TERRY SMITH delves into the history of this long-serving aircraft.
A Douglas DC-3 resplendent in pre-war TWA livery. Trans World Airways was one of the first airlines to operate the plane in the US.
I can’t think that anybody, even if they don’t have the remotest of interest in aviation, will have not heard of this twin-engined aircraft. Built by Douglas, the DC-3 first flew in 1935 and entered service with the likes of American Airlines and TWA to serve the ever increasing cross-America passenger traffic.
In 1936, KLM was the first European operator who saw the potential in the aircraft and had 23 delivered before the start of WW2. The royal Dutch airline used the DC-3 on the longest route at the time, Amsterdam to Sydney via Jakarta. The aircraft could take up to 32 passengers and cruise at over 200mph, and the DC-3 was so popular that it was produced under licence in both Russia and Japan. The war would put a halt to the production of the civil DC-3 after just over 600 had been built, as in 1942 the company switched the assembly lines to produce the military C-47 versions - although many of the airliner versions had been commandeered for the war effort.
The company went on to build a staggering 10,000+ C-47 transports, with over 5,000 being produced in 1944 alone and was a key element in the D-Day Invasion. As well as the USAF, the plane was also used by the RAF who designated it the 'Dakota'. The Americans referred to it as the Skytrain. After the war, many C-47s were purchased by civil operators, both passenger and cargo, some of them remaining in revenue-earning service right up to the 1960s. The military carried on using this rugged workhorse and it saw action in both Korea and even in Vietnam as the ground support AC-47 Gunship.
I have seen many of these DC-3/C-47s over the years and witnessed the multi plane convoy fly over Beachy Head in 2019 on their way to France for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Perhaps my most unusual sight of a DC-3 was when I was working in Shoreham in the early 1990s and a white DC-3 (which was actually a C-47B with the larger rear door) was circling around the town before it landed at the airport. I went over to have a look at the plane, which was then owned by Air Atlantique, but now in the fictitious livery of Empire Airways. When I enquired about the plane, I found out that it was being used in the filming of an episode of ITV's popular series Poirot and they were using Shoreham, with its Art-Deco terminal building, to represent a pre-war Croydon airport.
The DC-3/C-47 often turns up on the big screen too, in films such as the Indiana Jones movies and it featured heavily in the early episodes of the HBO WW2 series Band of Brothers. I thought it was very fitting that when Microsoft released their Flight Sim 2005 – 'A Century of Flight' - a DC-3 befittingly had pride of place on the cover of the box. The chances are that you will still get to see one in years to come; as of 2020 there were still over 300 around the world certified to fly.
When is a DC-3 not a DC-3? - when it’s a C-47! This was the military version of the plane and over 10,000 were produced during WW2. While they are common visitors to air shows, this one was at the 2019 Goodwood Revival meeting.
I took this of one of the many DC-3s and C-47s that made the trip to France for the 75th anniversary of D-Day in June 2019.
Honour indeed, to celebrate 100 years of flight, Microsoft used the DC-3 on cover of the software and this book, which I still own. There is a lovely version of the plane to fly on the flight sim.
I didn’t expect this. The actor John Suchet was seen alighting this aircraft in 1991, as Shoreham airport played host to an episode of Poirot, with the terminal pretending to be pre-war Croydon.