Douglas C-53D-DO Dakota Little Egypt (LN-WND) | Foundation Dakota Norway

  • STATUS: Airworthy
  • LOCATION:  Sandefjord Airport. Norway
  • OWNER: Foundation Dakota Norway
  • ROLE: Military Transport
  • BUILT: 
  • LENGTH: 63 ft 9 in 9.43 m
  • WINGSPAN:   987 ft 91.70 m
  • ENGINE:  2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90C Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial engines
  • MAXIMUM SPEED:   224 mph 360 km/h)
  • RANGE:  1,600 miles 2,575 km

C-53D-DO Dakota (LN-WND) was built with serial number 11750 by Douglas Aircraft Corporation, Santa Monica, California, USA in 1942. The airframe is a C-53D-DO, in contrast to the C-47 it has not got the cargo door and reinforced floors in the loading area. A total of 16,079 Dakotas were built in different variations, while only 159 of the C-53D-DO’s were built. DO designation means that the tail was reinforced so that the aeroplane could tow gliders. This Dakota was delivered to the U.S 8th Air Force in England on the 8th October 1943. The foundation does not know the exact history of the aircraft but she participated in the 8th Air Force operations from October 1943 until 1945. C-53D-DO Dakota Little Egypt was acquired by the Finnish authorities in 1948 and operated by Finnair until 1969. From 1969 to 1985 the aircraft was operated by the Finnish Air Force and was used as a VIP aircraft for President Urho Kekkonen.

C-53D-DO Dakota Little Egypt is now owned by the Foundation Dakota Norway in the scheme of the Norwegian No.20 Transport Squadron.

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