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How does a cargo plane being armed make it better? Because an airplane may carry more with a longer range doesn't necessarily make it better. What was it's reliability? How many of them still fly today?
Why do you think that I am wrong pbfoot ? The C-69 Constellation (Or L-49) didn't outperform the Ju-290 or Ju-252 in any way except speed. The Ju-290 -252 both flew further, could carry more, had defensive armament and had a rear loading ramp.
Remember the larger Super-Constellation didn't appear till 1950.
And I certainly don't see how the C-54 is a match for the Ju-290 or -252.
Thats odd for you to say since the DC-3 is a taildragger itself, and the Ju-290 -252 don't suffer from the only problem of the taildragger design both being able to load from a rear loading ramp:
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Not when they clearly had something better.
The tail dragger configuration of the DC-3 was its only limitation in my book and there were not a lot of ground loop accidents because you were able to see over the nose unlike many other large taildraggers of the day, plus it was extremely easy to fly and land.
When you put performance, reliability, safety, ease of maintenance and the ability to make revenue as an airliner, all that combined placed the DC-3 ahead of any cargo plane of its day and that's why so many allied AND German aircraft (surplus) used in the post war flat out didn't see wide use or last long - they didn't have "all the above" plus the ability to make the airlines money - the DC-3 did and that's why it will remain the greatest aircraft of WW2 and of all time.
If it was that great why didn't its operators seek to have it produced after the war?Well the exact same can be said about the Ju-290. It had no problem with vision over the nose, it didn't ground loop, it was easy to fly and a pleasure to fly as-well. The Ju-290 had the added benefit of longer range, much larger load carrying capability, defensive armament and speed.
The Ju-290 also did excellently as an airliner after the war.
Nope - it wasn't "operationally and economically viable as a modern airliner" - no spares, no product support and I would love to see a comparison of maintenance and operating costs - again not to diminish its capability in its day but if it was really that great it would of been produced after the war.Again the reason it didn't enjoy the same success as the C-47 can be attributed to many things, but most importantly is that German lost the war and therefore production stopped.
That's the whole point - it was easily built, it's cost was reasonable, there were plenty of them, the product support for the aircraft was immense, it was easily flown, gave great performance, was reliable and made money for its operator. You may find aircraft with one, two or even three of these attributes but when compared to "the whole package" the DC-3 takes it.How many that fly today is completely irrelevant, cause like I pointed out many great aircraft from back in time don't. The C-47 design wasn't some magic design, it wasn't the only multiple engined aircraft which could fly home on one engine, far from it.
Sorry, but the Germans losing the war is irrelevant. Good designs transcend victories and defeats.
Any aircraft could be armed - the L-049 flew faster, higher and could carry more people...And what exactly makes the L-049 better than the Ju-290 ?? The Ju-290 could carry more further, featured a loading ramp, and had defensive armament. I'd like to see the C-47 equipped with defensive armament, esp. since I only see two places where its at all possible.
Spain and the Czechs built the 109 - Spain built the He 111 and France built the Storch. Bad propaganda? An operator could care less - we're talking the post war here and if if the aircraft design was sound, cost effective to operate and the right price no one is going to care where its linage came from...Sorry but I call a BS on that one. Any self respecting country isn't going to just completely copy another country's designs and then use it, its very bad propaganda if they do.
Sorry but I call a BS on that one. Any self respecting country isn't going to just completely copy another country's designs and then use it, its very bad propoganda if they do.
Sorry but I call a BS on that one. Any self respecting country isn't going to just completely copy another country's designs and then use it, its very bad propoganda if they do.
Didn't the Russian version of the DC-3, the Li-2, carry a turret. The Japanese had their version, the Showa/Nakajima L2D Tabby.Any aircraft could be armed - the L-049 flew faster, higher and could carry more people...
BTW - C-47 were eventually armed if that really matters.
The Soviets never complained even though the rudder pedals of their Tu-4s and DC-3 were still cast with the "Douglas" and "Boeing" logos respectively....Face it, not every great invention is directly copied, it might very well influence the design built by the other nation though, no doubt, but directly copying a design simply isn't good propoganda.