Deagostini Douglas DC3 User guide

Brand: Deagostini

Model: Douglas DC3

Type: User guide

™

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Build

Douglas DC -3

Build

The maiden ﬂight of the C-47,

the military version of the DC-3,

took place on 23 December 1941.

During the Second World War about

10,000 examples of the C-47 were

produced, which operated in the

major European war theatres,

China and the Paciﬁc.

ASSEMBLY GUIDE

The Tail

Assembly and cladding of the rear

part of the fuselage.

159

151

Pack

Douglas DC -3

Build

™

www.model-space.com

The DC-3™ goes to war

From civilian plane

to military aircraft

Page

Paints and

modelling tools

A comprehensive selection of modelling tools

and paints (in all the colours you will need to

complete your Douglas DC-3) is available from

the Model Space website.

www.model-space.com

Produced under license. PAN AM logos are trademarks of

Pan American World Airways, Inc.

Produced under license. Boeing, Douglas, Boeing Airplane Company, DC-3,

247, Douglas World Cruiser, and the distinctive Boeing logos, product markings

and trade dress are trademarks of The Boeing Company.

Published in the UK by De Agostini UK Ltd,

Battersea Studios 2, 82 Silverthorne Road,

London SW8 3HE

Published in the USA by De Agostini Publishing USA, Inc.,

915 Broadway, Suite 609,

New York, NY 10010.

Packaged by Continuo Creative, 39-41 North Road,

London N7 9DP

p151-158 images from the Giorgio Apostolo Collection

Items may vary from those shown.

Not suitable for children under the age of 14.

This product is not a toy and is not designed or intended for use in play.

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The DC-3 goes to war

From civilian plane to military aircraft

With the outbreak of the Second

World War, notwithstanding its

neutrality until the end of December 1941,

the United States made a massive effort

to convert its industrial production to war

purposes. The Douglas Company™, which

had been closely linked with the world of

defence since it was founded, became

deeply involved in this war effort. The DC-3’s

characteristics of reliability, simplicity of

maintenance and robustness made it a

perfect aircraft for military use.

So it was that the military version of the

DC-3, the C-47, completed its maiden

C-47s on the production line, probably in the Long

Beach plant. The cargo hatch and, within it, the

removable panel for dropping parachutists can be

seen. Also note the ﬂoor of the main compartment,

which is horizontal when the aircraft is on the

ground, thus facilitating loading and unloading.

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3151

The interior of a C-47 in the

course of being ﬁtted out.

Note the structure with the

struts and longerons inherited

from the DC-3, the metal

ﬂoor surface, the foldable

seats along the sides of the

compartment and, along the

upper part of the side walls,

the hand rail. The mechanisms

for opening the emergency

exits are under the windows.

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152

The DC-3 goes to war

flight on 23 December 1941. During the

war about 10,000 C-47s were produced,

all of them made in American factories and

deployed in all the major European theatres

of war as well as in China and the Pacific.

The C-47 remained in service in most of

the allied countries even after the war was

over, playing an important operational role

in the early years of the Cold War.

The C-47: Differences when

compared to the DC-3

The C-47 differed from the DC-3 in many

of its structural features, such as its greater

robustness, its cargo capacity and its

protection. Externally, the more obvious

differences were the replacement of the

boarding door by a cargo hatch on the left

side of the fuselage and the addition, in the

upper part of the section behind the pilot’s

cabin, of a transparent dome (called an

‘astrodome’) which gave a complete view

of the sky when using a sextant to navigate.

Also, in some aircraft the tail cone was

modified in order to house a towing hook

for gliders. According to the specifications,

the cargo hatch (with two doors) had to

allow the loading of a jeep with a trailer or

a 37mm anti-tank gun. In addition, there

was also a panel in the forward door of

the cargo hatch which could be opened

Following the speciﬁcations, the

main space of the C-47 had to

be able to accommodate a jeep

with a trailer or a 37mm anti-

tank gun; the angle of the ﬂoor

at the back of the compartment

was designed to facilitate the

moving of cargo. When there

were no passengers, the

seats seen in the previous two

pictures could be folded down

so as to make use of the entire

width of the cabin ﬂoor.

Parachutists on board a C-47. Apart from the duct

in the central part of the top of the cabin, housing

the lighting and heating systems and the air vents,

and the ribbed panel marking the position of the

navigator/radio operator, the compartment does not

seem very different from the one in the photograph

opposite. Also visible are the modiﬁed handrail, the

additional fuel tanks in front of the ﬁrst pair of seats

and the pressure valves at the bottom, more or less

in the centre of the picture.

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3153

separately to enable the 28 parachutists

which the plane could carry to jump out.

Although it was also produced in

passenger versions, with fittings similar

to the civilian aircraft, the interior of the

C-47 was typical of a transport plane.

The structure was reinforced by a series

of longitudinal ribs and by a corrugated

As an air ambulance, the

C-47 could carry 14 injured

men on stretchers, as well as

three medics. The stretchers

were secured to the sides

of the aircraft by a system

of belts, ﬁxed to the upper

and lower parts of the

compartment. If necessary,

the belts could be rapidly

installed or removed, so

that the intended use of the

plane could be changed

very quickly.

aluminium floor plate. Behind the navigator/

radio operator was the main compartment

inside which load-securing eyelets were

fixed at varying intervals to different

points of the structure. Also in the main

compartment were the 28 foldable seats

for the parachutists. From the front part of

the compartment to the cargo hatch, the

floor was parallel to the flight plane; after the

cargo hatch, it climbed at a constant angle

of 7.5° towards the rear compartment, so

that the floor was horizontal when the plane

was on the ground, making the operation

of loading and moving the cargo easier.

To compensate for an increase in the

maximum weight at take-off (31,000

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154

The DC-3 goes to war

The leader of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-Shek,

and his wife Soon Mei-ling, having just disembarked

from a C-47 in Taiwan in 1946. In the context of the

common effort against Japan, the US government

supplied at least 77 C-47s and 23 C-46s to the

China National Aviation Company (at that time

under the control of the Kuomintang with 45% of

the shares owned by Pan Am). Between April 1942

and the end of the Second World War, these aircraft

transported some 75,000 tons of supplies between

India and China. This made it the biggest logistical

operation of the India-China Wing, Air Transport

Command USA.

Australian troops practise

loading and unloading a jeep

from a C-47 before the start

of operations in the Paciﬁc.

The lettering on the side of

the plane clearly identiﬁes it as

a training aircraft. In spite of

its shorter range and smaller

cargo capacity compared to

the Curtiss Commando, the

C-47 (also in the R4D version)

played an important part in allied

operations, mainly because of

its ability to use landing strips

which were often short and

roughly prepared.

pounds compared to the 25,200 pounds

of the DC-3), the C-47 was fitted with

two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines of

1,200bhp each. With these, the C-47 was

capable of carrying – besides the three men

of the crew (two pilots and the navigator/

radio operator) – 6,000 pounds of cargo

or 28 parachutists with full equipment,

or 14 casualties on stretchers plus three

medics. The empty weight was 17,860

pounds against the 16,865 pounds of

the DC-3 and the power/weight ratio was

over 20% better. But in general the ‘actual’

performance of the C-47 was inferior to

that of the DC-3: the maximum speed was

224 mph at 10,000 feet against the 230

mph at 8,500 feet of the DC-3, the cruising

speed was 160 mph against the 207 mph

of the DC-3 and the range was 1,600 miles

compared to the 2,125 miles of the DC-3,

although the maximum range when empty

was 3,600 miles.

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Operational deployment

Because of its versatility, the C-47 was

deployed in all the major war zones of

the Second World War, the three main

areas being the Pacific, where it played an

important part in the war against Japan;

China, where it was used to supply the

nationalist forces of General Chiang Kai-

Shek, and Europe; from the Normandy

landings on 6 June 1944 until the end of

hostilities on 7 May 1945.

In China there were 167 C-47s and

other aircraft of the 10th Air Force and,

subsequently, of the India-China Ferry

Command (India-China Division from 1

July 1944). These consisted of 230 C-46s,

132 C-54s, 67 C-87/C-109s, 33 B-25s,

10 L-5s and 1 B-24 on 31 July 1945, the

date the support was at its maximum.

Overall these supplied the forces of the

General Anthony C. McAuliffe (in the centre), acting divisional commander of the 101st Airborne Division,

talking to the crews of the glider unit on the eve of the Normandy landings. In the background are two C-47

Skytrains adapted to tow gliders. One of these gliders (a Waco CG-4 Haig) is partially visible in front of the two

C-47s, with its left wing above McAuliffe’s head.

On 16 September 1940, in the context of the pre-war modernisation

of the United States Armed Forces, the US Army Air Corps (AAC)

commissioned the first 545 C-47s and the first 92 C-53s from Douglas,

with delivery scheduled for the middle of 1941. In September 1941 a

second batch of 70 C-47s and 50 C-53s was ordered by USAAF – the

US Army Air Force which had been created on the previous 20 June to

replace the AAC. In early 1942, this order was followed by another for

1,270 C-47s and 65 C-53s, and then by three further orders in July,

September and December of the same year, making a total of about

4,135 C-47As and C-47Bs. In February 1944, after an interval of about a

year, three more orders were placed (in February, June and July), adding

another 4,570 C-47s (most of them the C-47B version), and 131 C-117As

to the list. Although this order was never completed, the total demand put

a strain on the production capacity of the various plants.

It was only in 1944 that the Douglas production plants (specifically those of

Clover Field at Santa Monica, Long Beach and Oklahoma City) managed to

deliver the flow of orders within the time stipulated. It was the intervention

of the state which helped achieve this result: the application of ‘priority 2’

to the production of the C-47 made it possible to employ people seven

days a week, with just one day of holiday every six months. As a result of

the militarisation of its works, Douglas was able to deliver 2,000 C-47s

in April 1944 on the eve of D-Day. In the same month, the Oklahoma City

plant produced 1.8 C-47s per hour, in addition to the other aircraft on its

assembly lines. In the following month, the joint production of the Oklahoma

City and Long Beach plants was 573 complete C-47s (an average of 18.5

units a day), and in May 1945 the Long Beach plant manufactured more

than 415 C-47s, as well as 120 Boeing™ B-17 bombers.

The landmarks of a new success

Gliders towed by C-47As of the 88th TCS (Troop Carrier Squadron) during the

Normandy landings in which no fewer than 1,000 C-47s took part in various roles.

Because of its cargo capacity, the USAAF considered developing a glider version of

the C-47 (XCG-17), but the project, which had already reached the prototype stage,

was abandoned because it was unable to land on unprepared landing strips.

156

The DC-3 goes to war

Kuomintang with about 685,300 gross

tons of goods (including 392,360 tons of

crude oil and petrol). Between 1 December

1943 and 31 August 1945, these various

air forces carried out 156,977 sorties above

the eastern spurs of the Himalayas (also

known as ‘The Hump’, the name given to

the eastern end of the Himalayan mountain

range by Allied pilots in the Second World

War), losing 373 aircraft for various reasons

during that period.

In the Pacific, the C-47, both in its

Dakota/Skytrain and in its R4D (naval)

versions, was deployed in large numbers

in the Guadalcanal campaign (August

1942-February 1943), in Burma and in

New Guinea as logistical support aircraft

and for air-drops. But in that war zone (as

at The Hump) it had to face the competition

of the Curtiss C-46 Commando. In spite

of its mechanical problems and the fact

that it required more complex maintenance

than the C-47, the Curtiss Commando

had more than double the cargo capacity

(in addition to the four members of the

crew, 15,000 pounds of goods, 40 men

with full equipment or 30 casualties on

stretchers), a maximum speed of 270 mph

at 15,000 feet, an operational range of

3,150 miles and a ceiling of 24,500 feet; all

characteristics which made it more suitable

than the C-47 for moving heavy loads over

long distances.

The C-47 ‘SNAFU Special’, today

on display at the Merville Battery

Museum in Normandy. This

aircraft (restored between 2007

and 2008) took part in all the

major operations of the Second

World War (Overlord, Dragoon,

Market Garden, Repulse and

Varsity) before being taken out

of service after the war had

ended. The designation ‘9X’

identiﬁes it as belonging to the

95th Troop Carrier Squadron

(based in Exeter), 440th Group,

9th Air Force, while the black and

white stripes at the rear of the

fuselage and on the wings near

the fuselage were the ‘invasion

stripes’, the identiﬁcation for

allied aircraft taking part in the

Normandy landings.

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In Europe the C-47 and its twin the

C-53 Skytrooper (in fact a C-47 adapted

for the exclusive transport of troops,

without the structural reinforcement of

the original and with a boarding door

instead of a hold) were used in (among

others) such operations as ‘Overlord’

(the Normandy landing), ‘Market Garden’

(the airdrop at Arnhem in Holland, from

17 to 25 September 1944) and ‘Varsity’

(the building of a bridgehead in Germany,

to the east of the Rhine, in the context

American soldiers trapped near

Bastogne watching supplies

being dropped by a squadron of

C-47s. As had been the case on

other occasions, the dropping

of supplies and equipment by

C-47s was vital for the survival

of the 15,000 men besieged in

the Belgian town between the

19 December and 6 January

1945, as well as helping

to maintain the operational

capacity of their equipment.

of the wider operation ‘Plunder’, on 24

March 1945). The C-47 was also used to

parachute supplies to the American forces

trapped in the Bastogne area during the

German offensive in the Ardennes in

December and January 1945. On such

occasions, besides the usual assignments

of transporting troops and equipment, the

C-47 (known by the RAF as the ‘Dakota’)

was also used for towing assault gliders,

which were widely used in the course of

these operations.

The C-47 was also widely used outside the United States. In Britain, the Royal Air Force (RAF)

and the air forces of various Commonwealth countries received about 2,000 C-47s under the

terms of the Lend-Lease Act of 1941. Under this act, C-47s were also supplied to the Chinese

Kuomintang nationalist forces and the Soviet Union. On top of this, the USSR itself continued

to produce a series of military variations of the Lisunov Li-2 (as well as the base model, these

included the Li-2D for carrying parachutists, the Li-2R for reconnaissance and the Li-2VV

bomber). In the Pacific there were various models of the C-47’s Japanese counterpart, the

Showa/Nakajima L2D: these were the troop carriers L2D2 (Transport Model 11; cargo version:

L2D2-L), L2D3 (Transport Model 22; cargo version: L2D3-L), L2D3a (Transport Model 22A;

cargo version: L2D3a-L) and L2D4 (Transport Model 23). Except for the D3a, whose distinctive

feature was its onboard armament fitted on the production line, the main difference in all these

variations was basically the power of the engine, although in all cases this was the 14-cylinder

Mitsubishi Kinsei.

The C-47s of the other countries

Dropping parachutists during

operation Market Garden: a

photograph taken by the US

Signal Corps. Some 2,500

gliders, 1,500 ﬁghter aircraft

and 1,300 C-47s, together

with Armstrong Whitworth

AW 41 Albemarle medium

reconnaissance bombers and

Handley Page Halifax and Short

S.29 Stirling heavy bombers,

took part in this unsuccessful

operation (of which Market

Garden represented the aerial

component). Had it succeeded,

it would have given the Allies

a breakthrough into northern

Germany through the

Low Countries.

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158

Take the laser-cut sheets corresponding to the tail of the

aircraft. Remember to separate the pieces only when they are

needed for the assembly and make the edges smooth and

even with sandpaper. This stage contains two identical sheets.

Turn the assembly on its end so as to be able to work on

the underside. Fit and glue both pieces 6A6 as shown

in the photograph.

Fit together and glue pieces 6A1 and 6A2, as shown in the

photograph. The cross piece 6A2 must be at right angles to

the upright 6A1. Also attach and glue piece 6A3.

Fit and glue pieces 6A7, 6A8, 6A9, 6A10 and 6A11.

Turn the assembly over. Fit and glue piece 6A4 to the upper

part of the assembly and piece 6A5 to the lower part.

21 3

Step by Step

N.B. Some elements supplied with each stage, in particular the sheets of laser-cut plywood

parts, may not look exactly identical to those in the step-by-step photographs. But of course,

the individual assembly pieces included within the laser-cut plywood parts will have exactly the

same shapes, sizes and descriptions as those shown here.

The Tail

90°

6A1

6A4

6A5

6A6

6A2 6A3

6A11

6A10

6A8

6A7

6A9

See the back cover for a checklist of your parts for this pack.

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3159

Assembly Guide

Fit and glue the two pieces 6A12 onto pieces 6A9, 6A10 and

6A11, referring to the photograph.

Add pieces 6B5 and 6B6 as shown. Then, ﬁt and glue pieces

6B7 and 6B8 in position.

Fit and glue pieces 6B1 and 6B2 to each other, checking that

the pieces are at right angles to each other.

Fit and glue pieces 6B14 onto either side of 6B2.

Fit and glue pieces 6B3 and 6B4 onto each side of 6B2.

Then, ﬁt and glue the pieces 6B9 and 6B21 onto piece 6B1,

on both sides of 6B2, as shown.

76 8

11109

6A9 6A9

6A10 6A10

6A11 6A11

6A12 6A12

6B2

6B1

6B1 6B1

6B9 6B9

6B21 6B21

6B6

6B7

6B5

6B8

6B14 6B14

6B3 6B4

90°

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Assembly Guide

The Tail

Fit and glue pieces 6B10, 6B11, 6B12 and 6B13, onto both sides, as shown.

Fit and glue pieces 6B15, 6B16, 6B17, 6B18, 6B19 and 6B20 in the positions shown in the photograph.

Also ﬁt and glue pieces 6D1 to both sides of the assembly (see right photograph).

Glue pieces 6D2 onto pieces 6D1, assembled in the

previous step.

Fit and glue the whole completed piece from the previous step

to the assembly completed in Step 6.

12 14

1513

6B10

6B11

6B12

6B15 6B15

6B16

6B17

6B18

6B19

6B20

6B16

6B17

6B18

6B19

6B20

6D1

6B13

6B10

6B11

6B12

6B13

6D1 6D1

6D2 6D2

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Assembly Guide

1716 18

212019

Sand the area formed by pieces 6D1 and 6D2, between

pieces 6A3 and 6B20 (outlined), to give it a rounded shape.

As you did in the previous step, shape, ﬁt and glue

piece C51.

Fit and glue piece 6C1 in position, as shown.

Fill and sand the join between the pieces ﬁtted in the two

previous steps. Take particular care with the ﬁnish. Later these

pieces will be painted chrome.

Take piece C50. Shape it if necessary, then ﬁt it so that it is

ﬂush with the surrounding pieces, as shown. Then, ﬁx it with

drops of adhesive from inside the structure.

Fit and glue pieces 6C3 and 6C4 onto the upper and lower

sides of piece 6C1, as shown.

6B20

6D2

6D1

6A3

C51

C50

6C1

6C3

6C1

6C4

C50

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162

Assembly Guide

The Tail

Continue the assembly by attaching pieces 6C12, 6C13, 6C14, 6C15, 6C16 and 6C17 to the

upper side piece of 6C1 as shown.

Fit and glue pieces 6C19, 6C20, 6C21, 6C22, 6C23 and 6C24 onto the lower side of piece

6C1, as shown.

Fit and glue piece 6C2 onto the rear side of piece 6C1, as shown.

Then, ﬁt and glue pieces 6C5, 6C6, 6C7, 6C8, 6C9, 6C10 and 6C11, as shown.

Fix piece 6C18 to the end.

6C1

6C24

6C23

6C22

6C5

6C6

6C7

6C8

6C9

6C10

6C11

6C18

6C21

6C20

6C19

6C2

6C16

6C15

6C14

6C13

6C17

6C12

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3163

Assembly Guide

Fit and glue pieces 6C26 and 6C27 in the positions illustrated.

Fit stringers in all the notches in the tail assembly. Remember that, if necessary, you must adapt

the notches with a ﬁle so that the external side of the stringer is ﬂush with the ribs.

To assemble the other side of the tail, repeat the operations carried out from Step 17 to Step 26

symmetrically, using the pieces from the second pre-cut framework and pieces C52 and C53.

Do not forget to ﬁt stringers into the inside areas of the tail assembly.

6C26

C53

C52

6C27

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164

Assembly Guide

The Tail

Remove the surplus wood at the rear, circled in red in the

photograph, sanding it precisely to achieve a ﬂat surface.

Take piece SD51. Remove any burrs from the moulding with a

ﬁle and abrasive paper. Fit it and ﬁx it in position as shown.

Fill and sand the joins between the individual laser pre-cut pieces, in the areas indicated by the red dotted line in the photograph.

3230

31 SD51

SD51

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3165

Assembly Guide

Start assembling the rudder. Fit and glue pieces 6E2, 6E3, 6E4 and 6E5 into piece 6E1, as

shown. Then ﬁt and glue pieces 6E13 and 6E14.

Take pieces C41 and C42. After sanding them lightly, ﬁt them

together and glue them, as illustrated.

Fit and glue pieces 6E6, 6E7, 6E8, 6E9, 6E10 and 6E11 onto both sides of the rudder.

Take the 0.8mm diameter brass rod. It will form a hinge

between the tail and the rudder. Test the rod in place, then

remove it for the moment to continue with the assembly. Keep

the rod in a safe place, for use later.

Sand the trailing edge of the rudder, indicated by the dotted

line on the left, to form a sharp edge, as shown in the

photograph on the right.

3433

373635

6E1

6E2

6E3

C42

C41

C42

6E4

6E5

6E14

6E11 6E11

6E10 6E10

6E9 6E9

6E8 6E8

6E7 6E7

6E6 6E6

6E13

0.8mm

diameter

brass rod

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166

Assembly Guide

The Tail

Take the two parts so far assembled and ﬁll any gaps in the wooden structure with modelling

putty. Leave them to dry, sand off the excess putty, then paint both parts dark green.

Next, prepare and attach piece A6bL, the upper edge of which is lined up with the top of piece

A6aL. Remember that you must shape each piece correctly and adapt it to the ones next to it,

before gluing it permanently.

Begin cladding the tail, following the procedure explained and used for the fuselage. Prepare and

glue cladding piece A6aL. To position it correctly, check that the upper edge is aligned with the

line of the join between pieces 6B1 and 6B21.

Continue the cladding with piece A6cL.

A6aL

A6bL

A6cL

6B1

6B21

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Assembly Guide

Complete the upper left section with piece A6dL.

Also shape and glue piece A6fL, as illustrated.

As you did for the left side, clad the right side of the assembly

with pieces A6aR, A6bR, A6cR and A6dR.

Repeat the operations of the two previous steps on the right

side with pieces A6eR and A6fR.

Shape and glue piece A6eL into the lower part of the left side.

If you are going to ﬁt lighting to the model, pass a length of

thin brass wire through the centre of the structure to act as a

guide when you ﬁt the lighting cables later. Continue cladding

the lower part, shaping and ﬁxing pieces A6gR and A6gL.

4342 44

474645

A6dL

A6dR

A6eL

A6fL A6fR

A6eR

A6gL A6gR

A6aR

A6bR

A6cR

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168

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Deagostini Douglas DC3 User guide

Deagostini Douglas DC3 User guide

Deagostini Douglas DC3 User guide

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