India News | Modern Version of Iconic DC-3 Aircraft Lands in Kolkata Airport

Kolkata, Jun 8 (PTI) A DC-3C aircraft, a modern version of the iconic Douglas DC-3 plane, a carrier that played a significant role during World War II, landed in the Kolkata airport on Saturday, officials said.

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The Canada-registered plane with no passenger on board came here from Delhi for a day for refuelling and to provide its four crew members – three captains and an engineer - some rest, they said.

“The DC-3C is a modern variant of the iconic Douglas DC-3, a revolutionary aircraft from the 1930s that played a vital role in World War II and commercial aviation,” an official said.

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The aircraft landed at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 12:13 pm from Delhi and it is scheduled to depart for Pattaya International Airport at 08:30 am on Sunday.

“The DC-3, first flown in 1935, was a low-wing twin-engine monoplane that in various conformations could seat 21 or 28 passengers or carry 2,725 kg of cargo. It was over 64 feet (19.5 metres) long, with a wingspan of 95 feet (29 metres). It was manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

“In the mid-1940s all but 25 of the 300 airline planes operating in the United States were DC-3s... (During wartime) it was used to transport passengers (28), fully armed paratroopers (28), wounded troops (18 stretchers and a medical crew of three), military cargo (e.g., two light trucks), and anything else that could fit through its cargo doors and weighed not much more than three tons," a post on the noted encyclopedia's website read.

Combining historic legacy with modern tech, the DC-3C remains a celebrated aircraft in aviation history, the official said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)