The train that kept rolling

摘要

Unlike so many of its pre-war and World War Two contemporaries, the Douglas DC-3 has managed to maintain its fame through the sheer numbers that are still flying today. Around die world, there remain hundreds of airworthy examples. A quick look at the fate of rival designs from the same era reveals just how remarkable this fact is. While there is still a handful of the venerable Junkers Ju 52 in the skies, they are a rare and increasingly extraordinary sight. Even among those types designed after the war, in a bid to replace the DC-3 and its military C-47 variant, relatively few remain and none have had the same impact.