![]() A gunsight was mounted in the left cockpit window. The Air Force modified several C-47s by mounting three 7.62 mm General Electric miniguns to fire through two rear window openings and the side cargo door, all on the left side of the aircraft. C-47 engages in psychological warfare by dropping leaflets in South Vietnam, 1969. The practice inspired the idea of fitting the C-47s with firepower and ultimately an Air Force effort called Project Gunship I. In response to increased attacks by Viet Cong on rural South Vietnamese outposts in Vietnam in 1963, American Air Commandos began assisting the defense of small villages at night by using their C-47 transport aircraft to fly in circles and drop illumination flares, exposing attackers to the defending troops. Its low-speed handling and toughness made it the go-to airplane for a myriad of jobs including military special operations. Cruising at 160 to 180 mph, the DC-3 can fly about 1,600 miles, land in less than 3,000 feet, and take off again in less than 1,000 feet. Its two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial engines produce 1200 hp each, providing thrust enough to lift 20-plus passengers and baggage or a 6,000-plus pound cargo load. Charly Triballeau/AFPīut really, the basic DC-3/C-47 configuration was so good, it needed little improvement. The interior of a fully restored C-47, one of the planes used to drop paratroopers on D-Day. ![]() ✈ The Most Fun RC Planes for Aviation Enthusiasts In comparison to these early flights, the DC-3 was a quantum leap forward. The first airline flight in America was a 23-minute jaunt across Tampa Bay in 1914, on which a single passenger joined the pilot in a noisy, windy open-cockpit Benoist flying boat.īy the 1920s, the Ford Trimotor reliably carried 13 passengers coast to coast, but its limited range (570 mi), slow cruising speed (100 mph), and modest instruments meant that the trip took 48 hours (though not all of it was aboard the Trimotor). The DC-3 was born into a still-nascent commercial air travel industry-and traveling by air was much riskier and arduous before the DC-3 came along. ![]() More than 16,000 DC-3s and military version C-47s were built in 50-plus variants. From "Gooney Bird" and "Dumbo" to "Spooky" and "Puff The Magic Dragon," at least two dozen nicknames testify to its versatility and ruggedness. There are thousands of stories about the DC-3. The commercial aviation icon, the war hero, and the aerial workhorse- the Douglas DC-3. Luckily, it was a plane designed for this very situation. The captain decided to put the plane down in the alfalfa patch. Still, the fire burned.įifteen miles short of Norfolk airport, Bergum and Truax faced a tough decision: try to make it to the runway, or land in a farmer's field with 26 passengers and three crew on board. As Bergum rushed to shut down the engine and feather the propeller, the crew actuated the single-shot engine fire extinguisher. Black smoke and flames poured from the left engine nacelle. On its first leg to Norfolk, Nebraska, the airplane cruised at a leisurely 155 miles per hour (mph).Įverything was routine until a sudden backfire startled captain Al Bergum and co-pilot Tom Truax. That same process works both ways, though: in setting the value, the transaction reduces the sales item to little more than a monetary unit.On a spring morning in 1966, North Central Airlines flight 787 departed Eppley Field at Omaha, Nebraska, en route to Grand Forks, North Dakota, with seven stops along the way. ![]() By their very nature they represent a unique means of establishing market value on whatever good or service they sell. ![]() That seems laudable enough, but there are presumably existing means by which museums and other responsible organizations can obtain artifacts for legitimate collections, without snapping up a quick Auschwitz uniform on eBay, authenticated by its seller’s say-so.ĮBay, and other popular internet sales sites, offer a valuable service in making available a wide array of merchandise to a global audience. Or who intend to donate the items to museums, synagogues or other organizations dedicated to preserving that memory. We’re told that many buyers are Jewish people who want to preserve the memory of the Holocaust. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
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