List of Douglas C-47 Skytrain operators

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{{Further|Douglas C-47 Skytrain}}

{{more citations needed|date=January 2012}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}

Image:Dakota III ZA947.jpg

File:Two USAAF C-47A Skytrains.jpg

File:British Paratroops inside one of the C-47 transport aircraft.jpg

List of C-47 Skytrain operators includes the country, military service, known squadrons, and related data. The Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. The C-47 has served with over 90 countries outside of the United States:

{{inc-transport|date=October 2021}}

Operators

= Current operators =

==Bolivia==

==Colombia==

File:AC-47 Fantasma.jpg

==El Salvador==

==Guatemala==

==Malawi==

==Mali==

==Mauritania==

  • Mauritania Islamic Air Force – started operating one C-47 donated by France in 1960. Five additional aircraft were bought from France in the first half of the 1960s.{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|2018|page=33}} Currently operates one Basler BT-67.

==South Africa==

==Thailand==

= Former operators =

==Argentina==

  • Argentine Air Force – 55 (DC-3 and C-47)[http://www.avialatina.com.ar/libros2.php?idlibro=5 "Douglas DC-3/C-47 en la Fuerza Aérea Argentina"]

{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031083213/http://www.avialatina.com.ar/libros2.php?idlibro=5 |date=31 October 2019 }} Avialatina Retrieved: 10 September 2018.

==Australia==

File:Douglas C-47B Skytrain, Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) JP5620227.jpg

==Bangladesh==

==Belgium==

  • Belgian Air Force - 41 used. In service from 1946 to 1976.{{sfn|Gradidge|1984|p=36}}

==Benin==

==Brazil==

==Burma==

==Cambodia==

==Cameroon==

==Canada==

==Central African Republic==

==Chad==

==Chile==

==Comoros==

==Congo Republic==

==Czechoslovakia==

==Denmark==

==Ethiopia==

  • Ethiopian Air Force{{cite web |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v21/d276 |title=FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1961–1963, VOLUME XXI, AFRICA |publisher=Office of the Historian}}

File:Restored DC-3, Flying Legends 2014.jpg

==Finland==

  • The Finnish Air Force operated nine from 1960 to 1984. One was involved in the Finnish Air Force's deadliest crash on 3 October 1978, when the aircraft crashed soon after takeoff, killing all 15 aboard.{{Cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19781003-1|title=ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-47A-1-DK (DC-3) DO-10 Kuopio Airport (KUO)|first=Harro|last=Ranter|website=aviation-safety.net}}

==France==

  • The French Air Force operated Skytrains from September 1944 on, when Lend-Lease C-47Bs were delivered to the Groupe de Transport 1/15. After the war, they were the only transport aircraft in large numbers with the Junkers 52 until the late 1950s.{{in lang|fr}} Jacques Moulin, [http://avions-de-la-guerre-d-algerie.over-blog.com/article-19041238.html Le Douglas C-47/DC-3 "Dakota"], 25 April 2008
  • The French Navy used an example in the First Indochina War as a transport aircraft.{{Cite web|url=http://www.netmarine.net/aero/aeronefs/dakota/index.htm|title=Dakota|website=www.netmarine.net}} After some were used as training aircraft by the squadron 56S.{{Cite web|url=https://www.avionslegendaires.net/2017/06/actu/dakota-dentrainement-de-lescadrille-56s/|title=Les Dakota d'entraînement de l'Escadrille 56S|date=7 June 2017}}

File:Luftwaffe Douglas C-47B Skytrain (DC-3) Manteufel-1.jpg

==Germany==

==Greece==

The Hellenic Air Force's received a total of 78 aircraft, in several batches, with 26 ex-RAF Dakota IVs received from 1947 to 1949, 16 ex-USAAF C-47s in 1947–48, 30 C-47s supplied from the US under the Mutual Assistance Program and six aircraft from Olympic Airways in 1963. They equipped the 355th and 356th Transport Squadrons.{{harvnb|Mylonas Air-Britain Aeromilitaria Spring 2016|pp=6–7}} These were widely used in the Greek Civil War (1946–49) in transport and bombing roles.{{harvnb|Mylonas Air-Britain Aeromilitaria Spring 2016|pp=8–13}} The 13th Transport Flight used C-47s in the Korean War,{{harvnb|Mylonas Air-Britain Aeromilitaria Summer 2016|pp=51, 54–55}} earning a U.S. Presidential Citation.{{harvnb|Mylonas Air-Britain Aeromilitaria Summer 2016|p=55}} The 356th Squadron converted to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules in 1975, but 26 C-47s remained operational with 355 Squadron at the beginning of the 1980s, with aircraft gradually being phased out over time, with four aircraft remaining operational in 2000 and the last aircraft, a veteran of the Korean War, grounded in 2008.{{harvnb|Mylonas Air-Britain Aeromilitaria Autumn 2016|pp=104–105}}

==Haiti==

==Honduras==

==Hungary==

==India==

==Indonesia==

  • Indonesian Army (TNI-AD){{cite web|url=https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1411854|title=DOUGLAS C-47D SKYTRAIN, A-9038, INDONESIAN ARMY|website=abpic.co.uk|first=Stuart|last=Jessup|date=1 July 2013|access-date=9 March 2021}}
  • Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL){{cite web|url=https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1270329|title=DOUGLAS C-47 DAKOTA MK.III, U-605, INDONESIAN NAVY|website=abpic.co.uk|first=Brian G|last=Nichols|date=10 January 2011|access-date=9 March 2021}}
  • Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU)
  • C-47 Dakota RI-001 Seulawah was bought by the Acehnese in 1948 and flown between Java and Sumatra. After the war of independence in 1949 some C-47s were transferred from the Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force and later ex-RAAF C-47s were received as foreign aid. During the Indonesian invasion of East Timor two C-47s were converted to Gunships with three AN/M3 Browning machine guns.{{Cite web|url=https://www.indomiliter.com/ac-47-gunship-tni-au-pesawat-angkut-berkemampuan-serbu/|title=AC-47 Gunship TNI AU: Pesawat Angkut Berkemampuan Serbu|website=indomiliter.com|date=12 December 2013|access-date=9 March 2021|language=id}}

==Iran==

The IIAF acquired 22 Douglas C-47 Skytrains in 1949.

==Israel==

==Italy==

  • Italian Air Force
  • Operated 19 C-47s and 8 C-53 as staff transports and ECM aircraft into the mid-1980s.{{Cite web|url=http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/italy/af/ital-af2-all-time.htm|title=Italian Air Force Aircraft Types|website=www.aeroflight.co.uk}}

==Japan==

File:Showa L2D.jpg

  • On 24 February 1938, a subsidiary of Nakajima (Mitsui) purchased production rights and technical data to the DC-3 for $90,000. The aircraft was extensively redesigned to use Japanese raw materials, and the Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines were replaced with Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 radial engines. Production initially lagged behind expectations until 1942. Japanese DC-3s were given the Navy designation L2D-2 (L-transport, 2-second Douglas type, D-Douglas, 2-second sub-type). L2D1 was used for imported DC-3s. The Japanese built eight subtypes in two basic configurations, as passenger transport and as cargo planes. In two years, Nakajima built 71 L2D-2s before handing production over to Showa, which built 416, including 75 freighters equipped with a large side door.

File:JMSDF R4D-6Q(9023) right front view at Kanoya Naval Air Base Museum April 29, 2017 02.jpg

  • Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force received two R4D-6s, one R4D-7, and one R4D-6Q from the United States in 1958. JMSDF designated them as R4D-6/R4D-6Q "Manazuru" (White-naped crane). They were retired by 1972.{{Cite web|url=http://kwat01.web.fc2.com/ |title=ダグラスR4D-6/-6Qスカイトレイン『まなづる』|website=KWAT's homepage}}

==Laos==

==Libya==

  • Royal Libyan Air Force – operated several C-47Bs donated in the 1960s by the United States.{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Delalande|2015|page=8}}

==Morocco==

  • Royal Moroccan Air Force – received a few DC-3s in 1961, handed over by Royal Air Maroc.{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|2018|page=30}} As of 1962, 10 C-47s were on strength.{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|2018|page=32}} Four additional aircraft were delivered by the United States around 1964.{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|2018|page=40}} At least 10 C-47s were still operational as of 1975.{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|page=20}} However, they have been retired before 1985.{{harvnb|Cooper|Grandolini|Fontanellaz|2019|page=62}}

==Mozambique==

  • LAM Mozambique Airlines and its predecessor Direcção de Exploração de Transportes Aéreos{{cite web|title= SubFleets for: LAM Mozambique|url= http://www.aerotransport.org/php/go.php?query=operator&qstring=LAM+Mozambique&where=54543&luck=|work= AeroTransport Data Bank|date= 5 January 2012|access-date= 5 January 2012}}

==Netherlands==

==New Zealand==

==Niger==

  • Niger Air Force
  • Four C-47s received in the 1960s.{{cite web |last1=Delalande |first1=Arnaud |title=Niger's desert warriors |url=https://www.key.aero/article/nigers-desert-warriors |website=Key Aero |date=15 March 2018}}

==North Yemen==

==Norway==

==Pakistan==

  • Pakistan Air Force
  • Received eight C-47 Dakota cargo planes which it used to transport supplies to soldiers fighting in the 1947 War in Kashmir against India.

==Papua New Guinea==

  • Papua New Guinea Defence Force Air Operations Element
  • A total of seven ex-Royal Australian Air Force C-47s were transferred to the PNGDF following independence in 1973.[http://www.adf-serials.com/2a65.shtml ADF Serials list of Australian military DC-2s/DC-3s/C-47s] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607213106/http://www.adf-serials.com/2a65.shtml |date=7 June 2011 }} retrieved 19 June 2010

==Paraguay==

File:Douglas C-47B T-57 TAM Paraguay Asuncion 19.04.75.jpg

==Philippines==

File:VillamorMuseumjf0558 21.JPG

==Poland==

  • Polish Air Force operated up to 17 C-47As, known as C-47 Dakota. Several were acquired in 1944–1945 from the USSR, and most bought in 1946 from US stocks. They were used until early 1960, along with Soviet-built Li-2s.Morgała, Andrzej (1976). Polskie samoloty wojskowe 1939–1945. Wydawnictwo MON. Warsaw {{in lang|pl}}, p. 647-651
  • LOT Polish Airlines operated nine C-47s, also known as Dakota, bought in 1946 from US stocks and used as passenger airliners (registration numbers SP-LCA to LCI). Several ex-Air Force aircraft were used as well. They were used until 1959, at least three crashed.Jońca, Adam (1985). Samoloty linii lotniczych 1945–1956, Barwa w lotnictwie polskim no.4, WKiŁ, Warsaw, {{ISBN|83-206-0529-6}} {{in lang|pl}}, p.8

==Portugal==

File:DC 3 (2).JPG C-47A]]

:Section source: Geocities C-47[https://web.archive.org/web/20000415033103/http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/9376/c47FAP.htm Portugal Service]

The first Portuguese Dakota (where it was only known as the Dakota) was interned in 1944 and it remained the sole example in Portuguese service transporting military VIPs until September 1958 when additional Dakotas came from the United States. Portuguese Dakotas were used for a wide variety of roles including one aircraft (6155) used as a bomber during the Portuguese Colonial War, and two converted to spray pesticides. The Dakota was retired in 1976. One (6157) was preserved for the Museu do Ar (Air Museum).

;Portuguese Air Force

  • 81 Squadron – Transport mission
  • E.I.C.P.A.C. – Esquadra de Instrução Complementar de Pilotagem de Aviões Pesados (Heavy Transport Training Squadron). Formed at B.A.2 Ota in 1960 with C-47s.
  • E.L.T.S. – Esquadrilha de Ligação de Transporte Sanitário (Sanitary Transport Squadron). Also based at Lisbon, had aircraft equipped for VIP and medical transport.
  • 101 Squadron – Formed at B.A.10 – Beira (Moçambique) on 5 February 1962 with C-47s. Later transferred to Lourenço Marques as Esquadra 801.

;Aeronáutica Militar (Army Military Aviation)

  • Esquadrilha Independente de Aviação de Caça-Secção de Transportes Aéreos (Fighter-Air Transport Section of Independent Aviation Squadron)

==Romania==

  • Romanian Air Force operated 15 Soviet-built Li-2 transferred from TAROM airlines.{{cite book|title=Illustrated History of Romanian Aeronautics|author=Dan Antoniu|date=2014|isbn=978-973-0-17209-6|page=236}}
  • TAROM operated 28 Soviet-built Li-2s from 1946.

==Rhodesia==

==Saudi Arabia==

==Senegal==

  • Senegalese Air ForceWorld Air Forces – Countries {{Cite web |url=http://www.worldairforces.com/Countries/countriesindex.html |title=World Air Forces Countries |access-date=2021-02-15 |archive-date=2012-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716224643/http://www.worldairforces.com/Countries/countriesindex.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}.

==Somalia==

==South Africa==

==Southern Rhodesia==

==South Korea==

==South Yemen==

==Soviet Union==

  • Soviet Air Force: The Lisunov Li-2 was a license-built DC-3, produced in Russia. Some 6000 were built between 1939 and 1952.{{cite web |last=Brouwer |first=Maarten |url=http://www.centercomp.com/cgi-bin/dc3/story?1332 |title=Lisunov Li-2 (NATO: Cab) |access-date=2006-07-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426215802/http://www.centercomp.com/cgi-bin/dc3/story?1332 |archive-date=2006-04-26 }} The Soviet Union also operated C-47s supplied under Lend-Lease during World War II.

==Sudan==

  • Sudanese Air Force: two C-47s delivered in the early 1960s.{{harvnb|Cooper|Weinert|Hinz|Lepko|2011|page=112}}

==Sweden==

File:Douglas C-47A, Tp 79, Torslanda.jpg Tp 79 (C-47A)]]

The Swedish Air Force started using C-47s soon after World War II for transport purposes. A few were converted to SIGINT platforms and eavesdropped on Soviet radio communications and radar stations in the 1950s. One such aircraft was shot down by Soviet fighters in international airspace over the Baltic Sea in 1952 with all of the crew killed.Bortom Horisonten : Svensk Flygspaning mot Sovjetunionen 1946–1952 by Andersson, Lennart, Hellström, Leif

==Turkey==

==Uganda==

  • Uganda Air Force: received C-47s from Israel in the mid-1960s.{{harvnb|Cooper|Weinert|Hinz|Lepko|2011|page=177}}

==United Kingdom==

File:Dakota 24 Sqn RAF with King George VI in flight 1945.jpg of the Royal Air Force with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on a trip to the Channel Islands in 1945.]]

==United States==

File:Market-Garden - C-47 transport planes.jpg, 1944]]

  • United States Army Air Corps
  • United States Army Air Forces
  • United States Air Force
  • United States Marine Corps
  • United States Navy
  • United States Coast Guard{{Cite web |url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/aviation/Douglas/Douglas_R4D.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-06-06 |archive-date=2015-09-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918011131/http://www.uscg.mil/history/aviation/Douglas/Douglas_R4D.pdf |url-status=dead }}
  • Air National Guard
  • Federal Aviation Administration{{Cite web | url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:N34---Douglas-DC3-Cockpit.jpg | title=English: Cockpit of the aircraft DC-3 "N34" – P. Alejandro Díaz – 2005 – N34 is a Douglas DC3 which was operated by the FAA to check navigational radio aids (VOR's and non-directional beacons). It was decided to preserve it for its historical value. The aircraft makes regular rounds at air shows, as a static display. On February 13, 2014, FAA pilots flew N34 from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport in Amarillo, Texas where N34 became an indoor exhibit at the Texas Air & Space Museum. This picture taken September, 2005 at Reno – Stead Airport; Sony DSC-F828 & Photoshop Elements| date=September 2005}}
  • National Test Pilot School

==Venezuela==

==Republic of Vietnam==

==Yugoslavia==

File:Bihac 1984 Partisan plane.jpg

  • SFR Yugoslav Air Force
  • 41 were operated from 1946 until 1976. 20 were received through military aid in 1953–1954. Also operated Li-2 aircraft
  • SUKL (Federal ATC Authority) used 1 aircraft for navid{{typo help inline|reason=similar to navaid|date=June 2022}} calibration until 1986.
  • Yugoslav Airlines operated around 20 converted military Dakotas bought from Great Britain in 1947.

==Zambia==

  • Zambian Air Force: operated 4 C-47s starting in 1964.{{harvnb|Cooper|Weinert|Hinz|Lepko|2011|page=199}}

==Zimbabwe==

See also

References

=Citations=

=Bibliography=

  • {{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |title=Hot Skies Over Yemen, Volume 1: Aerial Warfare Over the South Arabian Peninsula, 1962–1994 |date=2017 |publisher=Helion & Company Publishing |location=Solihull, UK |isbn=978-1-912174-23-2}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |last2=Grandolini |first2=Albert |title=Showdown in Western Sahara, Volume 1: Air Warfare over the Last African Colony, 1945-1975 |date=2018 |publisher=Helion & Company Publishing |location=Warwick, UK |isbn=978-1-912390-35-9}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |last2=Grandolini |first2=Albert |last3=Delalande |first3=Arnaud |title=Libyan Air Wars, Part 1: 1973-1985 |publisher=Helion & Company Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-909982-39-0}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |last2=Grandolini |first2=Albert |last3=Fontanellaz |first3=Adrien |title=Showdown in Western Sahara, Volume 2: Air Warfare Over the Last African Colony, 1975-1991 |date=2019 |publisher=Helion & Company Publishing |location=Warwick, UK |isbn=978-1-912866-29-8}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |last2=Weinert |first2=Peter |last3=Hinz |first3=Fabian |last4=Lepko |first4=Mark |title=African MiGs, Volume 2: Madagascar to Zimbabwe |date=2011 |publisher=Harpia Publishing |location=Houston |isbn=978-0-9825539-8-5}}
  • {{cite book |last=Gradidge |first=J. M. G. |title=The Douglas DC-3 and its predecessors |year=1984 |location=Tonbridge, UK |publisher=Air-Britain (Historians) Limited |isbn=0-85130-119-3}}
  • {{cite news |last=Hoyle |first=Craig |title=World Air Forces 2022 |work=Flight International |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/download?ac=83735 |year=2021 |access-date=12 December 2021|ref={{harvid|Hoyle Flight International 2021}}}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Jefford |first1=C. G. |title= RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912 |year=1988 |publisher= Airlife Publishing |location= Shrewsbury, UK |isbn= 1-85310-053-6 }}
  • {{cite magazine |last=Mylonas |first=Ioannis |title=The C-47 Dakota in the Hellenic Air Force – Part 1 |magazine=Air-Britain Aeromilitaria |date=Spring 2016 |volume=42 |issue=165 |pages=6–13 |issn=0262-8791 |ref={{harvid|Mylonas Air-Britain Aeromilitaria Spring 2016}} }}
  • {{cite magazine |last=Mylonas |first=Ioannis |title=The C-47 Dakota in the Hellenic Air Force – Part 2 |magazine=Air-Britain Aeromilitaria |date=Summer 2016 |volume=42 |issue=166 |pages=51–61 |issn=0262-8791 |ref={{harvid|Mylonas Air-Britain Aeromilitaria Summer 2016}} }}
  • {{cite magazine |last=Mylonas |first=Ioannis |title=The C-47 Dakota in the Hellenic Air Force – Part 3 |magazine=Air-Britain Aeromilitaria |date=Autumn 2016 |volume=42 |issue=167 |pages=100–109 |issn=0262-8791 |ref={{harvid|Mylonas Air-Britain Aeromilitaria Autumn 2016}} }}

Further reading

  • {{Cite book |last1=Nuñez Padin |first1=Jorge |title=Douglas C-39 & C-47 SKYTRAIN |year=2017 |publisher=Fuerzas Aeronavales |series=Serie Aeronaval |number=36 |language=es |isbn=9789871682447 |location=Argentina |url=http://www.ipneditores.com.ar/product_info.php?cPath=22_26&products_id=1028 |access-date=2018-09-10 |archive-date=2018-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910164752/http://www.ipneditores.com.ar/product_info.php?cPath=22_26&products_id=1028 |url-status=dead }}
  • {{Cite book |last1=Mosquera |first1=Javier |last2=Gebel |first2=Guillermo |last3=Marino |first3=Atilio |title=Douglas DC-3/C-47 en la Fuerza Aérea Argentina |year=2010 |publisher=Avialatina |volume=5 |language=es |location=Argentina |url=http://www.avialatina.com.ar/libros2.php?idlibro=5 |access-date=2018-09-10 |archive-date=2019-10-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031083213/http://www.avialatina.com.ar/libros2.php?idlibro=5 |url-status=dead }}

{{Douglas DC-3 family}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas C-47 Skytrain operators}}

Category:Lists of military units and formations by aircraft

C-47 Skytrain

Operators