In 1935, during the first flight of the prototype, who could have imagined the incredible success of the Douglas DC-3! After the second world war, the C-47, its military version, will symbolize the plane of the landing of Normandy and as of 1944, it will fly under French cockades.
In the Air Force and Naval Aviation, nearly 300 "Dakota", nickname of the C-47, will ensure countless missions. For forty years, the "Dakota" will wear our colors throughout the world: it is this long page of our military aeronautical history that is told in this book.
The C-47s will know the Indochina conflict and the hell of Dien Bien Phu. They will be deployed in Africa, they will cross the skies of many countries. In metropolitan France, they will participate in the training of Air Transport Military crews, they will also equip the Naval Aviation. Unpublished testimonials illustrate the missions of the C-47 and revive his adventures.
Withdrawn from service, many "Dakota" are sold to other countries or airlines, some will be equipped with turbines. The "life" of each aircraft that served in the French armies is traced. Some still fly today and their story continues!
Widely illustrated, completed by fifty profiles, this reference book finally comes to tell what was the career of the mythical "Dakota" under the French cockades.
Approximately 430 pages with more than 1,300 images and 50 color profiles.
The profile plans on pages 14, 18, 19, 20 and 22 are from Gérard PALOQUE.
The profiles are from Patrice GAUBERT.
The plans on pages 346, 347, 348 and 349 are by Patric GAUBERT.
The profiles on pages 364 and 365 are by Richard QUEURTY for the airplane and Bernard GAUDINEAU for the installation of the antennas.
Discover the 15 pages of this book thanks to PDF.
READING OUR READERS:
- General of Air Corps Michel ROUYER pilot
I have just received your magnificent work.
You have done an excellent job which requires a lot of research and a lot of method.
By browsing its pages, I was able to relive the first hours of my carrier career, unforgettable hours spent in Touraine, Anjou and Maine.
We were fortunate to be part of a GMMTA that could put training of more than 80 C-47s online during certain operations in Indochina.
This is where our unwavering esprit de corps was forged.
Well done again.
- Mr. Pierre BEDER, former Radio Navigator assigned to Béarn in Indochina.
As announced by Lela Presse, "The C-47s under our cockades" have arrived!
I of course quickly went through this superb book and found very moving memories, especially of Indochina.
Bravo for this superb document. Here are a few hours of assured reading.
Pierre, I can't wait to see whoever will deal with JU 52. Hurry up ... I'm 89 years old this year!
- General of Air Corps Alain BEVILLARD pilot.
Good evening Pierre and good evening Richard,
I just received this magnificent work!
Gorgeous.
I started reading it and was amazed by so much research, so much work, layout, photos, graphics, maps, etc.
Titanic. A bible!
Congratulations sincere for this immense work and this very beautiful realization.
- Mr. Jean-Noël PECHEUR, civilian, admirer of C-47.
"Everything comes just in time who knows how to wait".
The first feedback on the forums is very favorable.
NEWSPAPER :
The C-47s in our colors by Pierre Cornu, Gilbert Millas & Richard Queurty. Profiles of Gérard PALOQUE.
This book “ticks all the boxes” to learn all about the French C-47s. Let us judge:
After a presentation of the device with its various versions (Do you know the C-48?), Its licensed productions (the Tabby is not necessarily a tabby cat), the three authors engage on the devices of the Army air. For each unit, it is indicated
· A brief history of the unit
· Unity badges
· Standard brands of aircraft in the unit
· The list of devices identified as having belonged to the unit
· Any accidents
And of course the memories of the pilots ... and the mechanics (too often forgotten)
After the 242 pages devoted to the Air Force, we move on to Naval Aeronautics (14 pages), then the aircraft sold to the former colonies (31 pages), the survivors (16 pages), the civil companies having participated to the Indochinese conflict (13 pages) ... then the last chapter is devoted to technical details with plans and extracts of instructions.
The annexes consist of:
· Individual Air Force aircraft histories
· Glossary of abbreviations and acronyms
Finally, let's not forget at the opening of the book two pages dedicated to the crews who died on board C-47
Conclusion: a must, easy to consult and very complete. In addition, iconography is for the most part new!
© Modelstories 2020.
- For forty years, some 300 C-47 "Dakota" will wear the colors of the Air Force and Naval Aviation throughout the world and during all major operations of post-war conflicts in which the French army will fight.
Enormously illustrated, more than a thousand photos, the vast majority of which are unpublished and supplemented by fifty profiles, this truly reference work presents in depth what the career of the legendary "Dakota" was like under the French roundels. The three authors set out to show, in addition to the history, the different evolutions and versions, the technical characteristics, and above all the units endowed in the Air Force and the Navy, the C-47 ceded to the former colonies and those returned to “civilian life” and / or fitted with turbines, as well as testimonies from crew members and mechanics.
Note that for each unit, a brief history of the unit is presented, the unit badges, the markings of the unit's planes, the list of identified aircraft that belonged to the unit and any accidents. Note at the opening the pages dedicated to the crews who died on board C-47. The appendices consist of individual histories of Air Force aircraft, a glossary of abbreviations and acronyms. Very beautiful realization, easy to consult and very complete. In a word: essential.
Eric Micheletti - RAID AVIATION N ° 47
- When we are interested in military history, we know how often the fate of men and materials is linked. We think of course of the Jeep, the GMC, the Sherman ... but also the Douglas C-47 in terms of military air transport. For Milinfists, the image of Dakota is intimately linked to the Normandy Landings when hordes of C-47s, coming from England, swept over our coasts, towing the gliders of the first waves of assault.
Thank you therefore to Pierre Cornu, Gilbert Millas and Richard Queurty, the authors of this work dedicated to the C-47 under the French roundels. Thanks to them, we are going to discover this legendary plane, derived from the civilian DC-3, produced in the United States in the Douglas factories but also, under license, in the Soviet Union and in Japan.
The C-47's service record, from its first flight on December 17, 1935 to the present day - since some examples equipped with a turbine are still in service around the world - fully justified a dedicated work.
All the interest of this 430 pages bible, some 1300 photos and 50 color profiles lies, for us fans of wings under French cockades, in the initiatory journey in the heart of some 300 Dakota who, from 1944, flew within the units of the Air Force and Naval Aviation.
History, evolutions and versions, technical characteristics, units endowed in the Air Force and the Navy, C-47 ceded to the old colonies, testimonies of crew members and mechanics, C-47 returned to civilian life and equipped with turbines… so many subjects treated with expertise in a well-organized and pleasant work to browse thanks to the very many photos.
Not being a specialist in military aviation, I learned a lot about this legendary plane. I can therefore only recommend it to novices like me, but just as much to aviation enthusiasts who will find something to complete their knowledge, without forgetting the model makers, and there are many, who are passionate about the French military wings at 1/72 or 1/48.
Admittedly, airplanes are not at the heart of our editorial line, but the fact remains that some airplanes or helicopters are closely linked to the soldiers who fought in French uniform. This is the case of the C-47 under the French wings which will have no more secrets for you after reading this precious work.
Christophe Loeuillet (Milinfo.org).
- Which aircraft has historiographic importance that is inversely proportional to its historical importance? Look no further: it's the DC-3 and its military avatars. Think so, more than 10,000 copies built, more than a revolution for commercial aviation, an essential role during the Second World War, an endless career (more than 80 years after the first flight of the first DST, Douglas continue carry anything just about anywhere, especially where the flight conditions are tough!)
How many books on the DC-3 have you presented in the Aerobibliotheque over the past twenty years? A small handful… Sad observation! It must be said that due to its phenomenal production and its omnipresence on a world scale, this career is complicated to trace other than little bits by little bits. For the French military "little bit", we've been waiting for a long time for someone to stick to it. It is now done and it is of course Lela Presse which publishes this large volume. Three authors have pooled their talents and knowledge. It was necessary at least that because the subject is very vast. The first French C-47 soldiers are delivered during the Second World War. The latter left active service forty years later, and several dozen planes were affected.
The structure of the book is not very original. After a relatively succinct but complete presentation of the aircraft and its production comes a long enumeration of the numerous Air Force units equipped with C-47s, including also the French Mission in Laos and the CEV. The endowment of each unit is reviewed, bases, planes affected, accidents, lost crews and the whole is illustrated with many very varied testimonies.
Then comes the much shorter second chapter, devoted to Naval Aeronautics. A third is devoted to the aircraft supplied by the Air Force to the former colonies - an astonishing but absolutely fascinating chapter, as is an overview of the civil companies involved in the Indochina conflict. Finally, a very extensive technical chapter arrives before a long summary list of Air Force planes, a precise work by Bernard Chenel. It took no less to fill the almost 450 pages of this generous menu. The photos are innumerable, often of very good quality and necessarily new for the most part with a significant proportion of color photos. They are accompanied by precise profiles and drawings (cutaway and 3 views).
The book remains stuck to the individual monitoring of the planes but the testimonies clarify the operations in a relevant way; we are quite divided on the use of cursive fonts for their layout, but it is a possible choice.
The whole book, as full as an egg, is therefore entirely up to the standard of the publisher's usual productions and will not disappoint anyone.
Frédéric Marsaly for l'Aérobibliothèque.
- A new large, large and beautiful work dedicated to the C-47, a legendary aircraft including no less than 300 aircraft
carried our roundels. To date, there has been no collection dealing exclusively with these military aircraft. The main plot of this book finds its origin in very old "TU" (1973)
since it is Bernard Chenel's production lists that are used here to deal with the history of AA aircraft.
In addition to a historical and technical presentation of the aircraft, these are all the user units of C-47 which are reviewed, but we can deplore having only 15 pages on the C-47 of Naval Aviation. It's a bit short and reductive it seems. We would have liked to know a little more about the use of these planes by not stopping only on their only history. An original chapter devoted to the C-47s supplied to the former colonies allows us to learn a little more about these planes with liveries that are just as varied as they are colorful, and the planes that have been sold to civilian companies are not forgotten. But let's not sulk our pleasure, the strong point of this book is this superb and remarkable album of photographs that we have in our hands, grouping together under one cover as many decorations as diverse as original.
With the help of numerous profiles, the model builders will appreciate, but please, let's keep the only official C-47 designation, let's forget the name of Dakota for France, Dakota being initially attributed to RAF aircraft. © Régis BIAUX - LE TRAIT D'UNION.
- The Douglas DC-3 is arguably one of the most famous aircraft in history. Entering service in 1936, extremely modern for its time, it revolutionized air transport with its exceptional performance. It has been used by airlines around the world for decades. Obviously the plane was immediately adopted by the air forces under the name C-47, Skytrain or Dakota, depending on the country, affectionately nicknamed "Dak".
It was used by the armies of all the countries, even copied and the History retains it like the plane of the unloading, Arnhem, and all the essential or secondary transport.
France has put its roundels on Dakota, on about 300 of them, since 1944 and for forty years. These planes were from all the campaigns, Indochina of course but also Algeria and everywhere where the French army was in action.
The celebrity of the device should have generated a large literature but it is not, and in French only one work on the subject, succinct, published in 1980 by EPA. Lela Presse resets the counters to zero with this major work. The structure is very classic
Some 240 pages are devolved to the Air Force, then, a pity, only 14 pages for Naval Aeronautics, comes an important section the devices given to the colonies, the survivors and, not forgotten, the civilians in Indochina, like Aigle Azur or Air Vietnam among others.
There follows a more technical part and appendices which detail the careers of all French C-47s. It’s very detailed, a remarkable research work but, even in the technical parts, very engaging, full of testimonials and anecdotes, a real pleasure to browse, full of discoveries! As for the illustrations, there are everywhere, of excellent quality, most of them unpublished. The whole is completed by numerous profiles of Gérard Paloque and Patrice Gaubert to illustrate all the versions.
Congratulations to the authors and the editor for this superb work. It is a must for any aviation enthusiast! © J.-L. FOUQUET - Cocardes.
