Warbird Information Exchange

Hi All,

I am trying to find a part of a C-47 Skytrain and to be quite honest its doing my head in. It is certainly a part from a C-47 as it has a Douglas C-47 Inspection stamp on it.

The Part No. is 4169732

Every C-47 Parts list I have consulted does not help as the part numbers on the list stop at 4195.... (See picture below)

Any help would be appreciated.

In the C-47 parts list it is not listed...
http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/1412/clip24.jpg

Other Part Numbers
http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/4614/img2747g.jpg

Identification Stamp
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8704/img2750lf.jpg

Whole Part Picture
http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/751/wpart.jpg

Another Question

Did Douglas use the same inspection stamp pictured above for any other aircraft they manufactured during ww2. ie. the B-17?

Just curious, have you tried looking at any of the DC-3 parts manuals?

Alot of aircraft started production as airline DC-3s and 'became' C-47s (or C-49s) before they were completed. Also, alot of commercial DC-3s built in the 30's became C-47s when the war broke out. In other words, the part numbers may have changed during the course of production, or certain parts that were used in earlier aircraft, were changed for later models.

I've seen similar issues in early Cessnas between 120/140s and the 170. Some of the parts are identical, but Cessna changed the numbering between models.

You also may want to even look at a parts manual for the DST - I'm sure they used a few parts that would not have been found on a stock C-47.

Hi,

Thanks for the advice, any idea where I could get a Parts Manual for a Dc-3?

You might try contacting these guys:
http://rareaviation.com/store/index.php

I thought they had parts manuals for the DC-3, but didn't see any listed (they do have a few C-47 illustrated parts breakdowns though).

Anyway, if you contact them, they might be able to point you in the right direction.

In some cases parts in a IPL are identified by an assembly number. That assembly could be built up from a group of parts that may not be listed in the IPL.
Only way to really tell if you have an idea of where that part fit as an assembly on the A/C and then see if you can find it as part of that illustration. ie the illustrated drawing might show that part incorporated into an assembly.
Also check your date of the IPL you have. As the C-47 soldiered on forever it might be a postwar addition or modification that isn't in an earlier book.

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Hi,

Its almost certainly ww2 in vintage. I've looked through two illustrated parts manuals from the era and nothing.... I am starting to wonder whether this is off a C-47 at all hence my earlier question regarding the inspection stamp. After doing some searches it is probable that other air frames used this inspection stamp...although I am waiting for some solid evidence of this before I draw any conclusions. The inspection stamp I think has been found on B-17's built by Douglas during the war. Very confusing.

First impression is that the opening and corresponding four holes are for an instrument of some sort. The curve puts me in mind of the left end of the pilots overhead instruments or main control console.

I have the MPL for C-47 with changes, but it is probably the worst indexed book ever created by man. I'll take a look when time permits.

Thanks for the reply...

That was my first impression as well. I scoured all pictures and drawings of the instrument panels in front and behind and came up with nothing. Have a look at these pictures below for reference.

http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/c- ... _pit.shtml

My current theory is that it is part of the control quadrant as it has stainless steel rails on the inside of on of the curves. See picture of control quadrant from the co-pilots position in the link above.

That is a possibility. The throttle quadrant on the DC-3 juts out from the panel and a slight angle....the center hole and smaller bolt holes could have been for the lever pivot. Where are you located? Easiest thing would be to take the part and see if it matches up (at least in size) to the quadrant....or contact a DC-3 operator and send your photo to see if they could match it.

Here is another view of the quadrant that helps show the angle:

And another....hard to tell for sure, but it could be an internal bracket to the quadrant:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Aero---F ... 0346960/L/

You can see that there would have been a single bolt/pivot that looks like it runs from the trim wheel through the engine levers.

Hi there,

Yes there is a single bolt/pivot that runs through the length of the quadrant. On the right side it has a bracket that must hold the bolt in place. Here is a picture of the bolt from one of the manuals I have. You can see it has four screw holes to hold it in place.

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/9572/clip55n.jpg

Despite this, I have no idea of dimensions. The left side of the quadrant is a solid cast piece that is different from the piece I have.

Honestly I feel like slapping all the people in this world who only take photos of the DC-3/C-47 cockpit from the front on position, none from the left or right hand side... I mean how original, there's only about a million photos of a Dc-3 cockpit face on. I know lets take another photo of the Dc-3 cockpit.....face on. LOL

The piece you have may be an internal bracket to the quadrant - in other words, it could fit inside the solid cast piece that you see on the outside.


To be fair to most photographers.....the cockpit of the DC-3 is alot tighter than it looks when you are sitting in the seat. When I first sat in the seat and flew it, I was amazed at how close the windscreen was to my face - just a few inches away.