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| The Douglas C-47 "Skytrain" (designated R4D by the Navy) was a military version of the famous DC-3 utilized for commercial air transport in the late 1930s. Of the 13,000 plus models built, 10,123 were constructed for the military with 568 of them procured by the Navy. The R4Ds were put to immediate use by the Navy after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor by establishing the Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and equipping three transport squadrons with the "Skytrain" for flights between mainland United States and points overseas. Thirteen NATS squadrons would ultimately be equipped with the R4D.
During its wartime service, the R4D was also used in a number of specialized roles such as radar countermeasures using special electronic equipment, air-sea warfare training, navigation training, and as troop carriers for Marine paratroopers. During peacetime, the winterized R4D made a name for itself in operations from the polar icecaps of Antarctica. In January 1947, CDR William Hawkes (with RADM Richard Byrd aboard) led a flight of six R4Ds off the deck of an aircraft carrier (USS Philippine Sea) as part of Operation Highjump. This marked the first carrier take-off for the R4D. These planes operated along with six PBMs for 24 days logging 650 hours of flight time on photographic mapping flights covering 1,500,000 square miles of the interior and 5,500 miles of coastline of the Antarctic Continent. This was followed in 1956 when an R4D (named "Que Sera Sera") piloted by LCDR Gus Shinn and under the command of RADM George Dufek landed on the ice at the South Pole to become the first expedition to stand at that spot since Captain Scott of the Royal Navy reached it in 1912.These upgraded aircraft had new outer wing panels with modest sweepback, a longer and strengthened fuselage, enlarged tail unit, modified nacelles to enclose the undercarriage totally and up-rated R-1820 engines. As a result, the overall capability and performance factors were increased substantially. SPECIFICATIONS: The Museum's R4D-5L aircraft (BuNo 12418) is the famous "Que Sera Sera" on loan from the Smithsonian Museum. The Museum's R4D-8/C-117D (BuNo 50821) was received in a flyable condition from the Naval Weapons Center, China Lake. Type:Transport Crew:Three; Capacity: 27 passengers, 10,000 lb cargo Power Plant:Two 1200 hp P&W 1830-92 Weight:Gross, 29,000 lbs Speed:Max 227 mph Range:1,975 miles |
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| Bibliography: National Museum of Naval Aviation |