The middle of the thirties was the golden age of aviation. New models of commercial aircraft appeared almost every month. The latest achievements of aviation science and technology were applied in their design. As a result, over time, an air liner was simply obliged to appear, embodying all the innovations of technology in the most rational way. The Douglas DS-3 became such a machine. Moreover, it did not arise at the will of the manufacturer.
At the very end of the twenties, North American, whose divisions were engaged in transport and passenger transportation, were worried that its competitor, United Airlines, was going to re-equip its fleet with new Boeing 247 aircraft. The Fokkers and Fords would no longer compete with the latest Boeings.
North American approached the famous Curtis-Wright aviation firm with an order for a similar aircraft, but all it could offer was the Condor, which had no advantage over Boeing.
In the midst of general confusion, Donald Douglas unexpectedly offered North American his own car. This was quite unusual, because before that his company produced only military. Nevertheless, the customer was interested in the new car. One of the main features was the aircraft's ability to continue takeoff if one of the two engines failed from the highest airfield in the United States.
The aircraft was developed in five years and made its first flight on July 1, 1933. It received the designation DC-1 (DC stands for "Douglas Commercial"). True, the car almost crashed. Immediately after takeoff, during the climb, both engines suddenly stopped (Wright "Cyclone" with a capacity of 700 hp) test pilot of the Carl Cover company switched the DC-1 into planning and then, fortunately, the motors started working again. After 20 minutes, to the tremendous relief of several hundred observers, including Don Douglas himself, Cover safely landed the car in a large field adjacent to the plant. Engineers began to find the reason for the refusal.
In the end, it was found out that the culprit was an experimental carburetor with a rear float suspension. He cut off the fuel supply to the engine as soon as the plane went into climb. The carburetors were finalized, and the DS-1 successfully passed the entire five-month flight test program.
Two years later, the DS-1 became a world famous aircraft. This was facilitated by the fact that in May 1935 American pilots Tomlinsen and Bartle set 19 national and international speed and range records for this class of aircraft. Among them - a flight of 1000 km with a load of 1 ton at an average speed of 306 km / h and a distance of 5000 km with the same load at an average speed of 270 km / h.
True, the DS-1 did not go into mass production. Instead, an improved DS-2 was put on the conveyor. I must say that the layout of this winged machine was altered over a dozen times. New "fairings" were made in the zone of articulation of the wing and fuselage, vibration in the cabin was eliminated and the noise level was reduced. In the end, the engineers of the Douglas firm brought the DC-2 to such perfection that the aircraft changed all the norms and standards that were imposed on American air lines. Suffice it to say that the cruising speed of 240 km / h was very high at that time.
The triumph for the DC-2 was the participation in September 1934 in the air race on the route England - Australia. As you know, it was won by the light English sports plane "Comet". DS-2 finished second, covering a distance of 19,000 km in 90 hours and 17 minutes. But at the same time, besides two pilots, there were six more passengers and about 200 kg of cargo on board.
By mid-1937, 138 DS-2s were operating on American Airlines. Then the planes began to arrive in Europe. They were also sold to Japan and China, and even Italy and Germany acquired a pair of cars for experimental purposes.
Boeing, which began to conquer the aviation market with its model 247, suddenly noticed that its aircraft was inferior to the DC-2. And in vain, United Airlines, which has made a major bet on the Boeing 247, has spent thousands of dollars to improve the competitiveness of its aircraft. In the end, Boeing lost ground. He focused on the production of combat aircraft.
In 1934, the management of American Airlinees came to the conclusion that it was necessary to replace the Curtiss AT-32 transcontinental night air express with a more modern machine similar to the newly appeared DC-2. The plane, which has 14 berths, had to cover the route of one of the main lines of the airline - New York - Chicago without landing. It was such an aircraft that President American Airlinez proposed to create for Donald Douglas. The airline wanted to get about a dozen cars. Douglas was not enthusiastic about the proposal. DS-2 sold well, but I didn't want to engage in expensive development because of such a small order. However, after lengthy negotiations, Douglas surrendered. Obviously, the head of the aviation firm did not want to lose a respectable client. As a result, on the eve of Christmas, on December 22, 1935, the new aircraft made its maiden flight. The aircraft was equipped with more powerful engines and had 50% more passenger capacity. It was this machine that later became the famous DC-3.
The efficiency of the new aircraft turned out to be so high that it literally conquered almost the whole world within two years. By 1938, DC-3s carried 95% of all civilian traffic in the United States. In addition, it was operated by 30 foreign airlines.
The Netherlands, Japan and the Soviet Union acquired the license for the production of DC-3. At the same time, the Dutch Fokker was practically engaged in the sale of these machines in Europe on behalf of Douglas. A large number of DC-3s were sold to Poland, Sweden, Romania, Hungary. Even despite the outbreak of the Second World War, a considerable consignment of passenger DC-3s was sent to Europe. Their cost was then within 115 thousand dollars per copy.
In our country, the DS-3 under the designation PS-84 (later renamed Li-2) was produced in Khimki at the V. P. Chkalov. Compared to the American DS-3, some changes were made to the design of the PS-84, associated with an increase in its strength, the use of domestic materials and equipment. With the commissioning of the PS-84 aircraft, the economic efficiency of the civil air fleet of the USSR has significantly increased. By June 1941, there were 72 cars in our country, and during the war years, about 2000 more cars were produced. In addition, the Soviet Union received about 700 DS-3s under Lend-Lease. In our country, the C-47 aircraft were simply called "Douglas".
But let's go back to the beginning of the Second World War. In 1940, the United States Department of Defense, very prudently, ordered 2,000 DS-3 transport aircraft for its Air Force, designated the C-47 Skytrain, later the Dakota, aka C-53 Skytrooper. After the United States entered the war, orders for cars rose sharply, reaching 11 thousand by 1945. Douglas' main factories at Santa Monica and El Segundo have expanded significantly. In addition, during the war, the production of the USA transferred to the company several more enterprises in California, Oklahoma, and Illinois.
The S-47s were actively used by the allies during the war. They were used in all theaters of war. From July 1942, they began operating flights from the United States to Great Britain and from India to China. In the fall of 1942, the Dakotas landed Anglo-American landings in North Africa and transferred the necessary supplies to the troops fighting on the island of Guadalcanal. And when the paratroopers were landed in New Guinea, all the supply of the troops leading the offensive was carried out over the air bridge. In the Pacific Ocean, the C-47 provided combat operations in the Solomon Islands and the Philippines.
In July 1942, the Allies landed a glider-parachute landing in Sicily, and in June 1944 in Normandy, in August - in southern France, in September units landed from planes that captured the islands in the Aegean Sea. The Dakotas took part in the operation at Arnhem and in the crossing of the Rhine. At the same time, Allied aircraft were supporting the offensive in the jungle of Burma, where there was simply no other means of supply. The last major airborne operation was carried out by the British in the area of Burmese Rangoon.
After the end of World War II, thousands of C-47s were sold to private and state firms. More than three hundred airlines around the world have moved to the "demobilized" "Dakotas". And although by the beginning of the fifties the DS-3 (S-47) was already considered obsolete, over 6,000 of these machines flew around the world. Moreover, in 1949 a new version was released, which received the designation super DS-3.
During the fighting of the US Army in Vietnam, the C-47 reappeared over the battlefield. But this time in a slightly different capacity. Equipped with several machine guns installed in the port side windows, the C-47 turned into a "Gun-ship" - a special anti-guerrilla aircraft. Such machines flew around the enemy with a roll in such a way that firing from onboard machine guns was carried out in one place. The result was a concentrated flurry of fire. This method of assault actions was later used on other military transport aircraft of the US Air Force.
Until now, individual copies of the C-47 continue to operate, becoming the most "tenacious" aircraft in the world. Many cars are frozen in eternal parking lots in aviation museums around the world.
Unfortunately, the first copy of the famous "Douglas" has not survived. DC-1 faithfully served as a "flying" laboratory until 1942, when it was transferred to the US Air Force. This legendary vehicle was used during the hostilities in North Africa, where it ended up in one of the allied aviation cemeteries.
The fate of the first built DC-2 is similar. After operating on civilian airlines in the United States, during the war years, he ended up in the British Air Force and was used for military transport between India and the Middle East in the period 1941-1942, and then was scrapped.
DC-3 left a long memory of itself, because it was he who had the opportunity to create the system of commercial passenger transportation that we know today. The creation of the DC-3 was a big step forward compared to the passenger cars that were built before it. Douglas created such a successful design that some of these aircraft remain in service today.
