The R4D-6S Bu.No. 50783 was built in October 1944, at Douglas Aircraft's Oklahoma City plant. She was one in a group of 35 C-47B-l0-DK'"s (the full USAAF designation) which were converted on the production line to the Navy's R4D-6 specification. She was accepted by the Navy on October 1944 and assigned to Naval Air Transport Squadron Three (VR-3), headquartered at the Olathe, Kansas Naval Air Station on October 25th 1944. Belongs to the Commemorative Air Force, seen here at Airsho, Midland Texas.
The Douglas DC-3 celebrates its 76th anniversary in 2011.
December 17, 2011, marks the 76th anniversary of the DC-3's first flight, and there are still small operators with DC-3s in revenue service and as cargo aircraft. The common saying among aviation buffs and pilots is that "the only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3." The aircraft's legendary ruggedness is enshrined in the lighthearted description of the DC-3 as "a collection of parts flying in loose formation." Its ability to take off and land on grass or dirt runways makes it popular in developing countries, where runways are not always paved.