Douglas C47

C47 - Douglas Aircraft

Built - 1943 by Douglas Aircraft Company

After WW2 was used in comerical passenger service in Nevada

Was reacquired by the Missouri Air National Guard in the 131st

  Tactical Fighter Group 

On Loan to MOT from the U.S. Air Force Museum

General Dwight D. Eisenhower credited three things with winning the Second World War, the landing craft, the jeep and the C-47 aircraft. Our C-47 was built at the Douglas Aircraft plant in Long Beach, California and delivered to the US Army Air Force on April 19, 1944. It went to Europe in May 1944 and saw service in the 9th Air Force, which provided airlift for the Normandy Invasion on D-Day, but specific unit assignments are not available. It returned to the US in August 1945 and was assigned to the 817th Base unit, Kellogg Field, Michigan. It was turned over to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation for disposition in October 1945 and may have been sold to Bonanza Airlines for passenger service between Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada. It was reacquired by the Air Force (now an independent service) in December 1948 and assigned to the 131st Fighter Group, Missouri Air National Guard, located at Lambert Field in St. Louis in May 1950. It was used as a VIP transport (VC-47A) and used to carry the governor and other state officials, as well as Air Guard personnel. Former President Truman was a passenger on at least two occasions. In October 1972 “Old #635,” as it was known, was retired and the Air Force Museum placed it at the Museum of Transportation on permanent loan.

The outer wing panels were removed and it was brought here by a Sikorsky CH-54 (Sky Crane) heavy-lift helicopter of the Kansas National Guard (Army) on July 12, 1974. The outer wings were then reinstalled. In 1983 a group of retirees from Ozark Airlines refurbished and repainted it. In 1995 it was painted in the D-Day invasion paint scheme as part of the 50th anniversary of the Normandy Landings. It is almost entirely made of aluminum, but the flight control surfaces (rudder, elevators and ailerons) are fabric covered. This saved weight, as there is no power assist for its flight controls, just the strength of the pilot and co-pilot. This fabric was in need of replacement after many years of use and exhibit, and was replaced between 1998 and 2000 by three TWA volunteers. This involved removing the control surfaces, taking off the old fabric, and then making repairs to the aluminum framework. Then they cut and stitched the new fabric, placed it over the parts, shrunk it to fit, stitched it to the framework, and painted the finished piece. The entire aircraft was cleaned and painted as well.