In addition to the 10,655 DC-3s, C-47s and variants built in the USA, almost 5000 were built under licence in Russia and a further 487 constructed, bizarrely, by the USA’s WW2 enemy, Japan (1). For many years, comparatively little was written about the Li-2: early texts rarely included more than a couple of paragraphs on the DC-3’s Russian cousin. And the Li-2 was a close relative rather than a facsimile of the DC-3: it was constructed to metric rather than imperial dimensions which resulted in a different length, wing span and all-up weight. Well-known facts about the Li-2 include that it had a starboard rather than port entry door, often had extra crew windows aft of the cockpit glazing and sported Soviet-built ASH 62IR engines. However, the differences between the two could be much more pronounced and there were many different variants of the PS-84/ Li-2. Although the production of the Li-2 continued after the end of regular DC-3/ C-47 manufacturing, little was seen of them in the West. Civil airliner Li-2P and Li-2T versions were occasionally seen when Soviet bloc national airlines made flights to Western Europe. Following the end of the Warsaw Pact and dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the ability to travel behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ offered opportunities to view Li-2s in a number of European museums.
(1) Figures from ‘The First 70 Years: DC-1/ DC-2/ DC-3’ by Jennifer Gradidge, published by Air Britain.
HA-LIX: THE HUNGARIAN AMBASSADOR
During the twentieth century the Li-2 was an infrequent visitor to Britain although Malev’s HA-LIQ did drop-in to Heathrow in 1963 with a spare engine for one of the airline’s IL-18s. However, unfamiliarity with the Li-2 all changed in 2019. The commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day was memorable in many ways, not the least being the arrival of the magnificent ‘D-Day Squadron’ from the USA. If there was a tendency for the transatlantic travelers to steal the show, one notable participant flew west instead of east, flying almost one thousand miles from Budapest, Hungary, to join the C-47s assembled at Duxford. The Goldtimer Foundation’s HA-LIX represented the Soviet branch of the DC-3 family, although the Li-2 was a comparative youngster compared with its American cousins and had never flown with the Soviet Air Force. Built as an Li-2T, the aircraft had rolled out of Tashkent Plant #84 in the Spring of 1949, almost five years after D-Day.
After initial service with the Hungarian Air Force, HA-LIX had moved to civilian operations with state airline Malev before returning to the military in 1964. Retired from active service in 1974, the Li-2 was preserved statically until rescued by the Goldtimer Foundation in 1996 and rebuilt over five years. Since a first post-restoration flight in September 2001, the old airliner has appeared all over Europe and become one of the most-photographed Soviet-built aircraft ever.
HA-LIX arrived at Duxford on June 2nd 2019 to join the C-47s, C-53 and C-41 gathered for the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day/ Operation Overlord. With a past CV which included paratrooper training, the Li-2 proved a natural choice for the D-Day commemoration parachute drops over France. Although poor weather precluded a mass jump at Duxford, the Li-2 traveled to France on June 6th and took part in parachute drops at Lessay on June 9th. An appearance followed at the Wiesbaden air display before, after twelve days of excitement, the Li-2 returned to her home at Budaors.
While there is a slim chance that North Korea retains an airworthy Li-2, since the unfortunate crash of Russia’s RA-1300K in June 2004, it is generally believed that HA-LIX is the World’s last flying example of the ‘Soviet DC-3’. The good news is that, during the summer months, enthusiasts are able to take short flights in the Li-2 from her home airfield of Budaors. It is a magnificent experience hearing the throaty rumble of the twin Shvetsov ASH-62IR 9-cylinder radials (licence-built Wright Cyclones) and even better when they are transporting you over the beautiful cityscape of Budapest.
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