At first glance, your average Aviation fan would immediately call this a Douglas C-47 Dakota, a WW2 primary transport aircraft.

But its not...its a VERY Rare C-49 Wild Kat.

Thats right, a C-49 Wild Kat, a civilian DC-3 imposed by the USAAF in WW2 for military use. Its passenger plane gear stripped out and reconfigured for military use. This particular aircraft was made in January of 1941.Given the nomenclature ‘C-49,’ it’s service with the USAAF included ferrying VIPs, troops, and cargo throughout the United States. Seeing a C-49 and a C-47 side-by-side, it would be hard to tell the differences. Most notably are the engines. The DC-3 /C-49 had Wright R-1820 Cyclone 1000 horsepower engines with nine cylinders in a single row. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress used the turbocharged version of this engine. The purpose-built militarized version of the DC-3, the C-47, had Pratt and Whitney R-1830 1200 horsepower engines with 14-cylinders in two seven-cylinder rows, the same engine as the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The two rows of cylinders required deeper cowlings on the C-47 than the C-49. The C-47 also had an astrodome positioned in the cabin roof, strengthened floor components, a double cargo door and a shortened tail-cone for glider-towing shackles, all of which the C-49 did not have.

This plane would be used at EAA to recreate a WW2 paratrooper drop with actual paratroopers in WW2 gear jumping out and parachuting down. Heres the story https://inspire.eaa.org/2024/07/24/.....stration-team/