7. The Douglas C-47 Skytrain
“Air power may either end war or end civilization.” – Winston Churchill, House of Commons, 14 March 1933.
Aircraft technology had come a long way since the First World War, what was seen as a periphery arm of the armed forces became an important factor 21 years later. It wasn’t just the development of bombers and fighter planes that led to the Allied victory, just as much emphasis should be placed on the workhorse military transport aircraft, such as the Douglas C-47 Skytrain.
During the Second World War, the armed forces used the C-47 for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded personnel. More than 10,000 aircraft were produced in factories in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. During the period March 1943 and August 1945 the Oklahoma City plant produced 5,354 C-47s, that is an impressive 297 planes each calendar month,
The C-47 was vital to the success of many Allied campaigns, most notably at Guadalcanal and in the jungles of New Guinea and Burma. The C-47 allowed Allied troops to counter the mobility of the Japanese army who were experts at travelling light.C-47 aircraft were used to airlift supplies to the embattled American military personnal during the Battle of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge in 1944. It was also used in flying “The Hump” route from India to China, this experience allowed the C-47 to play a major role in the Berlin Airlift after the war. C-47 aircraft were used to airlift supplies to the embattled American forces
The C-47 wasn’t just used in the conventional sense of transporting goods and troops. In the European theatre, it was also used to tow gliders and drop paratroopers. 4,381 paratroops were dropped from the aircraft during the invasion of Sicily, and 50,000 paratroops were dropped during the first few days of the invasion of Normandy in 1944. After the Second World War, the aircraft was used in major world events, including the Berlin Airlift, Korean War, and Vietnam War.