On Dec. 17, 1935, the DC-3 first took to the air, 32 years to the day after Orville Wright made history`s first power-driven flight.
Under a variety of names since, in civilian and military guises, it traveled from coast to coast in the U.S., to deserts, to the North Pole and over ”the Hump” in the Himalayas, bringing war supplies from India to China. Since 1935, no single aircraft has touched the lives of so many as the DC-3.
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Of the 300 commercial airliners in service in the U.S. in 1944, 275 were DC-3s. Many had bunks to allow passengers to sleep on overnight cross-country flights. But, despite its success, it was not commercial use that put the DC-3 on the high-volume assembly line. It was World War II.
By May 1945, the 10,000th DC-3 was delivered to the Army Air Forces, all but 500 built after Pearl Harbor.
The military variously designated the aircraft as the C-47, R4D, C-48, C- 49, C-50, C-51, C-52, C-53, C-68, C-84 and C-117A. It was configured to carry paratroops and supplies, outfitted with amphibious float gear and used to tow gliders. It was called the Dakota, the Skytrain, the Skytrooper and was affectionately known to many as the ”Gooney Bird.”
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, less than a decade after its first flight, 1,000 of the planes flew tens of thousands of paratroops to attack Hitler`s forces in Europe.
The DC-3 proved just how tough it was in combat. It often survived anti-aircraft fire, engine loss, sides ripped opened by flak and partial wing loss. It made belly landings and ground loops and the crews often walked away. Douglas Aircraft Corp. stopped production just after World War II after 10,926 of the DC-3s were built. After the war, many were sold to small commercial operators who used them for cargo or passenger servive. They carried 21 to 28 people, or a payload of 9,000 pounds.