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Air transports


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#1 Rygar

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Posted 16 February 2004 - 03:05 PM

American, British, Russian Douglas DC3 Skytrain/Lisunov Li2
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Few aircraft are as well known or were so widely used for so long as the C-47 or "Gooney Bird" as it was affectionately nicknamed. The aircraft was adapted from the DC-3 commercial airliner which appeared in 1936. The first C-47s were ordered in 1940 and by the end of WW II, 9,348 had been procured for AAF use. They carried personnel and cargo, and in a combat role, towed troop-carrying gliders and dropped paratroops into enemy territory. After WW II, many C-47s remained in USAF service, participating in the Berlin Airlift and other peacetime activities. During the Korean War, C-47s hauled supplies, dropped paratroops, evacuated wounded and dropped flares for night bombing attacks. In Vietnam, the C-47 served again as a transport, but it was also used in a variety of other ways which included flying ground attack (gunship) , reconnaissance, and psychological warfare missions. Under the name Lisunou Li2, the Russians built hundreds of them under licence and the Japanese did the same after the war.

Wing span: 28.5 mt
Lenght: 19.35 mt
Height: 4.83 mt
Weight (Max): 14850 kg
Propulsion: 2x Pratt & Whitney R-1830s, 1200 hp each
Speed (Max): 371 km/h
Service ceiling: 7335 mt
Armament: N/A
Bomb load: N/A
Crew: 6

German Junkers Ju-52/3m
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By 1932, the German airline, Lufthansa, had sufficiently recovered from the economic woes of the 1920’s to put in service a three-engine civil transport plane, the Junkers Ju 52/3m. Based on a short-lived single engine model, the Ju 52 first flew in April 1931 and quickly became the workhorse of both the airline and the reviving Luftwaffe, with a standard passenger-carrying load of 17. During the Spanish Civil War, the Ju 52 ferried more than 10000 Moorish troops from Morocco to Spain, as well as dropping 6000 tons of bombs. With three BMW engines of 725 horsepower each, the Ju 52 had a maximum speed of 272.3 km/h and a range of 1280 kilometers. For air defense and tactical ground support the bomber carried two 7.92 machineguns and could be fitted with a variety of bomb racks as the need arose; the plane's trademark corrugated skin produced a very solid airframe. By the beginning of World War Two over 1000 Ju 52’s were in service; eventually a total of 5000 planes would fly the Nazi colors performing every imaginable mission from troop transport to mine-laying on all fronts. During the war some thirteen ‘variations on a theme’ saw improved radios, interchangeable float/ski/wheel landing gear (indicating the wide range of Luftwaffe requirements), better armor and engines, and heavier defensive armament.

Wing span: 28.54 mt
Lenght: 18.6 mt
Height: 5.48 mt
Weight (Max): 14850 kg
Propulsion: 3x BMW 132A-3, 725 hp each
Speed (Max): 272.3 km/h
Service ceiling: 5808 mt
Armament: 2x 7.92mm MG 15 MG
Bomb load: 495 kg
Crew: 4

Italian Savoia Marchetti SM.81 "Pipistrello"
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In 1935, the SM.81 Pipistrello (Bat) made its debut and marked a definite step forward in the development of military aviation. The excellent overall qualities of this aircraft were first tested in the Ethiopian campaign and then in the Spanish Civil War. The SM.81s success in combat directly transformed into a series of orders that eventually led to the production of 534 SM.81s. However, as in the case of other combat planes produced in that same period, the Spanish Civil War did not provide very reliable proof of what subsequent needs were to be. The SM.81, clearly out of date by the outbreak of World War II, remained in service for the duration of hostilities, operating on almost all fronts, although it was gradually phased out to play a secondary role as a transport. The SM.81's direct predecessor was the SM.73, a commercial airplane, whose prototype appeared on 6/4/34, and which was an immediate commercial success. It was this aircraft that provided the basis for the construction formula that was to remain virtually unchanged in SIAI Marchetti's later production, a three-engine, low-wing monoplane with a wood and metal structure and wood and fabric covering. The military version was presented toward the end of the year and was subjected to a whole series of operational tests by tThe SM.81 went into service early in 1935 and made its military debut in Africa that same year. After the experiences of the Spanish Civil War, the appearance of the stronger and more reliable SM.79 consigned the older SM.81 to a secondary role. At the beginning of World War II, the SM.81 was gradually withdrawn from front-line service in national territory and was used mainly on the African and Russian fronts as transport aircraft. After the Armistice, only four SM.81s were left in southern Italy. The others that remained went in the north to form part of two groups of transport planes in the air force of the pro-axis forces.he Regia Aeronautica before going into mass production.

Wing span: 34 mt
Lenght: 17.8 mt
Height: 4.30 mt
Weight (Max): 10505 kg
Propulsion: 3x Alfa Romeo 125 RC.34, 680 hp each
Speed (Max): 340 km/h
Service ceiling: 7000 mt
Armament: 2x 12.7mm MG, 4x 7.7mm MG
Bomb load: 2000 kg
Crew: 5

Japanese Nakajima Ki-34/L1N1 "Thora"
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Originally designed as a civil transport, the Nakajima AT-2 was adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1937 as the Ki-34. Later a number of these Army machines were transferred to the Imperial Navy and redesignated L1N1.

Wing span: 19.81 mt
Lenght: 15.3 mt
Height: 4.15 mt
Weight (Max): 5250 kg
Propulsion: 2x Nakajima Kotobuki-41, 71' hp each
Speed (Max): 360 km/h
Service ceiling: 7000 mt
Armament: N/A
Bomb load: N/A
Crew: 3
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