Das Flugzeug, das den modernen Luftverkehr erfand | Die Douglas DC-3
Video from the channel Historische Flugzeuge about Douglas DC-3, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 9:20. Language: German. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
Documentary that traces the history of the Douglas DC-3, from its origins to the examples still flying today.
Historical context
In 1932, TWA had no access to the Boeing 247, reserved for United Airlines, and asked Donald Douglas for a competitive aircraft; from that came the single-built DC-1 and the DC-2. In 1935, Cyrus R. Smith of American Airlines phoned Douglas to ask for a wider version for his sleeper berth flights between New York and Los Angeles. An order for 20 aircraft secured him a $4.5 million loan from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Douglas lengthened and widened the fuselage. This gave rise to the DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) and, with 21 seats, the DC-3, which made its maiden flight on 17 December 1935.
Key facts
At 19.7 m long and powered by Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp or Wright Cyclone engines, it was the first aircraft with which an airline could make money from passengers alone, without depending on mail contracts. By 1939 it accounted for around 90% of US commercial air traffic. As the C-47 and Dakota it dropped paratroopers over Normandy on 6 June 1944 and crossed the "Hump" between India and China. 16,079 examples were built counting military versions; the Soviet Lisunov Li-2 and the Japanese Showa L2D were also produced. After the war, surplus aircraft spurred small airlines. Today between 150 and 200 are still flying, and the Alfred Wegener Institute operates two Basler BT-67s, Polar 5 and Polar 6, in the Arctic and Antarctic.