Book Review of
Pacific Profiles Vol. 7
Allied Transports: Douglas C-47 Series
South & Southwest Pacific 1942-1945
Author: Michael John Claringbould
Avonmore Books
ISBN: 978-0-645-34691-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $42.95
ISBN: 978-0-645-34691-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $42.95
HISTORY:
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front-line service with various military operators for many years.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Crew: 4 (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, radio operator)
Capacity: 28 troops
Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
Wingspan: 95 ft 6 in (29.11 m)
Height: 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m)
Wing area: 987 sq ft (91.7 m2)
Airfoil: root: NACA 2215; tip: NACA 2206[25]
Empty weight: 18,135 lb (8,226 kg)
Gross weight: 26,000 lb (11,793 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 31,000 lb (14,061 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90C Twin Wasp 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 1,200 hp (890 kW) each
Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propellers
Maximum speed: 224 mph (360 km/h, 195 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
Range: 1,600 mi (2,600 km, 1,400 nmi)
Ferry range: 3,600 mi (5,800 km, 3,100 nmi)
Service ceiling: 26,400 ft (8,000 m)
Time to altitude: 10,000 ft (3,000 m) in 9 minutes 30 seconds
Wing loading: 26.3 lb/sq ft (128 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.0926 hp/lb (0.1522 kW/kg)
THE BOOK:
Avonmore Books is located in Kent Town, South Australia.
This book is of soft-cover in 160 pages in 6 ½” x 9 ¾” page format.
It contains 28 chapters, 3 colored maps, 104 black and white photos and 12 color photos.
There are 26 color illustrations of nose arts on C-47 and variants,
The cover art shows 5 color side-view illustrations.
1.A C-50 that is overall olive-drab, with a gray undercarriage. It has a blue circle with a white star roundel on the fuselage sides and a white VHCXF on the rudder. It was with South Australia.
2.A C-47 that is overall olive-drab. It has 2 yellow horizontal stripes on the rudder, below a white no. 20. It was with the 13th TCS in late 1944.
3.A C-47A that is overall olive-drab. With the Dutch AF black and white insignia on the fuselage sides. White C-47A over VHRON on the rudder.
4.A C-50 that is overall bare-metal, with a black nose, a star with bars roundel, a black area with white W over 7698 on the sides of the nose. With the RAAF.
5.A C-47B that is overall olive-drab. With No. 36 Squadron RAAF, with white RF roundel E on fuselage sides, black and white vertical fin flash, white VHR 68 on the rudder, a tiny black circle over a white VHRON on the rudder.
There are 26 nose arts with nicknames that include illustrations and some that have no nicknames, The ones that do are shown a second time larger to read the nicknames and illustrations better. Some black and white photos of the actual aircraft illustrated are included.
Nicknames shown in the profiles include:
Bobcat with a man’s face, Kate with a naked gal, Shakin All Over with bare-chested gal in a hula skirt, Bad Maggie with a seated gal in a bathing suit, King’s Cross Shuttle with a kneeling bare gal, Coral Princess with a seated gal in a bathing suit, Fat Cat, Genevieve with a prone naked gal, a mermaid, Ruby with a prone naked gal, Texas Tramp, Our Little Ethel with a seated naked gal, Sandy, Oklahoma Limited, Maggie.
Billie with a seated gal in a bathing suit, Ghost of Billie L with a bare-chested gal, Dumbo the Elephant, Stud Duck, Veda, Yingle Yangle, Whooo! The Gray Ghost with naked gal, Sure Skin with reclining naked gal, Defenseless Virgin with reclining naked gal, Puddle Jumper, Fair Dinkum Fungal Shield, Blond Baby with gal in bathing suit, Looking For Trouble with man riding an aircraft and looking through binoculars.
Bugle Nose, Flying Dutchman, The Hiawatha, Evelyn Lee with little gal pushing a cart, Black skull and crossbones on rudder, Popeye III with Popeye, Grubak and Airborne Joe.
This is a neat book on C-47’s and their variants. It will be of great interest to modelers planning on building a C-47 and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Avonmore Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front-line service with various military operators for many years.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Crew: 4 (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, radio operator)
Capacity: 28 troops
Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
Wingspan: 95 ft 6 in (29.11 m)
Height: 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m)
Wing area: 987 sq ft (91.7 m2)
Airfoil: root: NACA 2215; tip: NACA 2206[25]
Empty weight: 18,135 lb (8,226 kg)
Gross weight: 26,000 lb (11,793 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 31,000 lb (14,061 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90C Twin Wasp 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 1,200 hp (890 kW) each
Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propellers
Maximum speed: 224 mph (360 km/h, 195 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
Range: 1,600 mi (2,600 km, 1,400 nmi)
Ferry range: 3,600 mi (5,800 km, 3,100 nmi)
Service ceiling: 26,400 ft (8,000 m)
Time to altitude: 10,000 ft (3,000 m) in 9 minutes 30 seconds
Wing loading: 26.3 lb/sq ft (128 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.0926 hp/lb (0.1522 kW/kg)
THE BOOK:
Avonmore Books is located in Kent Town, South Australia.
This book is of soft-cover in 160 pages in 6 ½” x 9 ¾” page format.
It contains 28 chapters, 3 colored maps, 104 black and white photos and 12 color photos.
There are 26 color illustrations of nose arts on C-47 and variants,
The cover art shows 5 color side-view illustrations.
1.A C-50 that is overall olive-drab, with a gray undercarriage. It has a blue circle with a white star roundel on the fuselage sides and a white VHCXF on the rudder. It was with South Australia.
2.A C-47 that is overall olive-drab. It has 2 yellow horizontal stripes on the rudder, below a white no. 20. It was with the 13th TCS in late 1944.
3.A C-47A that is overall olive-drab. With the Dutch AF black and white insignia on the fuselage sides. White C-47A over VHRON on the rudder.
4.A C-50 that is overall bare-metal, with a black nose, a star with bars roundel, a black area with white W over 7698 on the sides of the nose. With the RAAF.
5.A C-47B that is overall olive-drab. With No. 36 Squadron RAAF, with white RF roundel E on fuselage sides, black and white vertical fin flash, white VHR 68 on the rudder, a tiny black circle over a white VHRON on the rudder.
There are 26 nose arts with nicknames that include illustrations and some that have no nicknames, The ones that do are shown a second time larger to read the nicknames and illustrations better. Some black and white photos of the actual aircraft illustrated are included.
Nicknames shown in the profiles include:
Bobcat with a man’s face, Kate with a naked gal, Shakin All Over with bare-chested gal in a hula skirt, Bad Maggie with a seated gal in a bathing suit, King’s Cross Shuttle with a kneeling bare gal, Coral Princess with a seated gal in a bathing suit, Fat Cat, Genevieve with a prone naked gal, a mermaid, Ruby with a prone naked gal, Texas Tramp, Our Little Ethel with a seated naked gal, Sandy, Oklahoma Limited, Maggie.
Billie with a seated gal in a bathing suit, Ghost of Billie L with a bare-chested gal, Dumbo the Elephant, Stud Duck, Veda, Yingle Yangle, Whooo! The Gray Ghost with naked gal, Sure Skin with reclining naked gal, Defenseless Virgin with reclining naked gal, Puddle Jumper, Fair Dinkum Fungal Shield, Blond Baby with gal in bathing suit, Looking For Trouble with man riding an aircraft and looking through binoculars.
Bugle Nose, Flying Dutchman, The Hiawatha, Evelyn Lee with little gal pushing a cart, Black skull and crossbones on rudder, Popeye III with Popeye, Grubak and Airborne Joe.
This is a neat book on C-47’s and their variants. It will be of great interest to modelers planning on building a C-47 and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Avonmore Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.