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.
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