List of original DC-3 operators

Last updated September 14, 2023

A DC-3 with Wright Cyclone engines, built in 1938 for Australian National Airways VHABR.JPG — A DC-3 with Wright Cyclone engines, built in 1938 for Australian National Airways

The List of original Douglas DC-3 operators lists only the original customers who purchased new aircraft.

With the availability of large numbers of surplus military C-47 Skytrains or Dakotas after the Second World War, nearly every airline and military force in the 1940s and 1950s operated the aircraft at some point. More than eighty years after the type's first flight, in the second decade of the 21st century the Douglas DC-3 is still in commercial operation.

Commercial operators

Australia

Australian National Airways (ANA) ^[1]

Belgium

Sabena ^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[2]

Brazil

Czechoslovakia

Československá letecká společnost [ cz ] (ČLS)^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[3]

France

Air France ^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[4]

Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific

India

Indian Airlines ^[5]

Indonesia

Garuda Indonesia

Ireland

Aer Lingus ^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[6]

Kenya

Speedbird Airways

KLM - in pre-war (1939-1940) orange for easy detection for fighter planes, as a neutral country Dakota-PH-ALRb.jpg — KLM - in pre-war (1939-1940) orange for easy detection for fighter planes, as a neutral country

Netherlands

KLM ^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[7]

Japan

Pakistan

Pakistan International Airlines

Peru

PANAGRA ^[9]

Romania

LARES ^[10]

Russia

Mongolian Transport Company^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[10]
Northeast^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[2]

Sweden

AB Aerotransport ^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[10]

Switzerland

Swissair ^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[11]

United States

American Airlines ^[12]
Braniff Airways ^[13]
Capital Airlines - the only purchaser of the DC-3S Super DC-3 post-war variant^[14]
Chicago and Southern Air Lines ^[15]
Canadian Colonial Airlines ^[13]
Delta Air Lines ^[16]
Eastern Air Lines ^[7]
Hawaiian Airlines ^[17]
Northeast ^[18]
Northwest Airlines ^[19]
Pan American-Grace Airways ^[10]
Pan American World Airways ^[10]
Pennsylvania Central Airlines ^[18]
Transcontinental & Western Air ^[20]
United Airlines ^[7]
Western Air Express ^[11]

Business and Executive operators

United States

Civil Aeronautics Authority ^[21]
Swiftflite Inc^[16]

Military operators

Nicaragua

Nicaraguan Air Force

Sweden

Royal Swedish Air Force

The RSwAF operated two second-hand ex-AB Aerotransport DC-3 aircraft for SIGINT purposes. One was shot down on June 13 1952 on a secret mission outside the Baltic coast by Soviet fighters. All eight in the crew perished.

In 2003, the wreck was located and salvaged. It now resides in the Air Force Museum.

United States

United States Army Air Corps/United States Army Air Forces ^[7]
- Includes aircraft built for the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force but taken over before delivery following the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies ^[22]

United States Navy ^[23]

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Assembled and sold by Fokker

Related Research Articles

The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2. It is a low-wing metal monoplane with conventional landing gear, powered by two radial piston engines of 1,000–1,200 hp (750–890 kW). Although the DC-3s originally built for civil service had the Wright R-1820 Cyclone, later civilian DC-3s used the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine. The DC-3 has a cruising speed of 207 mph (333 km/h), a capacity of 21 to 32 passengers or 6,000 lbs (2,700 kg) of cargo, and a range of 1,500 mi (2,400 km), and can operate from short runways.

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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.

The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company publicity. It was used primarily as a cargo aircraft during World War II, with fold-down seating for military transport and some use in delivering paratroops. Mainly deployed by the United States Army Air Forces, it also served the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps, which called it R5C. The C-46 filled similar roles as its Douglas-built counterpart, the C-47 Skytrain, with some 3,200 C-46s produced to approximately 10,200 C-47s.

The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range commercial transport market. Douglas built over 700, and many still fly in cargo, military, and wildfire control roles.

The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s. From 1945, many civil airlines operated the DC-4 worldwide.

Capitol Air was a charter airline and scheduled passenger air carrier based in the United States which was operational from 1946 to its bankruptcy filing on November 23, 1984. It was founded as Capitol Airways in 1946, and then renamed Capitol International Airways in 1967. In 1981, the airline changed its name to Capitol Air and was operating scheduled domestic and international passenger flights that year.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1948:

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1949:

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1952:

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1954:

The Douglas DC-5 was a 16-to-22-seat, twin-engine propeller aircraft intended for shorter routes than the Douglas DC-3 or Douglas DC-4. By the time it entered commercial service in 1940, many airlines were canceling orders for aircraft. Consequently, only five civilian DC-5s were built. With the Douglas Aircraft Company already converting to World War II military production, the DC-5 was soon overtaken by world events, although a limited number of military variants were produced.

The Douglas DC-4E was an American experimental airliner that was developed before World War II. The DC-4E never entered production due to being superseded by an entirely new design, the Douglas DC-4/C-54, which proved very successful.

The Douglas DC-2 is a 14-passenger, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3, which became one of the most successful aircraft in history.

References

↑ Berry 1971, p.28
1 2 3 Berry 1971, p.29
↑ Berry 1971, p.22
1 2 Berry 1971, p.30
↑ "Case Study the Indian Scene, circa 1975". 20 August 2018.
↑ Berry 1971, p.32
1 2 3 4 Berry 1971, p.24
1 2 Best Air-Britain Archive Spring 2008, pp. 25–26
↑ Pearcy (1987), p.29
1 2 3 4 5 Berry 1971, p.27
1 2 Berry 1971, p.26
↑ Berry 1971, p.23
1 2 Berry 1971, p.34
↑ O'Leary (1992), p.69
↑ Berry 1971, p.33
1 2 Berry 1971, p.37
↑ Forman 2005 p.69
1 2 Berry 1971, p.35
↑ Berry 1971, p.31
↑ Berry 1971, p.25
↑ Berry 1971, p.38
↑ Pearcy (1987), pp. 101-105
↑ Berry 1971, p. 43

Bibliography

Peter Barry, ed. (1971). The Douglas Commercial Story. Air-Britain Historians.
Best, Martin S. (Spring 2008). "The Development of Commercial Aviation in China: Part 5A: Japanese Airlines in Occupied China and Manchuria". Air-Britain Archive. pp. 17–31. ISSN 0262-4923.
O'Leary, Michael (1992). DC-3 and C-47 Gooney Birds. Osceola, Wisconsin: Motorbooks International. ISBN 0-87938-543-X.
Pearcy, Arthur (1987). Douglas DC-3 Survivors. Bourne End, Buckinghamshire: Aston Publications. ISBN 0-946627-13-4.
Forman, Peter (2005). Wings of Paradise. Barnstormer Books. ISBN 978-0-9701594-4-1.

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[fokker-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Assembled and sold by Fokker

[ab28-1] Berry 1971, p.28

[ab29-3] 1 2 3 Berry 1971, p.29

[ab22-4] Berry 1971, p.22

[ab30-5] 1 2 Berry 1971, p.30

[6] "Case Study the Indian Scene, circa 1975". 20 August 2018.

[ab32-7] Berry 1971, p.32

[ab24-8] 1 2 3 4 Berry 1971, p.24

[aba08p256-9] 1 2 Best Air-Britain Archive Spring 2008, pp. 25–26

[10] Pearcy (1987), p.29

[ab27-11] 1 2 3 4 5 Berry 1971, p.27

[ab26-12] 1 2 Berry 1971, p.26

[ab23-13] Berry 1971, p.23

[ab34-14] 1 2 Berry 1971, p.34

[15] O'Leary (1992), p.69

[ab33-16] Berry 1971, p.33

[ab37-17] 1 2 Berry 1971, p.37

[ab50-18] Forman 2005 p.69

[ab35-19] 1 2 Berry 1971, p.35

[ab31-20] Berry 1971, p.31

[ab25-21] Berry 1971, p.25

[ab38-22] Berry 1971, p.38

[23] Pearcy (1987), pp. 101-105

[ab43-24] Berry 1971, p. 43

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