of archive meterial.

Neilly

RE: DC-3/C-47

Actually, there was a model of the C-47, known as the C-47C that was fitted with the floats. Each float held an extra 300 gallons of fuel for more range as well as being equipped with wheels so the aircraft could taxi on land bases, although I’m not sure about landing or taking off on land with the floats on. I forget how many were built, but I think it was a fair amount and they were used mostly in the Pacific theater.

RE: DC-3/C-47

Hi All,
Just out of interest- Just been looking at a video, of WW2 aircraft, & the DC-3 was one of these aircraft. On the video it showed a DC-3 with FLOATS! According to the owner, the US had 5 prototypes made, the idea was to supply troops in such places as Burma with supplies, by landing on large rivers etc. Another feather in the DC-3’s cap!

Cheers,
Neilly

RE: DC-3/C-47

PII,

The aircraft I flew in was Danish Air Force and I had about 40 minutes in it. We flew from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland on a familiarisation exercise. My memories are that it was a noisy aircraft and there was quite a lot of buffeting in the windy conditions. This particular aircraft had a really pungent smell of oil to it, apparently the result of an oil spillage on a cargo run the previous week. The seating was two rows of canvas seats along the fuselage, uncomfortable but it all added to the experience. The most abiding memory was knowing that I had had the opportunity to fly in something just that little bit special.

Regards,

kev35

PS I didn’t realise you were a modeller.

RE: DC-3/C-47

I’m in the Southeast USA. Obviously the info you just provided won’t apply to me, but thanks anyway. Can anyone give a description of what it is like to fly on, or maybe even actually fly, a DC-3 or C-47? I’m just finishing up a C-47A of the USAAF that took part in the 1944 campaign over France and Western Europe.

RE: DC-3/C-47

PII, where are you located? If you’re in the UK, South Coast Airways operate at least one, and do some pretty good deals for flying into airshows.

RE: DC-3/C-47

Kev, you lucky #####. I wish I could fly on one some time. I was born just a bit too late for most of my favorites. I have a very good book on the C-47 from Squadron/Signal. It is calle C-47 Skytrain in Action. I’ve also got a book on the F-4 and F-15. They are really good books, and they help me with my model buiding a great deal.

RE: DC-3/C-47

PII,

I seem to remember that one of the first C-47’s used for fire support in Vietnam was given the name of ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ after a popular song of the period. A unit that flew the AC-47 adapted the song and one of the verses was as follows:

Puff the magic dragon
Bird of days long gone
Came to fly the evening skies
In a land called Vietnam.

I also remember some reference to ‘Terry and the Pirates’? I think these were among the first aircraft which had ad hoc changes made to them in the field before the AC-47D came into being. I once had a book about fixed wing gunships in Vietnam. I can’t remember the title but it may have been a Squadron/Signal publication. It was a slim volume of about 50 pages and detailed the operational usage and development of the AC-47, AC-119 and AC-130.

Regards,

kev35

PS I also flew in a C-47 belonging to the Danish Air Force while I was a cadet back in the 1970’s. A superb experience!

RE: DC-3/C-47

another good pic article in last months Flight Journal.

RE: DC-3/C-47

Phantom,
There was a big article in one of the Aircraft Mags, last year sometime, on the AC-47. I’ll try & find it. Lots of info & some very good piccies!
I’m decorating at the moment (YUCK!!!!), so you may have to wait, a little bit. Mrs. Neilly’s just taken dog for a walk, so good excuse for a break!

C U soon,
Neillyx(

RE: DC-3/C-47

They gave rides? That sounds cool. I wished they had done this with the AC-47 that was at the local air show here about a few weeks ago. Would have been a bit tough though because it had no passenger seats….lol.

RE: DC-3/C-47

My first flight in an aircraft was in a Air Atlantique Dak at a Yeovilton airshow in the late 80’s. A very very nice aeroplane.

Mark

RE: DC-3/C-47

Anyone?

RE: DC-3/C-47

Anyone care to discuss current AC-47 ops? Or maybe AC-47 ops during Vietnam. What a plane it was. I feel that the DC-1/2/3/C-47 series has been the single-most influential aircraft in history. Second to the Wright Flyer maybe…tough choice.

Oh, and Kev, the very original AC-47 was actually a Psy-war aircraft. The designation was later changed to RC-47 and then to the EC-47 variants. The original gunship was the AC-47D with three SUU-11/A miniguns. This aircraft was put through its paces both in testing and in combat over Southeast Asia. The aircraft and its crew proved to be so successful that they became overwhelmed with requests for their support. Four more AC-47’s were ordered. However, General Electric wasn’t ready with the miniguns at this time, so the four aircraft were modified with ten .30 caliber machine guns. They operated alongside the first AC-47D until the supply of miniguns was available and then they were converted, and all later AC-47D’s had the SUU-11/A’s and then later the specially-designed MXU-470’s.

One interesting note is that when the first AC-47D aircraft entered service, the Air Force Brass gave it the name FC-47D, standing for fighter/cargo. The fighter jocks threw fits though and the designation was changed to AC-47D. Just an interesting tidbit.