The Douglas C-47 Skytrain, known to the RAF as the Dakota, began its life as a military adaptation of the Douglas DC-3 airliner. With modifications including a reinforced floor, large cargo doors, a shortened tail cone for glider towing, and an astrodome for navigation, the C-47 became far more versatile than its civilian predecessor. Production began just before the United States entered the Second World War, and between 1941 and 1945, more than 10,000 aircraft were built across plants in California and Oklahoma. A specialized version, the C-53 Skytrooper, was briefly introduced in 1941 for troop transport but proved less useful than the C-47 because it lacked cargo-handling features, and only 380 were built. During the war, the C-47 became indispensable to Allied operations. It carried troops and supplies across theaters, evacuated the wounded, and performed airborne missions such as paratrooper drops and glider towing. From the Pacific islands to North Africa and Europe, its reliability and capacity made it the backbone of Allied air transport. In major operations such as the D-Day invasion, C-47s dropped thousands of paratroopers behind enemy lines, and later they sustained forces in campaigns like the Burma airlift, where they flew supplies across the Himalayas into China. By war’s end, the C-47 had proven itself as one of the most important aircraft in the Allied arsenal. After 1945, the C-47 continued its long service life. Surplus aircraft entered civilian airlines worldwide, while military operators across more than 100 countries kept them in use for decades. In the United States, the Navy and Marine Corps modernized many into the Super DC-3, redesignated the C-117D, with extended fuselages, larger tail surfaces, swept wings, and more powerful engines. Though commercial interest in the improved model was limited, the military valued its enhanced performance. Even so, the original C-47 remained in widespread operation, its durability and adaptability ensuring that, more than eighty years after its first flight, many still fly in both military and civilian roles.