The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troop transport, cargo, paratrooper, for towing gliders and military cargo parachute drops. The C-47 remained in front-line service with various military operators for many years. It was produced in approximately triple the numbers as the larger, much heavier payload Curtiss C-46 Commando, which filled a similar role for the U.S. military.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1950:
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1954:
The Dani are an ethnic group from the Central Highlands of Western New Guinea in Baliem Valley, Highland Papua, Indonesia. Around 100,000 people live in the Baliem Valley, consisting of representatives of the Dani tribes in the lower and upper parts of the valley each 20,000 and 50,000 in the middle part. The areas west of the Baliem Valley are inhabited by approx 180,000, representatives of the Lani people, incorrectly called "Western Dani". All inhabitants of Baliem Valley and the surrounding areas are often called Dani hence they are also sometimes conflated with other highland tribes such as Lani in the west; Walak in the north; Nduga, Mek, and Yali in the south and east.
Military gliders have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g., C-47 Skytrain or Dakota, or bombers relegated to secondary activities, e.g., Short Stirling. Most military gliders do not soar, although there were attempts to build military sailplanes as well, such as the DFS 228.
The Baliem Valley is a valley of the Central Highlands in Western New Guinea, specifically in the province of Highland Papua, Indonesia. The main town in the valley is Wamena, which lies on the Baliem River. The valley is about 80 km in length by 20 km in width and lies at an altitude of about 1,600–1,700 metres (5,200–5,600 ft), with a population of over 200,000.
The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used American troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4A by the United States Army Air Forces, and given the service name Hadrian by the British.
The Douglas XCG-17 was an American assault glider, developed by the conversion of a C-47 Skytrain twin-engine transport during World War II. Although the XCG-17 was successfully tested, the requirement for such a large glider had passed, and no further examples of the type were built; one additional C-47, however, was converted in the field to glider configuration briefly during 1946 for evaluation, but was quickly reconverted to powered configuration.
On March 17, 1957, a C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft crashed on the slopes of Mount Manunggal on the island of Cebu in the Philippines. The crash killed 25 of the aircraft's 26 occupants, including the incumbent president of the Philippines, Ramon Magsaysay. Several high-ranking Philippine government officials, military officials, and journalists were also among the dead. The sole survivor was a reporter for the Philippine Herald, Nestor Mata.
The 94th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 306th Flying Training Group based at United States Air Force Academy, Colorado. It conducts glider training for Air Force Academy cadets. The 94 FTS conducts thousands of sorties every year at the world's busiest VFR airfield. It is the parent squadron of the Air Force Academy's advanced soaring teams: the Aerobatic Demonstration Team and the elite Sailplane Racing Team. The squadron is augmented by the reserve 70th Flying Training Squadron.
Mitchell S. Zuckoff is an American professor of journalism at Boston University. His books include Lost in Shangri-La and 13 Hours (2014).
The 316th Operations Group is the flying component of the Air Force District of Washington 316th Wing, stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. It provides rotary-wing contingency response support capability to the United States National Capital Region while also supporting regional and global customers with critical airfield infrastructure and aviation services. The group consists of two squadrons of aircrew and support personnel.
The 318th Special Operations Squadron flies the Pilatus PC-12 and is currently stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. The 318th is under the command of the Air Force Special Operations Command. Crews plan, prepare, and execute nonstandard aviation missions in support of joint special operations forces while directly supporting theater special operations commanders by conducting night vision infiltration, exfiltration, resupply and other combat taskings on unimproved runways.
Hale County Airport is a public airport about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-southwest of Plainview, Texas.
Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II is a 2011 non-fiction book by American author Mitchell Zuckoff about a US military airplane called "The Gremlin Special", which crashed on May 13, 1945 in Netherlands New Guinea, and the subsequent rescue of the survivors. Because it involved a female WAC Corporal lost in the jungle with "savages", the public became keenly interested in following the story. It was written about in the November 1945 issue of Reader's Digest magazine, and many other press channels. In 2011 Zuckoff published a modern retelling based on interviews with surviving Americans and New Guineans, and other previously unpublished information.
The 1946 KLM Douglas C-47 Amsterdam accident was the crash of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight from London to Amsterdam on 14 November 1946. The accident occurred as the aircraft was attempting to land at Amsterdam's airport in poor weather. All 26 passengers and crew on board were killed.
Glider snatch pick-up was a technique used by the Allies of World War II to launch a military glider with a low-flying powered aircraft, which did not have to land.
Alexander Howard Ross Cann was a Canadian actor and journalist known for his role in documenting the 1945 New Guinea Gremlin Special rescue.
