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The Douglas Dakota II was the RAF designation for nine C-53 Skytroopers received under the lend lease scheme. Unlike the majority of RAF Dakotas these aircraft were therefore dedicated troop transports, lacking the wide cargo doors and reinforced floor of the C-47.
The nine Dakota IIs were used by No.216 Squadron, which operated all four versions of the aircraft in British service. This squadron was based in the Mediterranean, where it operated on a number of regular routes, as well as being used to drop airborne forces in the Aegean, and a large detachment was sent to Burma for two months from April 1944.