Douglas DC-3: The Airliner That Made Aviation Profitable
Video from the channel OLD IRONSIDES about Douglas DC-3, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 9:45. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
Documentary on how the Douglas DC-3 made passenger transport profitable, which until then had been propped up by mail contracts.
Historical background
In 1933 the Boeing 247 made other airliners obsolete. It carried only 10 passengers, and United, tied to Boeing, cornered the first 60 units. TWA had already sent a letter from Jack Frye to several manufacturers in August 1932. Donald Douglas responded with the DC-1 (1933) and the DC-2 (1934), whose main spar ran beneath the cabin floor. C. R. Smith, of American Airlines, convinced Douglas in a long phone call by committing to buy 20 aircraft. Arthur E. Raymond's team designed the DST, with 14 berths, whose 21-seat daytime version became the DC-3. Carl Cover flew it from Clover Field (Santa Monica) on December 17, 1935, 32 years after the Wright brothers' flight.
Key facts
With 21 seats and a cruise speed of about 195 miles per hour, tickets finally covered the cost of the flight, and Smith described it as the first aircraft able to make money on passengers alone. Within five years, more than 30 airlines had ordered more than 400. United eventually bought it, and Boeing ended the 247 line after 75 units. In the war, as the C-47 Skytrain or Dakota, it crossed the Himalayas with cargo, towed gliders, and dropped paratroopers over Normandy; more than 13,000 were built according to some counts.