DC-3, F-AZOX


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DC-3, F-AZOX

The Douglas DC-3 (civilian designation) or C-47 (military designation), or Dakota (nickname given in the Royal Air Force) made its first flight in December 1935. Born in California, in Santa Monica, it embodies modern air transport, that is reliable, comfortable, resolutely modern and efficient.
Transformed for the needs of the war into a military transport aircraft, the DC-3, which became the C-47 Skytrain, was the hero of 6 June 1944, when it dropped the American paratroopers of the 101st and 82nd Airborne on the eve of the Normandy landings.
It was also used in all theatres of operation, in the Pacific, in Burma, in Russia. It also transported the French pilots of the Normandie-Niemen from Teheran to Ivanovo.
A symbol of the Liberation, the DC-3’s silhouette has become a modern icon in the same way as the Jeep.
More than 13,000 of them were produced. The DC-3 wrote the pages of modern air transport and paved the way for single-aisle aircraft such as the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737. Virtually every airline in the world operated this type of aircraft in the aftermath of the Second World War and for more than 30 years this aircraft was the basis of air transport.

This aircraft was built in May 1945 and regularly used by the Queen of England. It is equipped with a VIP interior, that gives it a very special nostalgic charm.
The Douglas took to the skies again on 31 October 2009 after more than eight years in Dinard.
During the winter of 2009, the aircraft underwent several months of intensive work, including the complete dismantling of both wings and the treatment of the corrosion under the centre section, before being airborne again in April 2010.
The Douglas DC3 F-GIDK was returned to the skies thanks to the association “Un Dakota sur la Normandie” under its new registration: F-AZOX in spring 2010.
Today, it has 24,000 flights to its credit.


Operator: Dakota sur la Normandie
Pilot: Alain Battisti - Axel Valat
Manufacturing date: 1945
Serial number: s/n 16604 - USAAF Serial n°: 44-77020