This sheet by the Czech firm Tally Ho provides options for three wartime C-47 Skytrains, or Dakotas as they were known to the British and much of the rest of the world.

First is a C-47B of the 55^th Troop Carrier Squadron at Mindoro Island (to save you looking it up, that’s in the Philippines) in December 1944. This plane is in olive drab and neutral gray, with irregular patches of medium green on the upper wing and tailplane leading and trailing edges. It bears the title “Jungle Skippers” on the fuselage as well as the name “Classy Chassis” beneath a reclining nude on the port side of the nose.

Next is a C-47A named “Turf Sport Special” belonging to the 61^st Troop Carrier Squadron, 314^th Troop Carrier Group during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. If I recall right that’s the ill-fated airborne assault on Arnhem. This plane is in standard olive drab and neutral gray plus invasion stripes, but the white bands were thinly overpainted with olive drab on the upper surfaces.

Finally there is a Dakota Mk I of 267 “Pegasus” Squadron, RAF, based in Egypt in 1942. This plane is in RAF Middle Eastern dark earth/middle stone/azure blue colours, which would make for a distinctive Dakota model. It has a winged horse emblem on the nose.

The decals look well printed and in perfect register, with separate yellow rings and red circles for the RAF fuselage and underwing roundels. Stencils and US national insignia are provided for one aircraft.

I am not a C-47 expert so I cannot tell how each of these machines should differ from the others. One area where Dakotas seemed to vary hugely is in the size of the carburettor intakes above the engines (the Italeri kit gives different options for these) and the decal sheet instructions do indicate variations between the three machines in this respect. But it would be wise to look up the references which are listed by the instructions, or any other suitable sources.

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