page_title: Douglas DC-3
section_title: Civil
hierarchical_section_title: Douglas DC-3 / Variants / Civil
caption_attribution_description: Anchorage International Airport. TransNorthern is mostly a charter airline with some scheduled freight flying for FedEx and UPS. They operate four Super DC-3s, 2 passenger and 2 freight.
context_page_description: The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s/1940s and World War II.
  It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2.
  It is a low-wing metal monoplane with conventional landing gear, powered by two 1,200 hp Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp radial piston engines.
  It has a cruise speed of 207 mph, capacity of 21 to 32 passengers or 6,000 lbs of cargo, and a range of 1,500 mi, and can operate from short runways.
  The DC-3 had many exceptional qualities compared to previous aircraft. It was fast, had a good range, was more reliable, and carried passengers in greater comfort. Before the war, it pioneered many air travel routes. It was able to cross the continental US from New York to Los Angeles in 18 hours and with only 3 stops.
  It is one of the first airliners that could profitably carry only passengers without relying on mail subsidies.
  Following the war, the airliner market was flooded with surplus transport aircraft and the DC-3 was no longer competitive due to its size and speed.
context_section_description: DST
  Douglas Sleeper Transport; the initial variant with two 1,000–1,200-horsepower (750–890 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines and standard sleeper accommodation for up to 16 with small upper windows, convertible to carry up to 24 day passengers.
  DST-A
  DST with 1,000–1,200 hp (750–890 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines
  DC-3
  Initial non-sleeper variant; with 21 day-passenger seats, 1,000–1,200 hp (750–890 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines, no upper windows.
  DC-3A
  DC-3 with 1,000–1,200 hp (750–890 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines.
  DC-3B
  Version of DC-3 for TWA, with two 1,100–1,200 hp (820–890 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines and smaller convertible sleeper cabin forward with fewer upper windows than DST.
  DC-3C
  Designation for ex-military C-47, C-53, and R4D aircraft rebuilt by Douglas Aircraft in 1946, given new manufacturer numbers, and sold on the civil market; Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines.
  DC-3D
  Designation for 28 new aircraft completed by Douglas in 1946 with unused components from the cancelled USAAF C-117 production line; Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines.
  DC-3S
  Also known as Super DC-3, substantially redesigned DC-3 with fuselage lengthened by 39 inches (1.0 m); outer wings of a different shape with squared-off wingtips and shorter span; distinctive taller rectangular tail; and fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2000 or 1,475 hp (1,100 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines. Five completed by Douglas for civil use using existing surplus secondhand airframes. Three Super DC-3s were operated by Capital Airlines 1950–1952. Designation also used for examples of the 100 R4Ds that had been converted by Douglas to this standard for the U.S. Navy as R4D-8s (later designated C-117Ds), all fitted with more powerful Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines, some of which entered civil use after retirement from military service.
caption: TransNorthern Super DC-3 (C-117D) in Anchorage, Alaska
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