U.S. Army Aircraft C-53-DO-41-20124

Infobox_nrhp | name = U.S. Army Aircraft C-53-DO-41-20124 (DC-3)


caption =
locator_x =
locator_y =
location = Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois, USA
nearest_city =
lat_degrees = 40
lat_minutes = 29
lat_seconds = 19
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 88
long_minutes = 55
long_seconds = 40
long_direction = W
locmapin=Illinois
built = 1942
added = August 1 1996 [ [http://www.nr.nps.gov/nrloc1.htm NRIS Database] , National Register of Historic Places, retrieved Jan. 2007.]
refnum=
governing_body = Prairie Aviation Museum

U.S. Army Aircraft C-53-DO-41-20124 is a World War II era fully restored DC-3 housed at the Prairie Aviation Museum in the McLean County, Illinois city of Bloomington. The aircraft, also known as US Navy Aircraft (R4D-3 BuNo 05078) DC-3, or just the DC-3, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 1, 1996. The aircraft is fully flight ready and regular tourist flights as well as flight training are available from the museum. [http://www.prairieaviationmuseum.org/dc3.html The Douglas DC-3 "N763A, Ser. 4894"] , Prairie Aviation Museum, Official site, 2005, Retrieved January 20, 2007.]

Manufacture

While this specific C-53 rolled off the assembly line on March 11, 1942, it is one example of 399 such aircraft manufactured exclusively by Douglas Aircraft Company of Santa Monica, California. The aircraft model, known affectionately as "Skytrooper," was produced for the U.S. Army Air Force as a passenger and light cargo craft prior to and during World War II. [http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/201008.pdf National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form] -U.S. Army Aircraft C-53-DO-41-20124, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved 2 February 2007.]

Nomenclature

The C-53-DO-41-20124 designation given to the plane by the USAAF is more than just a forgettable string of numbers and letters. Each letter and number combination has a specific meaning. 'C' indicates that the aircraft is a cargo/transport plane while the '53' denotes that it is the 53rd such model of cargo plane that the USAAF has purchased. The 'DO' tells the manufacturer's plant, in this case Douglas plant. '41' indicates the fiscal year of the contract for the plane and the last set of numbers, '20124', is an Army serial number.

Notes