The Douglas Dakota was a Second World War transport aircraft developed from the American Douglas DC3 passenger airliner, and known by the RAF as the Dakota. In the USA the military version was known as the C47 Skytrain.
The Dakota is the only aircraft at Elvington Air Museum that is open for public access. A good external photo is difficult, since there are so many aircraft in the hanger where it is displayed, so the main photo here was the best I could manage. The upper photo gives a glimpse into the cockpit, while the lower photo shows the interior of the cabin.
The Dakota proved to be a very rugged and reliable aircraft, and many thousands were built for military service around the world. In RAF service, most were disposed of by 1950, mainly for further commercial use.
Remarkably, by the year 2000 there were still around 400 in commercial service around the world, and there are still airworthy examples today. It has proved to be one of the most long lived of all aircraft types. The RAF itself has an airworthy example as part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
The history of these aircraft is a fascinating and quite complicated story. I found it quite fascinating researching this one.
Ian