Reportage "Le DC3 et le Douglas C-47" (Partie 1/4)
Video from the channel Théo Aviation about Douglas DC-3, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 12:30. Language: French. Video type: Documentary.
What it covers
First of four parts of a French-language report on the Douglas DC-3 and its military version, the C-47. It begins on the eve of the Normandy landings and then goes back to the aircraft's origins, from TWA's order to the first drawings of the DC-1.
Historical context
On 5 June 1944, about 13,000 American paratroopers, including men of the 82nd Airborne Division, boarded a fleet of C-47s bound for France. The C-47s were barely modified DC-3 transports, without weapons or armour, and losses of up to 85% had been feared. Several veterans recall the tight formation flight over the Channel, the fog bank on reaching the coast, and the anti-aircraft fire.
The aircraft's story begins in 1932 with a letter from Jack Frye, head of TWA, to Donald Douglas. In the 1930s flying was expensive, uncomfortable and dangerous, and the accident of 31 March 1931 shook the industry. Boeing responded with the 247, the first modern airliner, with a monocoque aluminium structure, but United monopolised its production and TWA sought another manufacturer to build it a rival.
Key facts
The 247 was 50% faster than the Ford trimotor. Douglas entrusted the project to engineer Arthur Raymond: the new aircraft had to fly 25% further, about 1,600 km, and carry 12 passengers, two more than the 247. After the Kansas accident, TWA demanded three engines, even though the 247 had already shown that a twin-engined aircraft could work.