Wing span was 95 feet length was 64 feet 5.5 inches and height was 17 feet. Other characteristics included maximum cruising speed of 185 mph at 9,480 feet, initial climb rat of 18.7 feet per second and service ceiling of 23,950 feet. Its two Pratt & Whitney 1,200 horsepower engines produced a top speed of 220 mph and a maximum range of 1,500 miles. The C-47 with its low-wing, monoplane design utilized conventional landing gear with retractable front wheels and fixed tail wheel. The others were the Bazooka, Jeep and Atom Bomb. Eisenhower once identified the C-47 as one of four things that won World War II for the allies. 22, 1935, the C-47 became the workhorse of the Army Air Force in World War II.

At one time the DC-3 or C-47 was in service in more than 40 countries.ĭeveloped from the Douglas DC-3 which first flew Dec.

Quite possbily the most successful aircraft ever developed, approximately 13,000 C-47 variants were produced including more than 2,000 built in foreign countries under license. The AC-47 was an attack version of the famously versatile C-47 cargo plane.

Vietnam air force gunship operations