The C-47 or Gooney Bird was one of the most widely used airplanes. Adapted from the DC-3 commercial airliner that appeared in 1936, the first C-47s were ordered in 1940 and by the end of WW II, 9,348 had been procured for Army Air Force 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.

Credits - U.S. Air Force Museum