1:144 Douglas C-47 Dakota Transport Aircraft Model Diecast Military Collection For Sale

Brand:PLANES(New in box)Model name:United Kingdom RAF Douglas C-47 DakotaApplication: Collection,Souvenir Gift, Home Office Decoration,Educational,ModelAge Range: > 14 years oldType: Static finished modelMaterial: Zinc alloy,plasticScale: 1:144Size: approx13.5cm(L) * 20cm(W)/5.3inch(L) * 7.9inch(W)Package:Aircraft model,Display stand,Original box

The C-47 transport aircraft is a twin engine propeller transport aircraft developed by Douglas Company in the 1930s. It was modified from a DC-3 passenger plane and the prototype first flew in December 1935. It began to be equipped in the military in 1940. Multiple types of this aircraft have been put into production, with a total of 10123 units produced.

The most significant achievement of the C-47 in World War II was its support for air assault operations, most of which were carried out under the command of the Army Air Forces Command and the Royal Air Force Transport Command. The British Air Force found that the C-47 was very suitable for paratrooper assaults, superior to the shabby Whitley bomber and other temporary emergency old aircraft. British Overseas Airways also acquired 59 Dakota aircraft for general transport missions.

Although Britain had already deployed a brigade of paratroopers using Dakota in North Africa as early as November 1942, it was not until July 1943 that the C-47 began to be widely used in combat. At that time, about 4000 paratroopers and gliders were parachuted into Sicily to support the Allied attack. Next was the Normandy Airborne in June 1944, where 1000 C-47s airdropped 60000 paratroopers and their equipment within 60 hours.

At the end of World War II, a large number of C-53 air cavalrymen (derivatives of C-47) served as airdropped paratroopers and towed military gliders in European warfare. The C-47 is also the main transport aircraft used to transport US soldiers back to their home country. In the UK and the Commonwealth, the C-47 is named \"Dakota\" and also known as \"Gooney Bird\" during European warfare.