Warbird Information Exchange

I have flown in three ex-C-47s. Two are passenger/VIP configured, one is a freighter turned museum ship.

Each has a dataplate in the cockpit saying they are now DC-3Cs.
They were "civilianized" by different firms.

Are all ex-C-47s now DC-3Cs, or is my experience just a coincidence?

Also, the example at the museum where I volunteer has a modified cockpit roof emergency hatch with a (now opaque) Plexiglas window.
Would any C-47 unit work, or are there differences by model of lot number?

Any idea if they are available at a reasonable price?

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

John, for what it’s worth, I found this Wiki entry and here are a couple of pages from the Douglas DC-3C flight Manual from 1947. I flew a C-53 and a C-47A under my DC-3 type rating and a C-117D/R4D-8 with my Super DC-3 rating back in the day, but didn’t fly any DC-3Cs.

7AAC92C7-E21D-45E1-BBCE-EDB310BDF2BB by tanker622001, on Flickr

BBE19A4A-BA9A-49C9-8F8F-33A77CCB39FE by tanker622001, on Flickr

1356F48D-D437-4AC9-A0F2-1C32003CB28D by tanker622001, on Flickr

The 3 ex-C-47s flying in New Zealand are registered as DC3C-S1C3G's. Two of these operate under airline certification (not Adventure Aviation regs).
One Aussie is registered as a DC3-G202A, most are DC3C-S1C3G's, a couple DC3C-R-1830's, a couple C-47B's (but note the ex-RNZAF Harvards are registered as T-6G's, so whatever).

The Vintage Wings website has a page on the differences between a C-47 and a C-53.

The type certificate for the DC-3, A-669, lists the following models/variants:


Finally, ̶w̶h̶i̶l̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶u̶n̶f̶o̶r̶t̶u̶n̶a̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶c̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶l̶i̶p̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶I̶ ̶f̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶, a family tree titled "Douglas Commercial-3" was published as a sidebar to an article in some periodical likely during the 1940s or 50s:

(Source: Paul H. Howe and Louis Banks, “Queen of the Transports,” Flying, April 1946, 28.)

EDIT (22-09-02): Found the source of the article.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

So the short answer is....yes. With various suffixes.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.