Douglas R4D-6S “Ready 4 Duty” Commemorative Air Force (CAF)

Douglas R4D-6S “Ready 4 Duty” | Commemorative Air Force (CAF)

The Commemorative Air Force’s Douglas R4D-6S ‘Ready 4 Duty flown by Curt Lewis at the Shuttleworth Festival of Flight 2025

STATUS: Airworthy
LOCATION: Dallas/Fort Worth
OWNER: Commemorative Air Force (CAF)
ROLE: Transport
BUILT: 1944
LENGTH: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
WINGSPAN: 95 ft 6 in (29.11 m)
ENGINE: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90C Twin Wasp
MAXIMUM SPEED: 224 mph (360 km/h, 195 kn)
RANGE: 1,600 mi (2,600 km, 1,400 nmi)

Built in 1944, Ready 4 Duty is a Douglas R4D-6S, the U.S. Navy’s version of the legendary DC-3 and C-47. She was modified to carry depth charges on external racks mounted under the fuselage between the main landing gear. Assigned to the U.S. Navy Atlantic Special Service Squadron and conducted airborne search radar and sonar evaluation as well as training airborne specialists and operators.

“Ready 4 Duty” served in the Caribbean from Texas to Guantanamo, Cuba; in South America as far down as Rio; across the South Atlantic to Dakar; in the eastern Atlantic up to Baffin Bay and northern Newfoundland; and across the northern hemisphere to Greenland and Iceland. During operational patrols in February 1945, R4D was one of 20 in a squadron that surprised a surfaced German U-Boat off the coast of Brazil and sank it! After the war ended, the aircraft was retained in service and assigned to Naval Headquarters Berlin. Later, it returned to the U.S. and served in an electronic warfare training role.

The last of its kind still flying, the aircraft is a centrepiece of the Dallas/Fort Worth Wing of the Commemorative Air Force and is now configured to demonstrate several World War II history lessons, including sub-chaser, transport, hospital, and jump aircraft.