Why the Dakota DC-3 is important to aviation history in India and the world

As Naveen Patnaik unveils a restored Dakota, here's a look back at the aircraft's legacy

On Sunday, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiled a restored Dakota DC-3 aircraft at Bhubaneswar airport to mark the 107th birth anniversary of his father, Bijayananda (Biju) Patnaik. The Dakota is the same kind Biju Patnaik, who was Odisha’s chief minister twice, had used to fly Indonesian leaders to India under the threat of being shot down by Dutch colonisers.

The Dakota has a rich and storied history.

Manufactured by United States-based Douglas Aircraft Company (now part of Boeing), the Douglas Commercial 3 (DC-3) was a low-wing, twin-engine monoplane that first took to the skies in 1935. The DC-3 was the third iteration of the aircraft in the same category, equipped with improved space, better speed, and upgraded range compared to its predecessors. With a cruise speed of 333 kmph, a 2,400-km range, and a payload capacity of 2,700 kg that roughly translates into carrying 32 passengers, the aeroplane took the airline industry by storm. And by the end of 1938, the DC-3 was flying around 95 per cent of the entire US commercial traffic.

However, the start of World War II changed the fate of the aircraft. 

The airliner was heavily modified to be adapted for the war; the rejigged version was popularised as the Douglas C-47 Skytrain. The C-47 Skytrain quickly gained a reputation for being rugged, reliable, and fast. The plane's impact on the war was so profound that General Dwight D Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the allied forces in western Europe, described it as the most important aircraft responsible for allied victory.

The British and the Australians dubbed the C-47 aircraft 'Dakota', a riff from the plane's name – DACoTA (Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft). So effective was the plane that by the time the war ended, more than 10,000 Dakotas had been built. 

These Dakotas flooded the market, and a fleet was inducted into the No 12 squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1946. Post-Independence, both India and Pakistan acquired the Dakotas from their British rulers.

These planes were used heavily in the Indo-Pakistan- war of 1947 to move troops, evacuate refugees, and transport heavy military cargo.

As reported by the Business Standard earlier, the Dakota “is the reason why Poonch is still with India”.

During the Indo-Pakistan conflict of 1947-48, as the situation in the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir grew critical and Poonch increasingly became isolated, the Dakota assisted in the logistics of the war. Over the next few days in October 1947, the aircraft landed on emergency airstrips laid down in the region to deliver critical supplies, troops, ammunition and medical equipment, which kept the enemy at bay. For instance, the IAF's Dakota, piloted by Wg Cdr Mehar Singh, weathered a treacherous journey through an uncharted route at 25,000 feet, landing at 11,550 feet in Leh.
 

The aeroplanes’ and air force pilots' war efforts were critical factors that helped India emerge victorious. 

The DC-3 was also useful in Indian civil aviation.

In 1947, Biju Patnaik launched Kalinga Airlines, a private company based in Calcutta (now Kolkata) with a fleet of 15 DC-3 aircraft. Kalinga was merged with others and nationalised into Indian Airlines in 1953. The nationalised airlines continued to operate the DC-3 until the widespread proliferation of jets. Kalinga re-entered the industry as a non-scheduled charter service in 1957, flying passengers and cargo in the DC-3 until 1972.

The IAF went all in on the DC-3, with Indian aerospace and defence firm Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) fitting new engines and creating a squadron of the "Hyper" Dakotas. These aircraft were instrumental in the Indian war efforts in subsequent conflicts with China and Pakistan. The plane undertook the crucial paradrop during the Bangladesh campaign in 1971.

It is hard to overstate the Dakota's impact on Indian aviation. The IAF states, "These aircraft have been used for VIP transport, training of pilots, navigators, target towing, survey, photo-reconnaissance, air maintenance, logistic support, flood relief and many more roles."

The DC-3 was in service with the IAF from 1946 till 1988, when it was finally phased out.

The DC-3 remains resilient to this day with hundreds of these aircraft taking to the skies around the world. The American company Basler Turbo Conversions has repurposed the "virtually indestructible" airframe of the DC-3 with a new engine and systems to make its Basler BT-67.