I just found it interesting that the DC-3 manual seemed to state otherwise.
Don't forget that the DC-3 is a different airplane than an Aeronca Scout or J-3 Cub. Each airplane operates and must be operated a little difrerently. The principles largely are the same, but each airplane (indeed each serial number) will fly and act uniquely.
Consider the mode of braking...a simple cable and spring arrangement on some small conventional gear airplanes, vs. large hydraulic expander tube brakes on bigger equipment, Or disc systems. Each one has a different ratio of stopping power to the size of the aircraft, and each one has a different ability to either stop the airplane or stop wheel rotation...and some aircraft will solider forward with the wheel stopped while others will simply rotate around the axle. Then consider the proportion of the aircraft that's behind that axle, and what's pulling down, and where the aircraft balances (to include it's CG on any given day). Add to that the trim and tendency of the particular aircraft in it's loaded condition...will a sudden stop with the wheels cause it to go forward (ie, nose over)? Does the tailwheel down configuration lend to not only downward component to weight, but also an aft one? This means braking capability, as wel as an increased angle of attack and drag...tail down the airplane slows better than tail up.
A few years ago Charie Hilliard, a very respcted name in the aishow, aerobatic, and warbird arena was killed when his aircraft flipped during a brake application. Nobody is immune to the laws of physics, or their effects.
Think of a wheel landing as a balancing act. When you touch down on a wheel landing, you're balancing the airplane on the main gear; you can tip the airplane back, or you can tip it forward. If you touch down with excess speed, the rate at which you move the stick aft will determine if you stay on the ground; lowering the tail quickly (pulling back, quickly) can very easily bring you off the ground again. Pushing forward can pin the gear, tip you nose own, put the propeller closer to the runway, decreas your angle of attack even more, and spread the gear.
Adding brakes when pushing forward, or when balaning, can place you in a point of jeopardy, especially as when landing and the aircraft still being potentially light on the wheel, you're at a higher probabily of locking a tire. Now imagine a slight crosswind in which one wheel is lighter on the ground tha the other due to aileron input, and you have a potential for one wheel to lock and othe other to spin. If you apply pressure and find confidence as the airplane respond, you the apply more pressure, but with one wheel on the edge of locking up...you're setting yourself up for scrubbing a tire, a ground loop, or the start of a loss of control...including flipping the aircraf. Add runway contamination or other factors, and you could have a problem.
Braking may be necessary for some aircraft. It may be the only means of steering. I fly such an aircraft; no control over the tailwheel other than locking it, to steer...it's brakes, only. Last year I had a brake get very hot in 114 degree weather, while taxiing in a strong wind As I reached the end of the runway, I foud I could turn right but not left. I knew the brake would cool in the air, but the size of the airplane and the torque it produced meant that full rudder and some brake would have been required for the takeoff. With rough terrain surrounding the runway, wildly varying winds would have meant a high probability of loss of control; the brake was necessary both to steer initially (even with the tailwheel locked), and to counteract the torque (because full rudder won't handle it in that airplane, especially with a crosswind). In such cases where braking is required, know thy aircraft and take great care.
The DC-3 has several differences over a light conventional gear airplane, not the least of which is a big, thick wing section with it's own self-induced local airflow...power on each engine produces substantial lift, as well as affecting airflow over the vertical and horizontal stabs. You can lift the tail and turn the airplane in place if you really want to...though you probably shouldn't. You can also taxi clear with the tail in the air in calmer conditions, with judicious use of brakes...though again, there's no need.
Remember that the time from landing to tail down is your most vulnerable time. If you're wheel landing and keep that tail in the air, your rudder authority is decreasing, as is your elevator authority. If you have a crosswind and hold that tail up long enough, you may reach a point where you run out of rudder authority but the tail is still in the air being acted upon by the crosswind. If that happens and the tail starts to swing, if you can't get it down fast enough, you're already into a groundloop. If you touch it down while it's swinging, you may contribute to the groundloop.
During a wheel landing, once the mains are on the ground, I generally pin them there with some forward (but not excessive) stick, while I ensure I'm established and tracking straight, and then I retract the flaps while adding forward presure. As the aircraft settles and no amount of forward pressure will prevent the tail from coming down, I milk it down while taking care to ensure I'm tracking straight, transition my line of sight to the side of the runway, and start feeling very gently for the brakes. I have the benefit of reverse, so once the tail is down, I pin it there with aft stick (again, ensuring that I'm not going to go flying by adding aft stick...this is a very bad place to be; tail down, high angle of attack, and the mains come off again...possible in gusting conditions, and another reason I dump the flaps) and come into reverse. Reverse will kill additional lift and keep the airplane on the ground. It also blanks out the tail and eliminates any rudder control, or severely hampers it, so the airplane needs to be very much where you want it when you start), and then I'm steering with brakes.
The airplane is either an automotive machine, or an aeromotive machine. The transition between the two is what will get you into trouble. Make it as short, and as smooth as possible.
