Douglas DC-2#Notable appearances in media
{{Short description|Two engined airliner}}
{{Infobox aircraft begin
|name = DC-2 |image = File:Douglas_DC-2.jpg |caption = DC-2 PH-AJU Uiver came second in the MacRobertson Air Race in 1934 }} {{Infobox aircraft type |type = Passenger & military transport |manufacturer = Douglas Aircraft Company |designer = |first flight = May 11, 1934 |introduced = May 18, 1934, with Trans World Airlines |retired = |status = Retired |primary user = Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) |more users = KLM |produced = 1934–1939 |number built = 192 |developed from= Douglas DC-1 |variants with their own articles = |developed into= Douglas B-18 Bolo }} |
The Douglas DC-2 is a retired 14-passenger, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3, which became one of the most successful aircraft in history.
Design and development
In the early 1930s, fears about the safety of wooden aircraft structures drove the US aviation industry to develop all-metal airliners. United Airlines had exclusive right to the all metal twin-engine Boeing 247; rival TWA issued a specification for an all-metal trimotor.
The Douglas response was more radical. When it flew on July 1, 1933, the prototype DC-1 had a robust tapered wing, retractable landing gear, and two 690 hp (515 kW) Wright radial engines driving variable-pitch propellers. It seated 12 passengers. The DC-2 was longer than the DC-1, had more powerful engines, and carried 14 passengers in a 66-inch-wide cabin.
Douglas test pilot Carl Cover flew the first test flight of the DC-2 on May 11, 1934. TWA was the launch customer for the DC-2, ordering twenty. The design impressed American and European airlines, and further orders followed. Although Fokker had purchased a production licence from Douglas for $100,000 (about $2,224,000 in 2022), no manufacturing was done in the Netherlands. Those for European customers, KLM, LOT, Swissair, CLS, and LAPE purchased via Fokker in the Netherlands, were built and flown by Douglas in the US, sea-shipped to Europe with wings and propellers detached, then erected at airfields by Fokker near the seaport of arrival (e.g. Cherbourg or Rotterdam).{{cite book|last1=Bluffield|first1=Robert |title=Over Empires and Oceans |date=19 November 2014|publisher=Tattered Flag |isbn=9780954311568 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4JaPBQAAQBAJ&dq=fokker+assembled+dc-2&pg=PA160 }} Airspeed Ltd. took a similar licence for DC-2s to be delivered in Britain and assigned the company designation Airspeed AS.23, but, although a registration for one aircraft was reserved, none were built.O'Leary, Michael. "Douglas Commercial Two." Air Classics magazine, May 2003 Another licence was taken by the Nakajima Aircraft Company in Japan; unlike Fokker and Airspeed, Nakajima built five aircraft as well as assembling at least one Douglas-built aircraft. A total of 130 civil DC-2s were built with another 62 for the United States military. In 1935, Don Douglas stated in an article that the DC-2 cost about $80,000 (about $1,780,000 in 2022) per aircraft, if mass-produced.[https://books.google.com/books?id=yN8DAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1935+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA213 "Douglas tells secrets of speed."] Popular Mechanics, February 1935
Operational history
Although overshadowed by its ubiquitous successor, it was the DC-2 that first showed that passenger air travel could be comfortable, safe, and reliable. As a token of this, KLM entered its first DC-2 PH-AJU Uiver (Stork) in the October 1934 MacRobertson Air Race between London and Melbourne. It finished second of the twenty entrants, behind the purpose-built de Havilland DH.88 racer Grosvenor House (race time 70 hours 54 minutes), and nearly three hours ahead of the Boeing 247D. During the total journey time of 90 hours 13 minutes, it was in the air for 81 hours 10 minutes. It won the handicap section of the race, as although the DH.88 had finished first in the handicap section, the regulations allowed the crew to claim only one victory. It flew KLM's regular 9,000-mile route (a thousand miles longer than the official race route), carrying mail, making every scheduled passenger stop, turning back once to pick up a stranded passenger, and became lost in a thunderstorm and briefly stuck in the mud after a diversionary landing at the Albury race course on the last leg of the journey.[http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/dc-2.htm "DC-2 Commercial History"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120113627/http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/dc-2.htm|date=November 20, 2010}} Boeing Retrieved: November 26, 2010
Variants
=Civilian=
File:LOT DC-2 LOC matpc 22394u.jpg Douglas DC-2 aircraft]]
;DC-2
:156 civil DC-2s, powered by two Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial piston engines of varying in power from {{convert|710|to|875|hp|kW|abbr=on}} depending on model
;DC-2A
:Two civil DC-2s, powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet (SD-G, S1E-G or S2E-G) radial piston engines
;DC-2B
:Two DC-2s sold to LOT Polish Airlines, fitted with two {{convert|750|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Bristol Pegasus VI radial piston enginesFrancillon 1979, p. 180.
;Nakajima-Douglas DC-2 transport
:DC-2 transports license built in Japan by Nakajima
;Airspeed AS.23
:The designation reserved for proposed license-built production by Airspeed Ltd. in Great Britain
=Military=
Modified DC-2s built for the United States Army Air Corps under several military designations:
File:Douglas C-32 at Langley Field near base operations.jpg, 1937]]
;XC-32
:(DC-2-153) One aircraft, powered by two {{convert|750|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Wright R-1820-25 radial piston engines, for evaluation as a 14-seat VIP transport aircraft, one built,Francillon 1979, p. 181. later used by General Andrews as a flying command post[https://books.google.com/books?id=QdsDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1935+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA50 "Air Corps flagship is flying headquarters."] Popular Mechanics, January 1936.
;C-32A
:Designation for 24 commercial DC-2s impressed at the start of World War II
File:Douglas C-33 (SN 36-72).jpg
;C-33
:(DC-2-145) Cargo transport variant of the C-32 powered by two {{convert|750|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Wright R-1820-25 engines, with larger vertical tail surfaces, a reinforced cabin floor and a large cargo door in the aft fuselage, 18 built
;YC-34
:(1x DC-2-173 & 1x DC-2-346) VIP transport for the secretary of war, basically similar to XC-32, later designated C-34, two builtFrancillon 1979, pp. 181–182.
;C-38
:The first C-33 was modified with a DC-3-style tail section and two Wright R-1820-45 radial piston engines of 975 hp (727 kW) each. Originally designated C-33A but redesignated as prototype for C-39 variant, one built.Francillon 1979, p. 182.
;C-39
:(DC-2-243) 16-seat passenger variant, a composite of DC-2 and DC-3 components, with C-33 fuselage and wings and DC-3-type tail, center-section and landing gear. Powered by two {{convert|975|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Wright R-1820-45 radial piston engines; 35 built.Francillon 1979, pp. 182–183.
;C-41
:The sole C-41 was a VIP aircraft for Air Corps Chief Oscar Westover (and his successor Hap Arnold). Although supplied against a C-39 order it was not a DC-2 derivative but in fact a DC-3-253 fitted with two {{convert|1200|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Pratt & Whitney R-1830-21 engines. (The sole Douglas C-41A was also a VIP version of the DC-3A)Francillon 1979, p. 239.
File:Douglas C-42 (SN 38-503) Big Chief front view.jpg
;C-42
:(DC-2-267) VIP transport variant of the C-39, powered by two {{convert|1000|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Wright R-1820-53 radial piston engines, of 1,000 hp (746 kW) each, one built in 1939 for the commanding general, GHQ Air Force, plus two similarly-converted C-39s with their cargo doors bolted shut were converted in 1943.
File:Douglas R2D-1 at Langley.jpg
;R2D-1
:(3x DC-2-125 & 2x DC-2-142) {{convert|710|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Wright R-1820-12-powered transport similar to the XC-32, three built for the United States Navy and two for the United States Marine Corps
Operators
♠ = Original operators
=Civil operators=
;{{AUS}}
;{{BRA}}
;{{ROC}}
- CNAC, jointly owned and operated with Pan American Airlines
;{{COL}}
;{{CZS}}
- {{Illm|Czechoslovak Air Transport|cz|Československá letecká společnost|lt=ČLS}} (Československá Letecká Společnost, Czechoslovak Air Transport Company) ♠
;{{Flag|Dutch East Indies}}
- KNILM (Royal Netherlands Indies Airways) ♠
;{{FIN}}
;{{flag|Honduras|1866}}
- SAHSA {{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}
;{{flag|Germany|Nazi}}
;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}
;{{JPN}}
- Great Northern Airways ♠
- Japan Air Transport
- Imperial Japanese Airways
;{{flag|Manchukuo}}
;{{flag|Mexico|1934}}
;{{NLD}}
- KLM ♠ ordered 18 aircraft.
;{{POL}}
- LOT Polish Airlines ♠ operated three DC-2B aircraft between 1935 and 1939
;{{flagicon|Spain|1931}} Spanish Republic
- Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas ♠ received five aircraft.
;{{ZAF}}
- Phoenix Airlines{{cite web | url = https://asn.flightsafety.org/database/operators/4496 | title = Phoenix Airlines | website = Aviation Safety | access-date = 16 May 2022}}
;{{SUI}}
- Swissair ♠
;{{flag|United States|1912}}
- American Airlines ♠
- Braniff Airways
- Delta Air Lines operated four aircraft during 1940–1941
- Eastern Air Lines ♠ received 14 aircraft and used them on East Coast routes.
- General Air Lines ♠
- Mercer Airlines ♠ 1 airplane, sold to Colgate Darden in late 1960s, now in the Netherlands
- Pan American Airways ♠ received 16 aircraft, distributing many to its foreign affiliates; some flew under its own name on Central American routes.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}
- Pan American-Grace Airways (Panagra) ♠ used its DC-2s on routes within South America.
- Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) was the first DC-2 operator, receiving 30 aircraft. ♠
;{{URU}}
- PLUNA operated two DC-2s acquired from Panair do Brasil.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}
=Military and government operators=
;{{ARG}}
- Argentine Naval Aviation - 5 (+1) DC-2 ex civilian Venezuelan [http://www.histarmar.com.ar/Armada%20Argentina/AviacionNaval/EscTranspAeroN.htm "Transportes Navales."] histarmar.com. Retrieved: August 5, 2010.
;{{AUS}}
- Royal Australian Air Force - Ten aircraft were in service with the RAAF from 1940 to 1946.
- No. 8 Squadron RAAF
- No. 36 Squadron RAAF
- Parachute Training School RAAF
- Wireless Air Gunners School RAAF
;{{AUT}}
- Austrian Government
;{{FIN}}
- Finnish Air Force Donated by the Carl Gustaf von Rosen and KLM during the Winter War (1939–1940) which flew a bombing mission based on Tampere on 22 February 1940
;{{FRA}}
- French government
;{{flag|Germany|Nazi}}
;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}
- Regia Aeronautica 2 aircraft{{cite web|url=http://www.alieuomini.it/catalogo/dettaglio_catalogo/douglas_dc,62.html|title=Douglas DC2 - DC3, Aerei militari, Schede tecniche aerei militari italiani e storia degli aviatori|author=R. Stocchetti|access-date=2014-12-05|archive-date=2015-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713035631/http://www.alieuomini.it/catalogo/dettaglio_catalogo/douglas_dc,62.html|url-status=dead}}
;{{JPN}}
- Imperial Japanese Army Air Service - A single example of the DC-2 was impressed by the Imperial Japanese Army.Francillon 1970, p. 499.
;{{flagicon|Spain|1931}} Spanish Republic
- Spanish Republican Air Force took over the DC-2s from LAPE inventory.[http://www.ejercitodelaire.mde.es/ea/pag?idDoc=FF2EFC70E4D35944C12574480047672D "11-III-1935."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219011555/http://www.ejercitodelaire.mde.es/ea/pag?idDoc=FF2EFC70E4D35944C12574480047672D |date=2013-12-19 }} Llega a Barajas el primer Douglas DC-2 para las Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas (LAPE). Retrieved: February 11, 2014.
;{{UK}}
;{{flag|United States|1912}}
Incidents and accidents
- December 20, 1934: A KLM DC-2-115A (PH-AJU, Uiver) crashed at Rutbah Wells in Iraq, killing all seven on board. The aircraft was operating a flight from Schiphol to Batavia.[http://www.aviacrash.nl/paginas/uiver.htm "De Uiver verongelukt bij Rutbah Wells (Irak)" {{in lang|nl}}.] aviacrash.nl. Retrieved: December 6, 2011.[http://www.airdisasters.co.uk/191234.htm "Major Airline Disasters: Involving Commercial Passenger Airlines 1920-2011".] airdisasters.co.uk. Retrieved: February 22, 2013. This was the first loss of a DC-2 and the first fatal accident involving the DC-2.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}
- May 6, 1935: TWA Flight 6, a DC-2-115 (NC13785), hit terrain and crashed near Atlanta, Missouri, while flying low in poor visibility to reach a landing field before running out of fuel. Five of thirteen on board were killed, including New Mexico Senator Bronson M. Cutting.{{ASN accident|title= NC13785|id= 19350506-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- July 20, 1935: 1935 San Giacomo Douglas DC-2 crash: A KLM DC-2-115E (PH-AKG, Gaai) crashed on landing at Pian San Giacomo in bad weather, killing all 13 on board.[http://www.airdisasters.co.uk/201135.htm "Major Airline Disasters: Involving Commercial Passenger Airlines."] airdisasters.co.uk. Retrieved: February 22, 2013.
- October 6, 1935: A Standard Oil Company DC-2A-127 (NC14285) crashed into Great Salt Lake, Utah; the three crew survived the crash, but drowned while trying to swim to safety.{{ASN accident|title= NC14285|id= 19351006-0|accessdate= 2017-01-21}}
- January 14, 1936: American Airlines Flight 1, a DC-2-120 (NC14274), crashed into a swamp near Goodwin, Arkansas, for reasons unknown, killing all 17 on board.
- April 7, 1936: TWA Flight 1, a DC-2-112 (NC13721), crashed into Chestnut Ridge near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in fog due to pilot error, killing 12 of 14 on board.
- October 10, 1936: A Pan American-Grace Airways DC-2-118B (NC14273) struck the side of a mountain near San Jose Pinula while being ferried from San Salvador to Guatemala City, killing the three crew.{{ASN accident|title= NC14273|id= 19361010-0|accessdate= 2017-01-21}}
- December 9, 1936: A KLM DC-2-115E (PH-AKL, Lijster) crashed on takeoff at Croydon Airport killing 15 of the 17 passengers and crew on board. The aircraft was operating a flight from London to Amsterdam. Juan de la Cierva, inventor of the autogiro, was among the dead.
- March 25, 1937: TWA Flight 15A, a DC-2-112 (NC13730), crashed into a small gully near Clifton, Pennsylvania, due to icing, killing all 13 on board.{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ICcbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C0wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6152,3957869|title=The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com}}
- July 28, 1937: A KLM DC-2-115L (PH-ALF, Flamingo) crashed into a field near Belligen, Belgium, after takeoff due to an in-flight fire, killing all 15 on board.{{ASN accident|title= PH-ALF|id= 19370728-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- August 6, 1937: An Aeroflot DC-2-152 (URSS-M25) exploded in mid-air and crashed near Bistrita, Romania, killing all five on board.{{ASN accident|title= URSS-M25|id= 19370806-0|accessdate= 2017-01-21}}
- August 10, 1937: Eastern Air Lines Flight 7, a DC-2-112 (NC13739), crashed on takeoff at Daytona Beach Airport after striking a power pole, killing four of nine on board.{{ASN accident|title= NC13739|id= 19370810-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- August 23, 1937: A Pan American-Grace Airways DC-2-118A (NC14298) crashed and burned 20 mi north of San Luis, Argentina in dense fog, killing all three on board.{{ASN accident|title= NC14298|id= 19370823-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- November 23, 1937: A LOT DC-2-115D (SP-ASJ) crashed in the Pirin mountains, killing all six occupants. The aircraft was operating a flight from Thessaloniki to Bucharest.{{ASN accident|title= SP-ASJ|id= 19371123-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- March 1, 1938: TWA Flight 8, a DC-2-112, crashed in Yosemite National Park due to severe weather, killing all nine on board; the wreckage was found three months later.
- July 19, 1938: A Pan American-Grace Airways DC-2-118A (NC14272, Santa Lucia) crashed into Mount Mercedario, killing all four on board; the wreckage was found in early 1941.{{ASN accident|title= NC14272|id= 19380719-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- August 24, 1938: Kweilin Incident in China. The first commercial airplane in history to be shot down.{{cite book |chapter=Chapter 13: The Kweilin Incident |title=China's Wings: War, Intrigue, Romance and Adventure in the Middle Kingdom during the Golden Age of Flight |publisher=Bantam Books |author=Gregory Crouch |year=2012 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hZAn5L-gIpQC&pg=PA155 155]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=hZAn5L-gIpQC&pg=PA170 170] (In EPub version 3.1: pp. 172–189)|title-link=China's Wings }}
- October 25, 1938: An Australian National Airways DC-2-210 (VH-UYC, Kyeema) crashed into Mount Dandenong due to weather and navigation errors, killing all 18 on board.
- December 8, 1938: An Imperial Japanese Airways Nakajima/Douglas DC-2 (J-BBOH, Fuji) crashed in the East China Sea off the Kerama Islands due to engine failure, killing 10 of 12 on board; the survivors were rescued by a steamship.{{ASN accident|title= J-BBOH|id= 19381208-0|accessdate= 2017-01-21}}
- January 7, 1939: A Swissair DC-2-115B (HB-ITA) crashed into a hill near Senlis, Oise killing five of 17 passengers and crew. The aircraft was operating a flight from Zurich to Paris.{{ASN accident|title= HB-ITA|id= 19390107-0|accessdate= 2012-09-11}}
- March 26, 1939: Braniff Airways Flight 1, a DC-2-112 (NC13237), lost control and crashed on takeoff at Oklahoma City after an engine cylinder blew, killing eight of 12 on board.{{ASN accident|title= NC13237|id= 19390326-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- May 10, 1940: Five KLM DC-2-115s (PH-ALD, PH-AKN, PH-AKO, PH-AKP, PH-AKK) were destroyed on the ground at Schiphol Airport by aircraft from Luftwaffe's KG 4 during the Battle of the Netherlands.
- August 9, 1940: A Deutsche Luft Hansa DC-2-115E (D-AIAV) crashed near Lämershagen, Germany, due to pilot error, killing two of 13 on board.{{ASN accident|title= D-AIAV|id= 19400809-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- October 29, 1940: Shootdown of the Chungking (previously the Kweilin).{{cite book |chapter=Chapter 17: Ventricular Tachycardia |title=China's Wings: War, Intrigue, Romance and Adventure in the Middle Kingdom during the Golden Age of Flight |publisher=Bantam Books |author=Gregory Crouch |year=2012 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hZAn5L-gIpQC&pg=PA217 217]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=hZAn5L-gIpQC&pg=PA220 220]|title-link=China's Wings }} (In EPub version 3.1: pp. 240–242)
- January 4, 1941: US Navy R2D-1 9622 struck Mother Grundy Peak, 27 mi E of North Island NAS, killing all 11 on board.{{ASN accident|title= 9622|id= 19410104-1|accessdate= 2017-01-23}}
- February 12, 1941: A China National Aviation Corporation DC-2-190 (40, Kangting) struck a mountain near Taohsien, Hunan in a thunderstorm, killing the three crew.{{ASN accident|title= 40|id= 19410212-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- July 1941: A Soviet Air Force DC-2-115F (ex. LOT SP-ASK) was destroyed on the ground at Spilve Airport by German fighters.{{ASN accident|title= |id= 19410799-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- August 2, 1941: A US Treasury DC-2-120 (NC14729) was being delivered to the RAF when it crashed at Bathurst (now Banjul), Gambia, killing the three crew.{{ASN accident|title= NC14729|id= 19410802-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- December 8, 1941: RAF DC-2-120 DG475 was shot down by three Luftwaffe Bf 110s and crashed 10 mi northeast of RAF LG-138 (Landing Ground 138) near Habata, Egypt, killing one.{{ASN accident|title= DG475|id= 19411208-2|accessdate= 2017-01-23}}
- March 5, 1942:USAAF C-39 38-525 crashed in the St. Lucie River off Port Sewall, Florida, due to wing separation after flying into a storm, killing all seven on board.{{ASN accident|title= 38-525|id= 19420305-0|accessdate= 2017-01-23}}
- March 14, 1942: A China National Aviation Corporation DC-2-221 (31, Chungshan) crashed near Kunming, killing 13 of 17 on board.[http://www.airdisasters.co.uk/140342.htm "Major Airline Disasters: Involving Commercial Passenger Airlines 1920-2011."] airdisasters.co.uk. Retrieved: February 22, 2013.
- May 25, 1942: USAAF C-39 38-505 crashed on takeoff from Alice Springs Airport in Australia due to overloading, killing all 10 on board.{{ASN accident|title= 38-505|id= 19420525-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- September 14, 1942: RAAF DC-2-112 A30-5, of RAAF 36 Squadron, crashed while on approach to Seven Mile Strip, killing the five crew.{{ASN accident|title= |id= 19420914-1|accessdate= 2017-01-23}}
- October 1, 1942: USAAF C-39 38-524 struck a hill at high speed 15 mi northwest of Coamo, Puerto Rico, due to an unexplained malfunction and low visibility, killing all 22 on board in the worst-ever accident involving the DC-2.{{ASN accident|title= 38-524|id= 19421001-1|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- January 31, 1944: USAAF C-39 38-501 crashed near Sioux City AAB due to a possible engine fire, killing the three crew.{{ASN accident|title= 38-501|id= 19440131-4|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
- August 11, 1945: A Mexicana DC-2-243 (XA-DOT) struck Iztaccihuatl Volcano in bad weather, killing all 15 on board.{{ASN accident|title= XA-DOT|id= 19450811-0|accessdate= 2017-01-23}}
- February 7, 1951: Finnish Air Force DC-2-200 DO-3 (ex. OH-LDB Sisu) crashed on takeoff from Malmi Airport due to engine failure; the fuselage is preserved at the Suomen ilmailumuseo (Finnish Aviation Museum) in Helsinki.{{ASN accident|title= DO-3|id= 19510207-0|accessdate= 2014-09-11}}
Surviving aircraft
Several DC-2s have survived and been preserved in the 21st century in the following museums in the following places:
- c/n 1286 - Ex-Eastern Airlines and RAAF, preserved (dressed as the historic "Uiver", PH-AJU) at Albury, New South Wales as centerpiece of Uiver Memorial at Albury Airport. This is the oldest DC-2 left in the world. It was removed from its prominent position on poles in front of the Albury Airport terminal building in late 2002, but unfortunately kept out in the open air without preservation. In 2014 after much debate and delays, Albury City Council transferred ownership of the plane to the Uiver Memorial Community Trust (UMCT). In January 2016 UMCT began work on removing the major assemblies of the aircraft, and on 12 May 2016 the airframe was transferred to a restoration hangar. Restoration of this aircraft to static display standard is now under way.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110706100349/http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a65.shtml "Douglas DC-2."] adf-serials.com. Retrieved: November 27, 2010.
- c/n 1288 - An Ex-Eastern Airlines and RAAF DC-2, it was exported and located for many years at the Aviodrome in the Netherlands though owned by the Dutch Dakota Association. It was transferred to the Netherlands Transport Museum in 2018 and has been externally restored for static display as KNILM DC-2 PK-AFK.{{Cite web|url=http://aerialvisuals.ca/AirframePhotoViewer.php?Serial=76659|title = Aerial Visuals - Airframe Photo Viewer}}
- c/n 1292 - There are three DC-2s surviving in Australia as of 2006; this aircraft, c/n 1292, is one of ten ex-Eastern Airlines DC-2s purchased and operated by the RAAF during World War II as A30-9. It is under restoration by the Australian National Aviation Museum.[https://web.archive.org/web/20050216052118/http://www.aarg.com.au/DC2.htm "DC-2."] The Australian National Aviation Museum. Retrieved: August 5, 2010. at Moorabbin Airport in Victoria, Australia
- c/n 1354 - One DC-2-115E (reg. DO-1 (Hanssin-Jukka), ex. PH-AKH (KLM Haan), SE-AKE) is preserved by the Aviation Museum of Central Finland (Finnish Air Force Museum) and is on display in a hangar in Tuulos, Finland.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hanssinjukka.fi/|title=Hanssin-Jukka|website=www.hanssinjukka.fi}} The plane was restored to display condition in 2011, in war-time colors. It performed one bombing raid in February 1940. Another wingless fuselage (c/n 1562, reg. DO-3, ex. OH-LDB "Sisu") was on display at the Finnish Aviation Museum in Vantaa.[http://www.ilmailumuseo.fi/index.php?page=home-eng "DC-2."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720185127/http://www.ilmailumuseo.fi/index.php?page=home-eng |date=2011-07-20 }} Finnish Aviation Museum. Retrieved: August 5, 2010.[https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/335951 "Accident description, February 7, 1951."] aviation-safety.net. Retrieved: August 5, 2010. The fuselage was transported to the Aviation Museum of Central Finland in 2011, where it was used in the DO-1 restoration project.
- c/n 1368 - A former Pan Am aircraft that was used by the Douglas historical foundation until the merger with Boeing in 1997. It is now housed at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. This aircraft (N1934D) was restored to flying condition in 2007 and flown to Santa Maria, California, for a new paint job. It received a TWA "The Lindbergh Line" livery and interior trim.[http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?aircraftsearch=Douglas%20DC-2-118B&distinct_entry=true "Douglas DC-2-118B."] airliners.net. Retrieved: December 6, 2011.
- c/n 1376 - Owned by Steve Ferris in Sydney, Australia, and has been under restoration to flying status for many years.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} It was originally delivered to KNILM in 1935. At the outbreak of World War II it was flown to Australia and was conscripted into use with the Allied Directorate of Air Transport. In 1944 it joined Australian National Airways and finished its flying career in the 1950s with Marshall Airways. It is registered as VH-CDZ. It is the most complete of all the Australian DC-2s as of 2008.
- c/n 1404 - The Aviodrome in Lelystad, the Netherlands, owns and operates one of the last flying DC-2s. This former United States Navy aircraft is painted in the Uiver's KLM color scheme and is sometimes seen in European airshows. It is registered as NC39165 since 1945, though it now also wears PH-AJU as a fictional registration to match that of the historic Uiver aircraft.[https://web.archive.org/web/20100331085542/http://www.aviodrome.nl/uploads/files/projectenpdf/Collectiestuk%20A-F.pdf "Collectieoverzicht:A–F."] Aviodrome. Retrieved: November 23, 2010. The aircraft was operated by Mercer Airlines of Burbank, California, and sold in the late 1960s to Colgate Darden, who restored it in General Air Lines colors and moved it to his private airport in South Carolina.
- c/n 2702 - C-39A (Serial Number 38-515) is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft is currently in storage at the museum.[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=6781 "Factsheet: Douglas C-39."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914002419/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=6781 |date=September 14, 2011 }} National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, November 30, 2007. Retrieved: October 19, 2011.{{cite web|title=Aircraft 38-0515 Data|url=http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/38-0515.html|website=Airport-Data.com|access-date=22 April 2015}}
Notable appearances in media
The DC-2 was the "Good Ship Lollipop" that Shirley Temple sang about in the film Bright Eyes (1934).{{cite web|url=http://www.moviediva.com/MD_root/reviewpages/MDBrightEyes.htm|title=Bright Eyes (1934)|last=Boyes|first=Laura|work=Moviediva|access-date=3 March 2014}}
A DC-2 appears in the 1937 film Lost Horizon; the footage includes taxiing, takeoff, and landing as well as views in flight.Photo Documentary section of the Special Features on the 1998 Columbia/Sony DVD release of the restored version
In the 1956 film Back from Eternity, the action centers on the passengers and crew of a DC-2, registry number N39165, which makes an emergency landing in headhunter territory in the remote South American jungle.{{cite web |url=http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N39165.html |title=Aircraft N39165 Data |website=Airport-Data.com |access-date=2019-03-25}} The plane, Construction Number (C/N) 1404, survives today (see #Surviving aircraft) in the color scheme of the one operated by KLM when it came second in the MacRobertson Air Race in 1934, flying a DC-2 registered in the Netherlands as PH-AJU Uiver.{{cite web |url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/wiki.php?id=167770 |title=ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 167770 |work=Aviation Safety Network |access-date=2019-03-25}} The real PH-AJU was lost in a crash a few months after the MacRobertson Air Race.
Author Ernest K. Gann recounts his early days as a commercial pilot flying DC-2s in his memoir Fate Is the Hunter. This includes a particularly harrowing account of flying a DC-2 with heavy ice.
Specifications (DC-2)
File:Douglas C-39 3-view line drawing.png
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I{{cite book |last1=Francillon |first1=René J. |title=McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I |date=1988 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=London |isbn=0870214284 |pages=162–175}}
|prime units?=imp
|crew=two-three
|capacity= 14 passengers
|length ft=61
|length in=11.75
|length note=
|span ft=85
|span in=0
|span note=
|height ft=16
|height in=3.75
|height note=
|wing area sqft=939
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=root: NACA 2215; tip: NACA 2209{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |access-date=16 April 2019}}
|empty weight lb=12408
|empty weight note=
|gross weight lb=18560
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=2
|eng1 name=Wright GR-1820-F52 Cyclone
|eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine
|eng1 hp= 775
|prop blade number=3
|prop name=variable-pitch metal propellers
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop dia note=
|max speed mph=210
|max speed note=at {{cvt|8000|ft}}
|cruise speed mph=190
|cruise speed note=at {{cvt|8000|ft}}
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed note=
|range miles=1000
|range note=
|combat range miles=
|combat range note=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling ft=22450
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|climb rate ftmin=1000
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|wing loading lb/sqft=19.8
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass={{cvt|0.082|hp/lb}}
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}
See also
{{Aircontent
|sequence=
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
- List of aircraft of World War II
- List of civil aircraft
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)
|see also=
- Boeing C-32 (757 in the new post 1962 designation system)
}}
References
=Notes=
{{Reflist|30em}}
=Bibliography=
{{refbegin}}
- Francillon, René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam, 1970. {{ISBN|0-370-00033-1}}.
- Francillon, René J. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920. London: Putnam, 1979. {{ISBN|0-370-00050-1}}.
- {{cite book |last1=Parmentier |first1=K.D. |author1-link=Koene Dirk Parmentier |title=To Australia in Three Days |date=2024 |orig-date=First published in Dutch as In Drie Dagen naar Australie in 1935 |publisher=Uiver Memorial Community Trust |location=Albury, NSW |isbn=9780646895123}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Serrano|first1=José Luis González|title=Fifty Years of DC Service: Douglas Transports Used by the Spanish Air Force |journal=Air Enthusiast |date=March–April 1999 |issue=80 |pages=61–71 |issn=0143-5450}}
- {{cite magazine|last=Slieker|first=Hans|title=Talkback|magazine=Air Enthusiast|date=1984|issue=25 |page=79 |issn=0143-5450}}
- United States Air Force Museum Guidebook. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio: Air Force Museum Foundation, 1975.
{{refend}}
External links
{{Commons category|Douglas DC-2}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20230604075520/https://www.boeing.com/history/products/dc-2.page Boeing: Historical Snapshot: DC-2 Commercial Transport]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081203111303/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-061222-016.pdf nationalmuseum.af.mil]
- [http://www.daveswarbirds.com/usplanes/aircraft/dc-2.htm DC-2 Article]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20020919230716/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/Douglas-1930s/Aero28.htm Centennial of Flight Commission on DC-1 and -2]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20031124041344/http://www.planefacts.co.uk/cards/douglas/pages/douglas_dc2_jpg.htm DC-2 (cigarette cards)]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20030225043313/http://users.chariot.net.au/~theburfs/dc2MAIN.html Dc-2 Images]
- [http://airliner.narod.ru/airliners1931-35/dc-2-airlines.htm Dc-2 Text and Images (Russian)]
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=wt8DAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1935+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA557 "Flying Office Saves Time of Busy Executives," Popular Mechanics, April 1935, private business version of DC-2]
- [http://digitalcollections.museumofflight.org/items/show/49856 DC-2-120 Handbook] – The Museum of Flight Digital Collections
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Category:1930s United States airliners