Posted on 10/25/2023 1:10:43 PM PDT by Red Badger
The Douglas Commercial 3 (DC-3) was one of the most mass-produced, well-engineered aircraft in history. Built to last, to land anywhere and never to break, Douglas churned out more than 11,000 of the type before and during World War II. But how many of these 80-year-old aircraft are still flying today?
The 80-year old aircraft that will never die For an aircraft that was built before the Second World War, you’d be forgiven for assuming most would have been retired by now. So, imagine our surprise when we discovered one had suffered a runway excursion in Colombia in August 2020. Out of interest, we thought we’d take a look at how many DC-3 are still accounted for right now.
According to information kindly shared by Michael Prophet and compiled by Coert Munk for the DC-3 Appreciation Society, there are an estimated 164 DC-3 in all variants flying on a regular basis. This includes military variants (the C-47 and Dakota) as well as those in commercial operation.
Michael notes that none are in regular passenger operation, although some are used for charter/enthusiast flights from time to time. Judging by the fact the Aliansa aircraft had 13 passengers on board, it seems some are perhaps used for special charters in this developing country too.
The bulk of the operational DC-3 fleet is in North America. 89 registrations are thought to be active in the US, with a further 19 in Canada. Australia is home to six of the type, while South Africa has around 16 registered as active. The UK has just three.
Some of the bigger fleets are found in developing countries, however. Colombia, home to Aliansa, has 17 registered models (16 active). Thailand is a hot spot too, with seven confirmed in existence. Elsewhere, Bolivia, China, France, India, Mauritania and New Zealand have between one and three aircraft a piece.
The ruggedness and bulletproof reliability of the DC-3 has made it strangely relevant to today’s missions, despite its 80-plus years of age. It can land on grass and dirt runways with ease, and requires a surprisingly conservative runway length, making it popular in developing countries.
Some have even been converted to turboprops, using the Rolls-Royce Dart engine or the Pratt & Whitney PT6A powerplant. Munk's research suggests that around 33% of the DC-3s had turboprop engines. Others are kept flying through salvaged spare parts and new old stock. The over-engineered nature of the DC-3 means many of the spare parts manufactured for it in the ’30s were never used, so there’s a surprising stock still around.
Munk also notes that a number of DC-3s have been refurbished in recent times. In 2020, around seven were believed to be undergoing preparations to fly again.
VIDEO AT LINK..............
The most popular pre-war plane In its heyday, the Douglas Commercial 3 (DC-3) was flown by a range of interesting airlines. Air France, Swissair, and Aer Lingus were some major European customers, but the real home of the DC-3 was in the United States.
The aircraft was operated by all manner of US airlines, some of whom are still with us today, others who succumbed to consolidation following deregulation of the industry. Notable operators included Delta Air Lines, Braniff Airways, Hawaiian Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, Pan Am, and of course, United.
American Airlines was instrumental in the development of the DC-3, and along with TWA, Delta and United, it ordered an entire fleet of the type. The aircraft married reliability with comfort and performance, and quickly became the go-to model for long-distance flying.
Douglas DC-3 Aircraft fleets expanded significantly in the 1930s and 1940s. Photo: Getty Images It truly proved its worth during World War II, when it was the most widely used military transport, flying as the C-47 for the US Army Air Corps. It also found a place with the US Navy as the R4D, as well as the Marine Corps and Royal Air Force as the Dakota. So prevalent was the DC-3, President Dwight Ike Eisenhower named it one of the four most important things that won the war.
In 2019, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, a mass take-off of 35 DC-3s was orchestrated from Duxford Aerodrome in the UK to Normandy. It was the largest assembly of the Douglas aircraft since WWII and something that must have been breathtaking to see.
Have you ever seen a DC-3 in action? Ever had the pleasure to fly in one? Let us know in the comments.
We used them precisely like that
Dirt and gravel strips and uneven terrain
Sorta slow to gain altitude but steady
I still know immediately when I hear radials overhead at nite in an instant
I did some of my A&P exam on a DC-3. I thought what a big plane. Later in life was line mechanic for a main line carrier. DC-3 a really small aircraft by those standards.
PBA used them in the keys in the 80s
“Last time I flew in one was on Texas International Airlines from Texarakana to Dallas and back in 1975, 48 years ago.”
I flew on a TIA Convair 240 back in early 1971 between San Angelo and Dallas when I was in crypto school before I was sent overseas. TIA started out as TTA (Trans Texas Airways, but was affectionately known as Tree Top Airways).
1975 was 48 years ago. Think about that. WHAT!?
🙏🇮🇱👍
My first multi-engine flight experience was as a passenger on a DC3. They took my boy scout troop for a short flight in the early sixties.
Thank you for these cool pics!
Some of the old Piedmont DC-3s were purchased by Naples Airlines (fl) and flown by them until the early 1980s. I grew up a mile from the airport and we would climb the fence and play in an old Piedmont airframe. LoL I couldn’t imagine getting away with that today.
bkmk
Appears to be a C-43 with modified engines. They look like turbo-props?
My dad was a maintenance chief in a bombardier training unit in New Mexico in WW2. He said they used those Beechs with little bomb bays installed. They’d drop concrete practice bombs filled with black powder. He said they were always fixing holes in the bellies of those planes when the trainees dropped them at too low attitudes. Apparently the noobs didn’t understand about inertia all that well. They thought the bombs would fall straight down and not follow the plane. Lol.
True about the DEA. We bought a 40yo twin engine aircraft some years ago from Colombia. Hubby got it to the US and the nize Fedbois were all over it and then angry/disappointed because (of course) they found nothing.
Fun people.
One of the greatest planes ever built. And how many thousands were manufactured? I’m not surprised a number are still in service.
The Goony Bird!
I remember flying in one from Ft Lauderdale to Grand Bahama back in the 60’s. You really had to walk uphill to get to your seat. The pilot asked my dad how much he weighed, and then told him where to sit.
Way, way back before my time, my mom was a stewardess with Delta. She flew from Charleston, I am not sure to where. She would talk about the sailors in uniform traveling on her flights. She said there would be at least one on every flight who would start turning a little green, and suddenly yank his white cap down to catch the spewing chunder. Fun times!
Back in the 1960’s, our squadron CO loaded up the MAG-32 C-117 with anybody who wanted to go and flew us to a junior pilot’s wedding in Missouri.
The skipper was in the left seat, while some poor lieutenant ( I’ll call him Larry) occupied the co-pilots position. The rest of us were in the back playing cards. After about an hour, the CO came back and joined the game. Most of us were a little concerned, since we knew that the guy up front (Larry) was an F-4 pilot, but wasn’t checked out in the Gooney bird.
A few minutes later, Larry wandered to the back and asked the Skipper a question about the flight plan. Either the autopilot was operative ( a
rarity in those days), or Larry was really great at trim settings, since the flight deck was unoccupied!
There are still some flying in Alaska. DC-6 too. Had one go over my house about 10 days ago. Also C-46 are still flying up here.
“The Goony Bird!”
There it is... I was reading through to see if anyone remembered the real nickname. :)
Good chance that I flew on that Aircraft as a little kid. I know that I was on many of them back in the day.
FU- gettyimages you money grubbing pricks!!!
History (((PING)))
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