The Douglas DC-3: 90 Glorious Years

The Douglas DC-3 is as iconic an aircraft design as the Mustang or the Spitfire. It has endured more than any other, with a few hundred examples still in use across the world: from Africa, to Antarctica, to the USA. Many of the DC-3’s current operators use turbine conversions of the type, with the main proponents from South Africa and Wisconsin, USA. Many fledgling US airlines blossomed due to their DC-3s, and almost every major post-war airline started running their schedules with this type; they took advantage of the surplus in military DC-3s (C-47s) after the Second World War, which had already helped to make history in operations such as the huge support for the D-Day Normandy Landings. In Douglas DC-3: 80 Glorious Years, Geoff Jones explores the rich history of the DC-3 from its beginnings in Southern California to its use across the world. Even today, numerous enthusiast organizations continue to keep DC-3s airworthy and fly them for their members. The days of DC-3 commercial operations are now nearing an end, due to the unavailability of spare parts and the scarcity of expensive avgas fuel in remote parts of the world. And yet, the legacy of the DC-3 has endured; the Airbus and Boeing operators of today have the DC-3 operations of the previous century to thank for their current success.