Douglas DC3

On this page you'll find a selection of DC3s from my archives. As you'll notice, no two DC3s are alike! Just click on a photo to enlarge it. Most operational information is extracted from Jennifer Gradidge's "The First Seventy Years".
All photos ©Paul J. Hooper.

G-AMWW 16262/33010 C47B This 1945 DC3 was a former RAF aircraft which found its way to Skyways Cargo in 1967 and was photographed at Lydd on July 24, 1979. Financial problems led to the demise of the airline in 1980 and to the aircraft returning to its homeland to join B. Airways in Miami as N2685W. It was later converted to turbo-prop power as a Basler BT-67 and sold on to the Royal Thai Air Force in 2004

N2685W 16262/33010 C47B The same aircraft photographed in Miami on November 3, 1985 operated by B. Airways.

G-AMPP 15272/26717 C47B Allocated 43-49456 this aircraft was transferred to the RAF as KK136 in 1944 but civilianised as G-AMPP in 1952 , perhaps by Scottish Aviation as the aircraft was registered to that company. It returned to RAF service as XF756 in 1954. Dan-Air acquired it in 1961. This shot was taken at Dan-Air's engineering base of Lasham on September 16, 1971 and was, as I recall, fitted with the left wing from sister ship G-AMSU which was sitting nearby. At some later stage the aircraft was painted and preserved at Lasham as G-AMSU, Dan-Air's first aircraft. Parts of it eventually found their way to Poland, via Disneyland, Paris and Berlin.

OO-CBY 11982 C47A This aircraft was one of a bunch of ex Sabena DC3s which were leased to Libyan National Airlines (Linair) during the 60s and which returned to Brussels in 1972 - this photo was taken there on November 13, 1972. The aircraft subsequently appeared twice on the US register, and on the Canadian register until finally receiving the Spanish registration EC-FDH for operation by Aeromarket Express. On November 3, 1991 the aircraft was written off on departure from Barcelona en-route to Palma. Shortly after take off the DC3 entered a sharp left turn losing airspeed, resulting in a forced landing. All three occupants survived. The remains of the aircraft were later donated to the airport fire service.
The c/n of this aircraft has also been quoted as 11881.

G-AMCA 16218/32966 C47B Transferred to the RAF as KN487 in 1945 by 1950 the aircraft had been civilianized and commenced operations with Skyways as G-AMCA. Via several other operators it ended up with Air Atlantique in 1977. This photo was taken at Coventry on March 23, 1987 just prior to the aircraft acquiring spraybars to counter oil pollution. In October 2003 it was acquired by the Aviodrome in Lelystad, the Netherlands, being painted to represent PH-ALR of KLM.

N23SA 4903 C53 A 1942 aircraft which spent its first few years as 41-20133 before becoming civilianized in 1945. In 1968 the aircraft was fitted with two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops in the ownership of the Conroy Aircraft Corporation who later replaced them with three PWC PT6 turboprops as part of the company's Tri-Turbo-Three programme. Seen in this configuration this photo was taken at Santa Barbara, CA on June 4, 1987. The aircraft eventually ended up in the hands of another conversion specialist, Basler Turbo Conversions at Oshkosh, WI.

N25641 9059 C47 The shape of a DC3 nose is normally determined by whether a radar antenna has been added. This shot was taken at the Basler facility at Oshkosh, WI on October 12, 1987.

N456WL 16619/33367 R4D-7 This aircraft was delivered to the US Navy, as 99857, in 1945, the livery of which is still clearly displayed in this shot taken at Miami, Opa Locka, FL on November 4, 1985. In 1952 it was upgraded to R4D-8 standard, the so-called Super DC3, which involved a stretched fuselage, more powerful engines, a new fin/rudder, new square tipped wings and landing gear doors. The re-build was so extensive that the aircraft received a new c/n - 43332. The type was redesignated a C117D in 1962. After six years of storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona the aircraft went civil and received the registration N456WL. In 1997 it was re-registered N99857 for the Wings Over Miami Military and Classic Aircraft Museum based at New Tamiami Airport, FL, displaying its original USN serial 99857.

N3FY 20562 C47A Came off the production line in 1944 and was transferred to the Royal Norwegian Air Force in 1945. Civilianized the aircraft saw brief service with DNL and SAS in Norway before moving to France. In 1955 it returned to the United States and then north to Canada in 1972. Re-registered N3FY back in the US the aircraft was on lease to Salair when this photo was taken at Seattle, WA on June 8, 1986. Whilst in service with Living Water Teaching Inc. the aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain near Quetzaltenango, Guatemala on November 1, 1998 killing eleven of the eighteen persons on board. The DC3 was written off.

43-48266 14082/25527 C47B From its delivery in 1944 this aircraft spent the larger part of its life in military service until acquiring the civil registration N10005 in 1970. In 1998 it began operations with the Lee County Mosquito Control District at Le High Acres, FL but was withdrawn from use in February of 2001 following the discovery of corrosion. This photo was taken at Le High Acres, nowadays Buckingham Field, on October 22, 1999.

N74KW 7317 C53 Came off the line in June of 1942 into a brief military career and was civilianized in February of 1945. The aircraft passed through a number of operators over the next 30years before reaching Air Sunshine in Key West, Florida and acquiring an appropriate registration. Five years later the aircraft was on the move again until reaching Pro Air in whose partial colors it appeared here when photographed at McAllen, TX on September 4, 1988.

XB-DYP 19239 C47A There seems to be some doubt about the identity of this aircraft but assuming it is MSN 19239 it had a very short military career before becoming NC50321 in 1945. Passing through the hands of numerous operators it eventually became XB-DYP with American Air Freight in August of 1986 and continued to wear the Mexican registration until the end of its life in 1989 despite, theoretically, having been registered N773AF in January of 1987. The aircraft crashed after take-off from Laredo, TX on January 19, 1989 following a possible cargo shift, taking the lives of its two crew members. The photograph was taken at its home base of Laredo on September 4, 1988.

G-AOBN 11711 C53D Between 1955 and 1977 this aircraft saw service with a number of British operators both before and after its time with Air Anglia. The company provided scheduled services tailored to suit the needs of the oil business. The aircraft saw out its days with Ethiopian Airlines.
Photographed at Maastricht on June 11, 1973.

N705GB 13854 C47A This aircraft is still current and is operated by Atlantic Air Cargo from Opa Locka, FL. This shot was taken at nearby New Tamiami/Kendall on September 7, 1988.
Here is a short video of a recent operation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GFLfqfw8yw

C-FBFV 7340 C53 How often have I seen a DC3 in this kind of situation only to see it back in service a short time later? Unfortunately, it was not to be on this occasion. The aircraft arrived at Perimeter Airlines in 1981 but by 1987 was in open storage at Winnipeg, Manitoba and the wings removed by 1989. Although donated to the West Canada Aviation Museum the aircraft still seems to be out in the open in a derelict state. The photo was taken at Winnipeg om May 1, 1989

PK-VTO 13334 C47A Off the production line in 1944 this aircraft was handed over to the Royal Air Force with whom it served as KG603 until being sold to KLM in 1946 as PH-TCT. Re-registered PH-DAT in 1954 it continued its KLM service until being handed over to de Kroonduif in 1961. A move to Indonesia came in 1963 on delivery to Merpati Nusantara as PK-GDP, later PK-NDF. Next operator was Dirgantara Air Service who operated the aircraft as PK-VTO until it was withdrawn from use at Jakarta-Halim in August 1991 along with its sister ship PK-VTM. The photo was taken at Halim on March 3, 1992. However, that was not the end of the story. Between 1993 and 2003 the aircraft provided a platform for parachutists for an element of the Indonesian Air Force.

N12RB 20401 C47A Delivered into US military service in May of 1944 this aircraft had a very short career in uniform as it had acquired an Australian civil registration by late 1946. By the following year it had been registered in the UK as G-ALFO before returning to its homeland as N94529 in 1950. It flew for numerous US operators over a considerable number of years until becoming N12RB in 1990 under the ownership of one Robert Burwell. Named Amelia the aircraft retained its registration when acquired by Branson's Vintage Air Tours based at Kissimmee, FL. I had always assumed that the 'RB' in the registration had stood for Richard Branson but that, apparently, was not the case. The Virgin operation was short lived and the aircraft wore just one more civil registration, N33VW, before acquiring khaki garb with D-Day stripes and its original serial, 43-15935, with the Cavanaugh Flight Museum at Addison, TX. The photo was taken at Kissimmee, FL on October 19, 1994.

LN-KLV 4828 C53 cnvtd to C53B Became a civilian aircraft in 1945 when it joined the DDL fleet in Denmark as OY-DCA. The airline and the aircraft became part of SAS in 1948 with the aircraft being re-registered OY-KLE in September 1950. In 1954 it joined the Kar-Air fleet in Finland as OH-VKA and moved on to Norfly in Norway in 1970. By 1976 the aircraft had become N65371, the N being removed when it went on display on the terminal roof at Frankfurt Airport. It continued in preservation and was later painted as HB-IRN in the colors of Swiss Air Lines. This photo was taken at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland on July 2, 1975.