The Immortal 3

Today’s world of the DC-3 makes virtually no distinction between the DC-3, Dakota, or C-47. There is very little to distinguish them for each other, save for a cargo door.

The military have long since retired their trusty workhorses; well, almost – Australia will be retiring hers this year, but even so the DC-3 is no longer the important transport aircraft it was some 30 years ago.

Over 800 DC-3s were built, but the demands of a growing US Army Air Corps saw the final figure climb to 10,000 – an astounding total even in today’s highly sophisticated jet era, with modern marketing techniques, proliferation of aircraft manufacturers, and increased needs of a rapidly-developing world.

The result of the US Army Air Corps requirement for 1936 saw the DC-2 winning the contest, and the militarised version known as the C-33, could carry a 6000Ib load over 900 miles. The C-33 had a larger tail, which would be the same as the DC-3, and a cargo door, a feature now sought after on modern aircraft.

Two systems for loading were provided, a tripod hoist or a tracking system on the floor. In 1938 similar conversions of the DC-3 had been made and these aircraft were known as C- 39s, and a total of 35 were built.

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