Transports, particularly those relegated to second-line duties, tend to have long service lives. The ubiquitous Dakota proved to be so adaptable and robust that many air arms kept them going for decades. There was a time in the 1950s and 1960s when the saying, "the only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3" was a truism. The military version of the pure airliner DC-3 was used by the USAAF as the C-47 Skytrain and C-53 Skytrooper. The C-47 was configured for freight or paratroopers while the C-53 was a 'straight' troop transport with a conventional side door. Just more than 800 DC-3s were built, the rest - 10,123 - were military airlifters. Additionally, Japan and the Soviet Union manufactured the type under licence.
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