Discovering the L2D: Japan’s Version of the C-47

This is not a C-47…… But it’s long lost Japanese cousin! The L2D!

The Origins of the L2D

Now a few days ago I posted about the Soviet C-47, the Li-2 and someone pointed out that there was a Japanese version that also started off as a licensed copy of the DC-3.

Much like what happened with the USSR, Douglas Aircraft also sold the rights to build the DC-3 in Japan in the 1930s. The Nakajima Aircraft Company paid $90,000 (that’s A LOT of money back then) to build “Japanese” DC-3s for the Japanese market, as a number of airlines in the country had bought a number of them a few years earlier. To keep up with demand, Showa was brought on board to help with manufacturing. While the first few prototypes were powered by Pratt & Whitney SB3G radial engines, the production models would use locally sourced Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 radial engines.

Military Use of the L2D

Although the L2D was originally meant for the civilian market, the largest operator of the aircraft would ultimately be the Japanese Military. Just like its American counterpart, the L2D was pressed into military service and was used extensively throughout Asia and the Pacific as a transport aircraft. The Allies even gave it the reporting name of “Tabby,” which I am guessing threw a lot of pilots through a loop when they saw what they thought was a “C-47” with Japanese markings.

The Fate of the L2D Post-War

But like many Japanese aircraft at the end of the war, there were not that many L2Ds left by the time Japan surrendered in 1945. Those that were captured were then pressed into allied service for a time. The French Air Force used them in Indochina (Vietnam) while the Dutch used them in the East Indies (Indonesia) and at least one was used by Nationalist China. However, out of the 487 L2Ds that were built, not a single one survived into preservation.

~NC