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Old 12th Oct 2012, 07:45
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ORAC
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US State Department is still flying DC-3s...

10 Ass-Kicking Warplanes You’ve Never Heard Of



Diplomatic Air Force

Special Operations Command isn't the only organization that requires an anonymous, dependable transport for flying in and out of war zones. The U.S. State Department operates 70-year-old Douglas DC-3 cargo planes in support of its far-flung diplomatic outposts in such places as Libya and Iraq.

Upgraded with new engines, the World War II-era DC-3s still aren't very fast -- 150 miles per hour or so -- but they can take off and land pretty much anywhere. A DC-3 was on call to support Christoper Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, in the months before he was killed in a September terror attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

The ancient but effective transports are part of the little-known Department of State Air Wing, which possesses 230 aircraft and, according to aviation journalist David Cenciotti, performs missions including "reconnaissance and surveillance operations, command and control for counter-narcotics operations, interdiction operations, logistical support, medical evacuation [and] personnel and cargo movement by air."
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