By Randy Malmstrom
Douglas DC-3A-197 Mainliner “Reno,” s/n 01910, N16070. This particular aircraft was the first DC-3A produced by Douglas Aircraft Company to be delivered to an airline. It was delivered to United Airlines on November 25, 1936, as N16070 and has flown with that registration number its entire operational history, which has been entirely civilian – no service as a C-47 military transport. I am told it retains its original skin, interior configuration, flight controls, and instrumentation (although the latter must certainly be upgraded). It was built with no deicing boots on the leading edges of the wings (although they had been developed 1928-30 by B.F. Goodrich Company in Akron, Ohio). It has flown over a million cargo/passenger miles and has had 153 engine replacements during its history. My photos at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, where it has maintained its airworthy status with the FAA, but is not currently being flown to my knowledge.
Powerplant: two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-51C3G Twin Wasp, 14-cylinder air-cooled two-row radial engines producing 1,200 hp. each, and powering 3-bladed Hamilton Standard 23E50 series 11 ft. 6 in diameter propellers. Maximum speed is 230 mph; cruising speed is 207 mph, and the service ceiling is 23,200 ft. As far as the military version: Also known by British Commonwealth forces as “Dakota” (DACoTA” for Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft), it also had the nicknames “Skytrooper” and “Gooney Bird” and “Old Bucket,” and during the Vietnam War it was known as “Puff” and “Puff, the Magic Dragon” ostensibly as a result of its appearance and sound at night while defending hamlets in the Mekong River Delta (as reported by Capt. Jack Harvey).
Theories abound as to how the aircraft got the “Gooney Bird” nickname. It has been said that the name came from the South Pacific, where small atolls were the home of the wandering albatross, the giant seagull-like bird noted for its powers of flight and sometimes unflattering but safe landings. Some U.S. GIs said the C-47 looked like the bird, with a heavy body and long wings, and mimicked the bird in its struggle to get off the rain-soaked dirt fields. Or, the name comes from the definition of stupid or goon. Pilots called the C-47 stupid because they said it didn’t know it wasn’t supposed to be able to do the things it did. Another source claims that before the C-47, the C-39 was nicknamed “Gooney Bird” by the Tenth Transport Command at Patterson Field in Dayton, Ohio. The C-47 was fitted with two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp engines and could hold 28 troops, a jeep, or a 37 mm cannon. Variants included the AC-47D Spooky gunship, SEC-47 electronic reconnaissance aircraft, EC-47Q antiaircraft systems evaluation, and C-53 Skytrooper.
About the author 
Randy Malmstrom grew up in a family steeped in aviation culture. His father, Bob, was still a cadet in training with the USAAF at the end of WWII, but did serve in Germany during the U.S. occupation in the immediate post-war period, where he had the opportunity to fly in a wide variety of types that flew in WWII. After returning to the States, Bob became a multi-engine aircraft sales manager and, as such, flew a wide variety of aircraft; Randy frequently accompanied him on these flights. Furthermore, Randy’s cousin, Einar Axel Malmstrom, flew P-47 Thunderbolts with the 356th FG from RAF Martlesham Heath. He was commanding this unit at the time he was shot down over France on April 24th, 1944, and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. Following his repatriation at war’s end, Einar continued his military service, attaining the rank of Colonel. He was serving as Deputy Wing Commander of the 407th Strategic Fighter Wing at Great Falls AFB, MT at the time of his death in a T-33 training accident on August 21, 1954. The base was renamed in his honor in October 1955 and continues to serve in the present USAF as home to the 341st Missile Wing. Randy’s innate interest in history in general, and aviation history in particular, plus his educational background and passion for WWII warbirds, led him down his current path of capturing detailed aircraft walk-around photos and in-depth airframe histories, recording a precise description of a particular aircraft in all aspects.
