The C-47 was one of the most successful aircraft ever, praised by General Eisenhower as one of the most important instruments of victory in WWII. Largely a military version of the highly successful Douglas DC-3 passenger aircraft, the C-47 Dakota carried supplies, airborne troops, and other personnel in all of the theaters of conflict in WWII. It was used as a troop transport and glider tug during the invasion of Europe and it kept the Allied forces in China supplied by carrying supplies "Over the Hump" of the Himalaya Mountains lying astride the India to China route. More than 13,300 of the DC-3s in all its forms were built, including Japanese and Soviet licensed aircraft. Although it first flew in 1941, many are still being used today. It last saw action in the Vietnam War as a gunship called "Puff the Magic Dragon", firing machine guns and cannons from it's windows for enemy troop suppression.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a RAF Dakota Mk.III troop transport that participated in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and based out of RAF Coningsby, Lincs, during 2009. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 15-3/4-inches
Length: 10-3/4-inches

Release Date: January 2010

Historical Account: "In Memmoriam" - Issued to the BBMF in March 1993, the Dakota is a year-round workhorse for the BBMF being used in a variety of roles, including general support tasks, such as transporting ground crew and equipment to display venues or other operating airfields. Importantly, as there are no other multi-engine tailwheel configured aircraft in RAF service outside the BBMF, she is used for training aircraft during the winter months when the bomber is out of action.

Increasingly the Dakota has become a display aircraft in her own right and now appears regularly on the airshow circuit either on her own or as part of a BBMF 3-ship formation, in company with a pair of fighters.

Dakota ZA947 currently wears the livery of 267 'Pegasus' Squadron, which flew in the Transport, Trooping and Re-supply roles in the Middle East and the Mediterranean Theatres during 1943-'44. The squadron employed various colour schemes on its Dakotas but always displayed its 'Pegasus' emblem prominently displayed on the aircraft's nose.