Transport aircraft Douglas C-47 1/144 Eastern Express 14439

Transport aircraft Douglas C-47
1/144 scale plastic model kit
Eastern Express 14439

Manufacturer: Eastern Express (Russia)
Scale: 1/144
Material: Plastic
Paint: Unpainted, Unassembled, Kit do not contain paints and glue.
Condition: New in Box

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line service with various military operators through the 1950s.

The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 in numerous modifications, including being fitted with a cargo door and a strengthened floor.

During World War II, the armed forces of many countries used the C-47 and modified DC-3s for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded. The U.S. Naval designation was R4D. More than 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beachand Santa Monica, California and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City plant produced 5,354 C-47s from March 1943 until August 1945.The C-47 was vital to the success of many Allied campaigns, in particular those atGuadalcanal and in the jungles of New Guinea and Burma, where the C-47 (and its naval version, the R4D) made it possible for Allied troops to counter the mobility of the light-traveling Japanese army. Additionally, C-47s were used to airlift supplies to the embattled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne. Possibly its most influential role in military aviation, however, was flying "The Hump" from India into China. The expertise gained flying "The Hump" was later be used in the Berlin Airlift, in which the C-47 played a major role, until the aircraft were replaced by Douglas C-54 Skymasters.C-47s (about 2,000 received under lend-lease) in British and Commonwealth service took the name Dakota, from the acronym "DACoTA" for Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft. The C-47 also earned the informal nickname 'Gooney Bird' in the European theater of operations.Several C-47 variations were used in the Vietnam War by the United States Air Force, including three advanced electronic warfare variations, which sometimes were called "Electric Gooneys" designated EC-47N, EC-47P, or EC-47Qs depending on the engine used.EC-47s were also operated by the Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian Air Forces. A gunship variation, using three 7.62 mm miniguns, designated AC-47 "Spooky" often nicknamed "Puff the Magic Dragon" also was deployed.

The Royal Canadian Air Force and later, the Canadian Armed Forces employed the C-47 for transportation, navigation, and radar training, as well as for search and rescue operations from the 1940s to the 1980s.

After World War II, thousands of surplus C-47s were converted to civil airline use, some remaining in operation in 2012, as well as being used as private aircraft.

C-47 Skytrain C-53 Skytrooper
Role	Military transport aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Douglas Aircraft Company
Designer	Douglas Aircraft
First flight	23 December 1941
Status	In service in Colombia, El Salvador and South Africa
Primary users	United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force United States Navy See operators
Number built	>10,000
Developed from	Douglas DC-3
Variants	Douglas XCG-17 Douglas AC-47 Spooky