DC3/C47 Propeller for the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) - Price Before Discount £3495 | ARROART.CO.UK

Douglas DC3 Dakota/C47 SkyTrain Propeller Blade - Hamilton Standard 6565A-18.

Hamilton Standard Propeller Blade from a Douglas C47 Skytrain/Dakota DC3 commissioned for the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) the main air navigation service provider in the UK, to celebrate 100 years of the RAF.
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF and RAAF designation) is a Military Transport Aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during WW2 and remains in front-line service with various military operators.
As usual with propellers from Aeroart, this prop has been chemically stripped to remove all the paint and then painstakingly polished on both sides to a mirror finish, it has undergone 18 stages of sanding and five stages of polishing to achieve a perfect flawless finish.
Shown here mounted on our custom “Aquamarine Blue” base topped with a “Fire Engine Red” plate. Colour of base can be changed to most standard colours, please enquire for details.

Approximately 30 Hours polishing time

Manufactured in the USA by Hamilton Standard 1930s-1960s

100% Genuine

Perfect Flawless Finish

Rare

Timeless piece of aviation history

All items are authentic and once taken from a real flying aircraft.

This propellers come with a cleaning kit to maintain the finish as well as a framed description with manufacturers decal.

Base option decided when ordering, lead time approximately 8 weeks on this item, due to the manufacturing of the base a polishing

10% deposit required Initially, remainder on delivery

Free delivery available, please call or email for details

All items are authentic and once taken from a real flying aircraft. Propellers which are mounted have a range of bases and colours which can be chosen prior to ordering so if you don’t see exactly what you’re looking for please get in touch

This propellers come with a cleaning kit to maintain the finish as well as a framed description with manufacturers decal.

   Base option decided when ordering, lead time approximately 8 weeks on this item, due to the manufacturing of the base a polishing

   10% deposit required Initially, remainder on delivery

    Free nationwide delivery available, please call or email for details

Further Reading:

The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 in numerous modifications, including being fitted with a cargo door, hoist attachment, and strengthened floor, along with a shortened tail cone for glider-towing shackles, and an astrodome in the cabin roof.

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. Between March 1943 and August 1945, the Oklahoma City plant produced 5,354 C-47s.

The specialized C-53 Skytrooper troop transport started production in October 1941 at Douglas Aircraft's Santa Monica plant. It lacked the cargo door, hoist attachment, and reinforced floor of the C-47. Only 380 aircraft were produced in all because the C-47 was found to be more versatile.

Operational history

World War II

U.S. Army Pathfinders and USAAFflight crew prior to D-Day, June 1944, in front of a C-47 Skytrain at RAF North Witham

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-travelling Japanese Army. C-47s were used to airlift supplies to the encircled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne in Belgium. 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 used in the Berlin Airlift, in which the C-47 played a major role, until the aircraft were replaced by Douglas C-54 Skymasters.

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 gliders and drop paratroops. During the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, C-47s dropped 4,381 Allied paratroops. More than 50,000 paratroops were dropped by C-47s during the first few days of the D-Day campaign also known as the invasion of Normandy, France, in June 1944. In the Pacific War, with careful use of the island landing strips of the Pacific Ocean, C-47s were used for ferrying soldiers serving in the Pacific theater back to the United States.

C-47s unloading at Tempelhof Airport during the Berlin Airlift

About 2,000 C-47s (received under Lend-Lease) in British and Commonwealth service took the name "Dakota", possibly inspired by the acronym "DACoTA" for Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft.[7]

The C-47 also earned the informal nickname "gooney bird" in the European theatre of operations. Other sources attribute this name to the first aircraft, a USMC R2D—the military version of the DC-2—being the first aircraft to land on Midway Island, previously home to the long-winged albatross known as the gooney bird which was native to Midway.

Postwar era

The United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command had Skytrains in service from 1946 through 1967. The US Air Force's 6th Special Operations Squadron was flying the C-47 until 2008.

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.

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.

Vietnam War

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-47Q depending on the engine used. Air International, Miami International Airport was a USAF military depot used to convert the commercial DC-3s/C-47s into military use. They came in as commercial aircraft purchased from third-world airlines and were completely stripped, rebuilt, and reconditioned. Long-range fuel tanks were installed, along with upgraded avionics and gun mounts. They left as first-rate military aircraft headed for combat in Vietnam in a variety of missions. EC-47s were also operated by the Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian Air Forces.[11] A gunship variation, using three 7.62 mm miniguns, designated AC-47 "Spooky", often nicknamed "Puff the magic dragon", also was deployed.

Super DC-3 (R4D-8)

U.S. Navy C-117Ds at RAF Mildenhall in 1967

Large numbers of DC-3s and surplus C-47s were in commercial use in the United States in the 1940s. In response to proposed changes to the Civil Air Regulations airworthiness requirements that would limit the continuing use of these aircraft, Douglas offered a late-1940s DC-3 conversion to improve takeoff and single-engine performance. This new model, the DC-3S or "Super DC-3", was 39 in (0.99 m) longer. It allowed 30 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 1,450 hp (1,081 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasps in larger engine nacelles. Minor changes included wheel-well doors, a partially retractable tailwheel, flush rivets, and low-drag antenna. These all contributed to an increased top speed of 250 mph (400 km/h; 220 kn). 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.

Specifications DC-3

General characteristics

* Crew: two

* Capacity: 21–32 passengers

* Length: 64 ft 8 in (19.7 m)

* Wingspan: 95 ft 2 in (29.0 m)

* Height: 16 ft 11 in (5.16 m)

* Wing area: 987 sq ft (91.7 m2)

* Aspect ratio: 9.17

* Airfoil: NACA2215 / NACA2206

* Empty weight: 16,865 lb (7,650 kg)

* Gross weight: 25,200 lb (11,431 kg)

* Fuel capacity: 822 gal. (3736 l)

* Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S1C3G Twin Wasp 14-cyl. air-cooled two row radial piston engine, 1,200 hp (890 kW) each

* Propellers: 3-bladed Hamilton Standard 23E50 series, 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) diameter

Performance

* Maximum speed: 200 kn; 370 km/h (230 mph) at 8,500 ft (2,590 m)

* Cruise speed: 180 kn; 333 km/h (207 mph)

* Stall speed: 58.2 kn (67 mph; 108 km/h)

* Service ceiling: 23,200 ft (7,100 m)

* Rate of climb: 1,130 ft/min (5.7 m/s)

* Wing loading: 25.5 lb/sq ft (125 kg/m2)

* Power/mass: 0.0952 hp/lb (156.5 W/kg)