The Douglas C47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport that was developed from the Douglas DC3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950's with a few remaining in operation to this day.

During World War II, the armed forces of many countries used the C47 and modified DC3's for the transport of troops, cargo and wounded. Over 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City plant produced 5,354 C47's from March 1943 until August 1945.

The C47 was vital to the success of many Allied campaigns, in particular those at Guadalcanal and in the jungles of New Guinea and Burma where the C47 (and its naval version, the R4D) alone made it possible for Allied troops to counter the mobility of the light travelling Japanese army. Additionally, C47's were used to airlift supplies to the embattled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne. But possibly its most influential role in military aviation was flying the Hump from India into China where the expertise gained would later be used in the Berlin Airlift in which the C47 would also play its part.

In Europe, the C47 and a specialized paratroop variant, the C53 Skytrooper, were used in vast numbers in the later stages of the war, particularly to tow gliders and drop paratroops. In the Pacific, with careful use of the island landing strips of the Pacific Ocean, C47's were even used for ferrying soldiers serving in the Pacific theater back to the United States. C47's in British and Commonwealth service took the name Dakota. The C47 also earned the nickname Gooney Bird during the European theater of operations.

The USAF Strategic Air Command had C47 Skytrains in service from 1946 through 1947. After World War II the U.S. Navy also structurally modified a number of the early Navy R4D aircraft and re-designated the modified aircraft as R4D8. The C47 was used by the Americans in the initial stages of the Berlin Airlift and was subsequently replaced by the C54. The Air Force also continued to use the C47 for various roles, including the AC47 gunships - code named Puff the Magic Dragon or Spooky - and the EC47 for counterintelligence during the Vietnam War.

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