Few aircraft are as well known or were so widely used for so long as the C-47 or "Gooney Bird" as it was affectionately nicknamed. The aircraft was adapted from the DC-3 commercial airliner which appeared in 1936. The first C-47s were ordered in 1940 and by the end of WW II, 9,348 had been procured for AAF use. They carried personnel and cargo, and in a combat role, towed troop-carrying gliders and dropped paratroops into enemy territory.

After WW II, many C-47s remained in USAF 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 Vietnam, the C-47 served again as a transport, but it was also used in a variety of other ways which included flying ground attack (gunship) , reconnaissance, and psychological warfare missions.

The C-47D on display, the last C-47 in routine USAF use, was flown to the Museum in 1975. It is displayed as a C-47A of the 88th Troop Carrier Squadron, 438th Troop Carrier Group, which participated in the invasion of Europe on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

More C-47 information.

• C-47 Hospital Ships
• A "Gibson Girl" (emergency radio)

PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 232 mph.
Cruising speed: 175 mph.
Range: 1,513 miles
Service Ceiling: 24,450 ft.