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As I mentioned in image 30330, one of the big differences between the commercial DC-3 and the military C-47 was the replacement of the rear door with a cargo hatch.
You can see the latter here.
The panel to the left of it contains an entrance door, but that appears to be hinged itself, making for a large capacity hatch.
The DC-3 did not return to being a passenger hit after the war. It had been overtaken by larger, faster aircraft like the DC-4, and of course jets were not far off. However the C-47 was still extremely useful to shift cargo, or even passengers in some cases, to places that larger, heavier aircraft could not safely get to. Rough airstrips do not a C-47 faze.
There is an old song called "The Gooney Bird" (an affectionate nickname for the DC-3/C-47), one verse and the chorus of which is:
"Douglas built this ship to last, but nobody expected
This crazy heap would fly and fly no matter how they wrecked it.
While nations fall and men retire and jets get obsolete,
The Gooney Bird flies on and on at 11,000 feet.
They patch her up with masking tape,
With paper clips and strings
And still she flies; she never dies,
Methuselah with wings."
Addendum: My personal opinion is that Facebook is a sociopathic organisation that steals other peoples' intellectual property (including the images in this gallery) despite being explicitly denied permission to do so.
©2000-2024 AKMC. May not be used, copied or reproduced or used in AI training without written permission, especially by Facebook