Douglas DC-3

Douglas · USA · first flew 1935 · airliner

The Douglas DC-3 is the archetypal pre-war airliner, sharing its airframe with the military C-47 Skytrain but distinguished by a passenger interior, no cargo door, and typically civil livery.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	2 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Passenger windows evenly spaced along fuselage; no large cargo double-door on rear left fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Rounded nose and deeply tapered low wing with pronounced dihedral — civil registration distinguishes it from C-47
Passenger windows evenly spaced along fuselage; no large cargo double-door on rear left fuselage
Distinguish the C-47 by its double cargo door and astrodome — the wing is identical

Distinguished from the C-47 by the absence of the reinforced cargo floor, large left-rear double door, and astrodome; the DC-3 typically has a more rounded cabin windowline profile.

Specifications

The Douglas DC-3 has a length of 19.66 m (65 ft).
It has a wingspan of 28.96 m (95 ft).
Its maximum speed is 370 km/h (230 mph).
Typical crew: 3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown in December 1935, the DC-3 revolutionised commercial aviation by making air travel economically viable; over 16,000 were built in military and civil forms during World War II and subsequently.

Variants

The civil DC-3 preceded the military C-47; post-war conversions blurred the line, and many surviving airframes are ex-military C-47s operated in civil marks.

Where you'll see it

Still airworthy examples operate worldwide as freighters and tourist flights; the UK historically operated DC-3s on early BEA and other charter routes.

Related aircraft

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