Photos: Vintage military aircraft Dakota reaches India

A large fleet of Dakota DC-3 served in the IAF till 1988. It was one of the most versatile transport aircraft of its time.

Dakotas had played a crucial role in the 1947-48 Indo-Pak war, especially in ferrying the Indian troops to Srinagar.

The aircraft was obtained from scrap in 2011 and was restored to flying condition in the UK.

The aircraft has been gifted to the IAF by Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, whose father, Air Commodore M K Chandrasekhar was a Dakota pilot in the IAF.

 

The aircraft commenced its flight from Coventry in the United Kingdom on April 17 and reached IAF station Jamnagar on Wednesday.

(Photos courtesy - Twitter/@IAF_MCC)