Douglas C-47
“Skytrain” or “Dakota”

MANUFACTURER: Douglas Aircraft Company

MODEL: C-47 B

ARMY AIR CORPS SERIAL NUMBER: 44-76791

PROTOTYPE FIRST FLIGHT: December 23, 1941
(December 17, 1935 for DC-3 version)

CREW: Three - Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator
Passengers: 28 Troops

POWER (TYPICAL): Two 1,200-horsepower Pratt & Whitney
R-1830 “Twin Wasp” 14-cylinder radial engines

WEIGHTS: Basic Empty Weight – 17,057 pounds
Gross Weight – 31,000 pounds

FUEL CAPACITY: 805 gallons

RANGE: 1,600 to 3,800 miles, depending on configuration

WING SPAN: 95 feet, 6 inches

LENGTH: 63 feet, 9 inches

HEIGHT: 17 feet

SERVICE CEILING: 26,400 feet

TYPICAL ARMAMENT: None

PAYLOAD: 6,000 pounds

NUMBER BUILT: 10,629 (including civilian DC-3 version)

SPEEDS: Maximum – 224 miles per hour
Cruising – 160 miles per hour

Lyon Air Museum’s C-47 Dakota, recently christened “Willa Dean,” has had a long and successful service life. Transferred from the USAAF to the French in May of 1945, this aircraft continued to fly for the most part unmodified, unlike so many of its contemporaries. In 1967 it again changed ownership, this time transferring to the Israelis. There, it continued service without major modification, ultimately being sold to the civilian market where it found its way to Lyon Air Museum as one of the most complete and original C-47s currently in operation. “Willa Dean” now carries the colors of the 440th Troop Carrier Group’s 97th Troop Carrier Squadron, complete with D-Day Invasion Stripes.