Douglas DC-3

"DC-3" redirects here. For other uses, see DC-3 (disambiguation).
This article is about the civilian DC-3 version. For the more common military variant, see Douglas C-47 Skytrain.

DC-3
restored Douglas DC-3 in flight
A DC-3 operated in period Scandinavian Airlines colours by Flygande Veteraner flying over Lidingö, Sweden, in 1989
General information
TypeAirliner and transport aircraft
National originUnited States
ManufacturerDouglas Aircraft Company
StatusIn service
Number built607[1]
History
Manufactured1936–1942, 1950
Introduction date1936, with American Airlines
First flightDecember 17, 1935 (1935-12-17)
Developed fromDouglas DC-2
VariantsDouglas C-47 Skytrain
Douglas R4D-8/C-117D
Lisunov Li-2
Showa/Nakajima L2D
Basler BT-67
Conroy Turbo-Three
Conroy Tri-Turbo-Three

The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2. It is a low-wing metal monoplane with conventional landing gear, powered by two radial piston engines of 1,000–1,200 hp (750–890 kW). Although the DC-3s originally built for civil service had the Wright R-1820 Cyclone, later civilian DC-3s used the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine.[2] The DC-3 has a cruising speed of 207 mph (333 km/h), a capacity of 21 to 32 passengers or 6,000 lbs (2,700 kg) of cargo, and a range of 1,500 mi (2,400 km), and can operate from short runways.

The DC-3 had many exceptional qualities compared to previous aircraft. It was fast, had a good range, was more reliable, and carried passengers in greater comfort. Before the World War II, it pioneered many air travel routes. It was able to cross the continental United States from New York to Los Angeles in 18 hours, with only three stops. It is one of the first airliners that could profitably carry only passengers without relying on mail subsidies.[3][4] In 1939, at the peak of its dominance in the airliner market, around ninety percent of airline flights on the planet were by a DC-3 or some variant.[5]

Following the war, the airliner market was flooded with surplus transport aircraft, and the DC-3 was no longer competitive because it was smaller and slower than aircraft built during the war. It was made obsolete on main routes by more advanced types such as the Douglas DC-4 and Convair 240, but the design proved adaptable and was still useful on less commercially demanding routes.

Civilian DC-3 production ended in 1943 at 607 aircraft. Military versions, including the C-47 Skytrain (the Dakota in British RAF service), and Soviet- and Japanese-built versions, brought total production to over 16,000. Many continued to be used in a variety of niche roles; 2,000 DC-3s and military derivatives were estimated to be still flying in 2013;[6] by 2017 more than 300 were still flying.[7] As of 2023 it is estimated about 150 are still flying.[8]

  1. ^ Francillon 1979, pp. 217–251.
  2. ^ "Douglas DC-3 and C-47 Engines". The Dakota Association of South Africa. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  3. ^ Kathleen Burke (April 2013). "How the DC-3 Revolutionized Air Travel". Smithsonian.
  4. ^ "Boeing: Historical Snapshot: DC-3 Commercial Transport". www.boeing.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Douglas DC-3 | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  6. ^ Jonathan Glancey (October 9, 2013). "The Douglas DC-3: Still revolutionary in its 70s". BBC.
  7. ^ "Why the DC-3 is such a Badass Plane". Eric Tegler, Popular Mechanics, August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  8. ^ "The plane that won't quit: celebrating the Douglas DC-3". The Garden of Memory. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.