Douglas C - 47 Skytrain The Douglas C - 47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation ) is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC - 3 airliner . It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line service with various military operators through the 1950s . Design and development . The C - 47 differed from the civilian DC - 3 in numerous modifications that included being fitted with a cargo door and a strengthened floor . During World War II , the armed forces of many countries used the C - 47 and modified DC - 3s for the transport of troops , cargo , and wounded . The U . S . Naval designation was R4D . More than 10 , 000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica , California and Oklahoma City , Oklahoma . The Oklahoma City plant produced 5 , 354 C - 47s from March 1943 until August 1945 . Operational history . The C - 47 was vital to the success of many Allied campaigns , in particular those at Guadalcanal and in the jungles of New Guinea and Burma where the C - 47 ( and its naval version , the R4D ) made it possible for Allied troops to counter the mobility of the light - traveling Japanese army . Additionally , C - 47s were used to airlift supplies to the embattled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne . Possibly its most influential role in military aviation , however , was flying " The Hump " from India into China . The expertise gained flying " The Hump " was later be used in the Berlin Airlift , in which the C - 47 played a major role , until the aircraft were replaced by Douglas C - 54 Skymaster s . In Europe , the C - 47 and a specialized paratroop variant , the C - 53 Skytrooper , were used in vast numbers in the later stages of the war , particularly to tow glider s and drop paratroops . In the Pacific , with careful use of the island landing strips of the Pacific Ocean , C - 47s were even used for ferrying soldiers serving in the Pacific theater back to the United States . C - 47s ( approx . 2 , 000 received under lend - lease ) in British and Commonwealth service took the name Dakota , from the acronym " DACoTA " for " Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft " . The C - 47 also earned the informal nickname " Gooney Bird " in the European theater of operations . Other sources ( C - 47 / R4D Skytrain Units of the Pacific and CBI , David Isby , Osprey Combat Aircraft # 66 , Osprey Publishing Limited , 2007 ) attribute this name to the first plane , a USMC R2D - the military version of the DC - 2 - being the first plane to land on Midway Island , previously home to the native long - winged albatross known as the Gooney Bird which was native to Midway . The United States Air Force ' s Strategic Air Command had Skytrains in service from 1946 through 1967 . With all of the aircraft and pilots having been part of the Indian Air Force prior to Independence , both the Indian Air Force and Pakistan Air Force used C - 47s to transport supplies to their soldiers fighting in the Indo - Pakistan War of 1947 . Several C - 47 variations were used in the Vietnam War by the United States Air Force , including three advanced electronic warfare variations , which sometimes were called " Electric Gooneys " designated EC - 47N , EC - 47P , or EC - 47Qs depending on the engine used . EC - 47s were also operated by the Vietnamese , Laotian and Cambodian Air Forces . A gunship variation , using three 7 . 62mm miniguns , designated AC - 47 " Spooky " often nicknamed " Puff the Magic Dragon " also was deployed . The Royal Canadian Air Force and later , the Canadian Armed Forces employed the C - 47 for transportation , navigation , and radar training , as well as for search and rescue operations from the 1940s to the 1980s . After World War II thousands of surplus C - 47s were converted to civil airline use , some remaining in operation in 2012 as well as being used as private aircraft . Super DC - 3 ( R4D - 8 ) . There were large numbers of DC - 3s and surplus C - 47s in commercial use in the United States in the 1940s . In response to proposed changes to the airworthiness requirements that would limit the continuing use of the large numbers of DC - 3s and surplus C - 47s in commercial use in the United States , Douglas offered a late 1940s DC - 3 conversion . This was modified to improve takeoff and single - engined performance , to meet the new Civil Air Regulations . The new model , the DC - 3S or " Super DC - 3 " , was 39 in ( 0 . 99 m ) longer . It allowed thirty passengers to be carried , with increased speed to compete with newer airliners . The rearward shift in the center of gravity led to larger tail surfaces and new outer , swept back wings . More powerful engines were installed along with shorter , jet ejection - type exhaust stacks . These were either 1 , 475 hp ( 1 , 100 kW ) Wright R - 1820 Cyclones or 2 , 000 hp ( 1 , 490 kW ) Pratt & Whitney R - 2000 s in larger engine nacelles . Minor changes included wheel well doors , a partially retractable tail wheel , flush rivets and low drag antenna . These all contributed to an increased top speed of 250 mph . With greater than 75 % of the original DC - 3 / C - 47 configuration changed , the modified design was virtually a new aircraft . The first DC - 3S made its maiden flight on 23 June 1949 . The changes fully met the new FAR 4B airworthiness requirements , with significantly improved performance . However , there was little interest from commercial operators in the DC - 3S . It was too expensive for the smaller operators who were its main target : only three were sold to Capital Airlines . The U . S . Navy had 100 of its R4D aircraft modified to Super DC - 3 standard as the R4D - 8 , later redesignated C - 117D .