Dakota (Douglas C-47/53) Dakota is the name given by the British to the most famous transport aircraft of all time, the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. It was a development of a line of fast, streamlined Douglas civil airliners dating back to the DC-1, which first flew in 1933. Although some of the earlier model DC-2s were acquired by the US army and navy, it was the larger and more powerful DC-3 that was adopted in large numbers by the US armed forces from 1941. The two most numerous models used by the military were the C-47 Skytrain and the C-53 Skytrooper, the latter a designated troop carrier that was introduced in 1941, while the former was used as both a troop transport and as a freighter, and followed into service in 1942. Over 10, 000 were built for military use alone, 1, 200 being supplied to the RAF, while approximately 2, 000 were built under licence in the USSR. Although it proved almost impossible to overload, it was not purpose-built and added features such as a larger side door in the C-47 only partly alleviated basic loading and unloading limitations. It was an inferior transport aircraft to a number of contemporary German models, but it was redeemed by its mechanical reliability, ruggedness, and adaptability. It saw active service as a troop transport, glider tug, freighter, ferry aircraft, and ambulance, and was used for dropping parachute troops. It saw action from the island-hopping Pacific campaign to the invasion of Normandy and the crossing of the Rhine, and was the backbone of the post-war Berlin airlift. It played a vital role in supporting the Allied war effort and the fact that it is still in use in many parts of the world today testifies to the remarkable soundness of the basic design.

— John Buckley

The Oxford Companion to Military History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.