A total of 18 DC-3s had been ordered on 11 April 1936, and the government of the USSR purchased 21 DC-3s for operation by Aeroflot before World War II.

Lisunov spent two years at the Douglas Aircraft Company, between November 1936 and April 1939 translating the design.

The Soviet standard design practice usually mandated fully shuttered engines in order to cope with temperature extremes.

Standard Soviet metric hardware was different and the various steel substructures such as engine mounts and landing gear, wheels, and tires were also quite different from the original design.

Later modifications allowed the provision of ski landing gear in order to operate in remote and Arctic regions.

In response to the invasion, the Kremlin set in motion a plan to relocate much of the industrial capability of the Soviet Union to the East, with production of the Li-2 ending up at GAZ-33 in Tashkent, now the capital of Uzbekistan.

[3] There were many versions, including airliner, cargo, military transport, reconnaissance, aerial photography, parachute drop, bomber and high altitude variants.

Several airlines operated Lisunov Li-2s, among others Aeroflot, CAAK, CSA, LOT, MALÉV, Polar Aviation, TABSO and Tarom.

The Hungarian registered HA-LIX was built in 1949 in Airframe Factory Nr.84 (GAZ-84) of Tashkent, as serial number 18433209 and was operated by MALÉV till 1964.