Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

Douglas C-53B Skytrooper

DC3-4820Written off

RegistrationUSN49553

Verified aircraft dataagainst the official civil aviation register

CAOperatorCapital Airlines

3operators

0incidents

0accidents

0logbook years

0photos

Douglas C-53B Skytrooper. Operated for United States Army Air Forces, PCA Pennsylvania Central Airlines and Capital Airlines.

Vuelopedia is a work in progress: it currently holds about 30% of the information we expect to have by the third quarter of 2027. Although we use only official, highly reliable sources, some aircraft data and history may still contain errors or inaccuracies. We work hard to clear every anomaly from the records using specialized verification tools.

Technical data

Country of registrationEstados Unidos

MSN4820

VerificationIdentity verified against the official register of FAA (United States) · Oct 8, 2026

The model · Douglas DC-3

Figures for the DC-3 variant, the most representative of the family

Length19.7 m65 ft

Wingspan29.0 m95 ft

Height5.2 m17 ft

Range2,540 km1,371 NMWith a typical passenger load

Cruise speed339 km/h183 ktMach 0.32

Service ceiling7,100 m23,294 ft

Maximum take-off weight11,431 kg25,201 lb

Maximum payload3,781 kg8,336 lbIts 21 passengers with baggage would weigh about 2.1 t; the rest is fuel and cargo

Typical capacity21 passengersUp to 32 in a high-density layout

Endurance7 h 30 minAt cruise speed, non-stop

The type first flew in 1935 (91 years ago) · About 607 units built · Production ended in 1942

Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.

The full story of the Douglas DC-3 Compare this aircraft

Flight logbook

Under research

Aircraft chronology

Mar 1, 1945

Delivered to PCA Pennsylvania Central Airlines

Delivered to PCA Pennsylvania Central Airlines as NC49553.

Apr 1, 1948

Transferred to Capital Airlines

Transferred to Capital Airlines.

Operators

—

United States Army Air Forces

Registration 41-20050

1945-03-01

PCA Pennsylvania Central Airlines

Registration NC49553

1948-04-01

Capital Airlines

Registration N49553

In memoriam

This aircraft suffered a serious accident or hull loss. Out of respect for what happened and for the people who may have been affected, this record does not enable the register of memories.

Cite

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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Douglas C-53B Skytrooper · N49553 · Capital Airlines. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC3-4820

MLA

“Douglas C-53B Skytrooper · N49553 · Capital Airlines.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC3-4820. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Douglas C-53B Skytrooper · N49553 · Capital Airlines.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC3-4820.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Douglas C-53B Skytrooper · N49553 · Capital Airlines. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC3-4820 (Accessed: 24 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_dc3_4820,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Douglas C-53B Skytrooper · N49553 · Capital Airlines}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-15},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC3-4820},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC3-4820}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-24},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-24}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC3-4820 |title=Douglas C-53B Skytrooper · N49553 · Capital Airlines |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-24 |language=en}}