Few
aircraft are as well known, were
so widely used or used as long
as the C-47. Affectionately
nicknamed the "Gooney Bird,"
this aircraft was adapted from
the Douglas DC-3 commercial
airliner. The U.S. Army Air
Corps ordered its first C-47s in
1940, and by the end of World
War II, procured a total of
9,348. These C-47s carried
personnel and cargo around the
globe. They also towed
troop-carrying gliders, dropped
paratroops into enemy territory,
and air evacuated sick or
wounded patients. A C-47 could
carry 28 passengers, 18-22 fully
equipped paratroopers, about
6,000 lbs. of cargo or 18
stretchers and three medical
personnel.
After
World War II, many C-47s
remained in U.S. Air Force
service, participating in the
Berlin Airlift and other
peacetime activities. During the
Korean War, C-47s hauled
supplies, dropped paratroops,
evacuated wounded, and dropped
flares for night bombing
attacks. In the Southeast Asia
War, the C-47 served again as a
transport, but it also flew a
variety of other missions,
including ground attack as
gunships, reconnaissance, and
psychological warfare.
The C-47D on display (at the Air
Force Museum), the last C-47 in
routine USAF use, flew to the
museum in 1975. It is painted
and marked to represent the
C-47A flown by 2nd Lt. Gerald
"Bud" C. Berry of the 91st Troop
Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop
Carrier Group, to recover
gliders used in the invasion of
France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
"Snatched" from the ground in
Normandy, the gliders were towed
back to England for reuse. On
March 22, 1945, Lt. Berry used
that aircraft to "snatch" a
glider filled with wounded
soldiers at Remagen, Germany.
SOURCE: National Museum of the United States
Air Force |
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