"Rosinenbomber" at Berlin Tempelhof 1948 / 1949, photo: U.S. Air Force |
Pearcy, Arthur: Sixty Glorious Years : A Tribute to the Douglas DC-3 Dakota. : Motorbooks International, 1995. |
The Douglas DC-3 - "Douglas Commercial" - started its life as the "Douglas Sleeper Transport" - DST, which was the successor of the Douglas DC-2. The DST made its first flight in December 1935 and had a wider body with a circular cross-section. It offered sleeping berths for passengers, which were later replaced by passenger seats in the later DC-3 version. It could carry more passengers than DC-2, which made it one of the first profitable airliners. By the time of the Second World War many DC-3's were converted to military transport aircrafts and about 10.000 more of the military variant C-47 were built. They were e.g. used during D-Day or during the "Berlin Blockade" in Germany as "Rosinenbomber" from 1948 to 1949. Post-war many ex-military family members became an essential piece of equipment for newly formed airlines and operators. Even today many planes of the family are in commercial service with their original radial piston engines or as turbo conversions.
This website is my personal little collection and publication of Douglas DC-3, C-47 and C-53 related material. It especially contains a database of all planes of the family I could find, which exist till today.