The Douglas DC-2 is a retired American 14-passenger twin-engined airliner which was produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger development, the DC-3, which became one of the most successful aircraft in history.
Design and development In the early 1930s, fears about the safety of wooden aircraft structures drove the US aviation industry to develop all-metal airliners. United Airlines had exclusive right to the all metal twin-engine Boeing 247; their rival TWA issued a specification for an all-metal trimotor.
The Douglas response was more radical. When it flew on July 1, 1933, the prototype DC-1 had a tapered wing, retractable landing gear, and two 690 hp (515 kW) Wright radial engines driving variable-pitch propellers. It seated 12 passengers. The DC-2 was longer than the DC-1, had more powerful engines, and carried 14 passengers in a 66-inch-wide cabin.
Douglas test pilot Carl Cover flew the first test flight of the DC-2 on May 11, 1934. TWA was the first customer for the DC-2, ordering twenty. The design impressed American and European airlines, and further orders followed. Although Fokker purchased a production licence from Douglas for $100,000 (about $2,224,000 in 2022), no manufacturing was done in the Netherlands. Those for European customers, KLM, LOT, Swissair, CLS, and LAPE purchased via Fokker in the Netherlands, were built and flown by Douglas in the US, sea-shipped to Europe with wings and propellers detached, then erected at airfields by Fokker near the seaport of arrival (e.g. Cherbourg or Rotterdam). Airspeed Ltd. took a similar licence for DC-2s to be delivered in Britain and assigned the company designation Airspeed AS.23, but, although a registration for one aircraft was reserved, none were built.O'Leary, Michael. "Douglas Commercial Two." Air Classics magazine, May 2003 Another licence was taken by the Nakajima Aircraft Company in Japan; unlike Fokker and Airspeed, Nakajima built five aircraft as well as assembling at least one Douglas-built aircraft. A total of 130 civil DC-2s were built with another 62 for the United States military. In 1935, Don Douglas stated in an article that the DC-2 cost about $80,000 (about $1,780,000 in 2022) per aircraft, if mass-produced."Douglas tells secrets of speed." Popular Mechanics, February 1935
Operational history Although overshadowed by its ubiquitous successor, it was the DC-2 that first showed that passenger air travel could be comfortable, safe, and reliable. As a token of this, KLM entered its first DC-2 PH-AJU Uiver (Stork) in the October 1934 MacRobertson Air Race between London and Melbourne. It finished second of the twenty entrants, behind the purpose-built de Havilland DH.88 racer Grosvenor House (race time 70 hours 54 minutes), and nearly three hours ahead of the Boeing 247D. During the total journey time of 90 hours 13 minutes, it was in the air for 81 hours 10 minutes. It won the handicap section of the race, as although the DH.88 had finished first in the handicap section, the regulations allowed the crew to claim only one victory. It flew KLM's regular 9,000-mile route (a thousand miles longer than the official race route), carrying mail, making every scheduled passenger stop, turning back once to pick up a stranded passenger, and became lost in a thunderstorm and briefly stuck in the mud after a diversionary landing at the Albury race course on the last leg of the journey."DC-2 Commercial History" Boeing Retrieved: November 26, 2010
Variants
Civilian
DC-2 156 civil DC-2s, powered by two Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial piston engines of varying in power from depending on model DC-2A Two civil DC-2s, powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet (SD-G, S1E-G or S2E-G) radial piston engines DC-2B Two DC-2s sold to LOT Polish Airlines, fitted with two Bristol Pegasus VI radial piston enginesFrancillon 1979, p. 180. Nakajima-Douglas DC-2 transport DC-2 transports license built in Japan by Nakajima Airspeed AS.23 The designation reserved for proposed license-built production by Airspeed Ltd. in Great Britain
Military Modified DC-2s built for the United States Army Air Corps under several military designations:
XC-32 (DC-2-153) One aircraft, powered by two Wright R-1820-25 radial piston engines, for evaluation as a 14-seat VIP transport aircraft, one built,Francillon 1979, p. 181. later used by General Andrews as a flying command post"Air Corps flagship is flying headquarters." Popular Mechanics, January 1936. C-32A Designation for 24 commercial DC-2s impressed at the start of World War II
C-33 (DC-2-145) Cargo transport variant of the C-32 powered by two Wright R-1820-25 engines, with larger vertical tail surfaces, a reinforced cabin floor and a large cargo door in the aft fuselage, 18 built
YC-34 (1x DC-2-173 & 1x DC-2-346) VIP transport for the secretary of war, basically similar to XC-32, later designated C-34, two builtFrancillon 1979, pp. 181–182. C-38 The first C-33 was modified with a DC-3-style tail section and two Wright R-1820-45 radial piston engines of 975 hp (727 kW) each. Originally designated C-33A but redesignated as prototype for C-39 variant, one built.Francillon 1979, p. 182.
C-39 (DC-2-243) 16-seat passenger variant, a composite of DC-2 and DC-3 components, with C-33 fuselage and wings and DC-3-type tail, center-section and landing gear. Powered by two Wright R-1820-45 radial piston engines; 35 built.Francillon 1979, pp. 182–183. C-41 The sole C-41 was a VIP aircraft for Air Corps Chief Oscar Westover (and his successor Hap Arnold). Although supplied against a C-39 order it was not a DC-2 derivative but in fact a DC-3-253 fitted with two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-21 engines. (The sole Douglas C-41A was also a VIP version of the DC-3A)Francillon 1979, p. 239.
C-42 (DC-2-267) VIP transport variant of the C-39, powered by two Wright R-1820-53 radial piston engines, of 1,000 hp (746 kW) each, one built in 1939 for the commanding general, GHQ Air Force, plus two similarly-converted C-39s with their cargo doors bolted shut were converted in 1943.
R2D-1 (3x DC-2-125 & 2x DC-2-142) Wright R-1820-12-powered transport similar to the XC-32, three built for the United States Navy and two for the United States Marine Corps
Operators ♠ = Original operators
Civil operators
Australian National Airways Holyman's Airways ♠
Aerovias Brasil Aerovias Minas Gerais Cruzeiro do Sul Panair do Brasil
CNAC, jointly owned and operated with Pan American Airlines
SCADTA renamed as Avianca UMCA Uraba Medellin Centra Airways ♠
(Československá Letecká Společnost, Czechoslovak Air Transport Company) ♠
KNILM (Royal Netherlands Indies Airways) ♠
Aero O/Y
SAHSA
Deutsche Lufthansa ♠
Avio Linee Italiane ♠
Great Northern Airways ♠ Japan Air Transport Imperial Japanese Airways
Manchurian Airlines
Aeronaves de Mexico Mexicana
KLM ♠ ordered 18 aircraft.
LOT Polish Airlines ♠ operated three DC-2B aircraft between 1935 and 1939 Spanish Republic Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas ♠ received five aircraft.
Phoenix Airlines
Swissair ♠
American Airlines ♠ Braniff Airways Delta Air Lines operated four aircraft during 1940–1941 Eastern Air Lines ♠ received 14 aircraft and used them on East Coast routes. General Air Lines ♠ Mercer Airlines ♠ 1 airplane, sold to Colgate Darden in late 1960s, now in the Netherlands Pan American Airways ♠ received 16 aircraft, distributing many to its foreign affiliates; some flew under its own name on Central American routes. Pan American-Grace Airways (Panagra) ♠ used its DC-2s on routes within South America. Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) was the first DC-2 operator, receiving 30 aircraft. ♠
PLUNA operated two DC-2s acquired from Panair do Brasil.
Military and government operators
Argentine Naval Aviation - 5 (+1) DC-2 ex civilian Venezuelan "Transportes Navales." histarmar.com. Retrieved: August 5, 2010.
Royal Australian Air Force - Ten aircraft were in service with the RAAF from 1940 to 1946. No. 8 Squadron RAAF No. 36 Squadron RAAF Parachute Training School RAAF Wireless Air Gunners School RAAF
Austrian Government
Finnish Air Force Donated by the Carl Gustaf von Rosen and KLM during the Winter War (1939–1940) which flew a bombing mission based on Tampere on 22 February 1940
French government
Luftwaffe
Regia Aeronautica 2 aircraft
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service - A single example of the DC-2 was impressed by the Imperial Japanese Army.Francillon 1970, p. 499. Spanish Republic Spanish Republican Air Force took over the DC-2s from LAPE inventory."11-III-1935." Llega a Barajas el primer Douglas DC-2 para las Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas (LAPE). Retrieved: February 11, 2014.
Royal Air Force
United States Army Air Corps ♠ United States Army Air Forces United States Marine Corps ♠ United States Navy ♠
Incidents and accidents December 20, 1934: A KLM DC-2-115A (PH-AJU, Uiver) crashed at Rutbah Wells in Iraq, killing all seven on board. The aircraft was operating a flight from Schiphol to Batavia."De Uiver verongelukt bij Rutbah Wells (Irak)" . aviacrash.nl. Retrieved: December 6, 2011."Major Airline Disasters: Involving Commercial Passenger Airlines 1920-2011". airdisasters.co.uk. Retrieved: February 22, 2013. This was the first loss of a DC-2 and the first fatal accident involving the DC-2. May 6, 1935: TWA Flight 6, a DC-2-115 (NC13785), hit terrain and crashed near Atlanta, Missouri, while flying low in poor visibility to reach a landing field before running out of fuel. Five of thirteen on board were killed, including New Mexico Senator Bronson M. Cutting. July 20, 1935: 1935 San Giacomo Douglas DC-2 crash: A KLM DC-2-115E (PH-AKG, Gaai) crashed on landing at Pian San Giacomo in bad weather, killing all 13 on board."Major Airline Disasters: Involving Commercial Passenger Airlines." airdisasters.co.uk. Retrieved: February 22, 2013. October 6, 1935: A Standard Oil Company DC-2A-127 (NC14285) crashed into Great Salt Lake, Utah; the three crew survived the crash, but drowned while trying to swim to safety. January 14, 1936: American Airlines Flight 1, a DC-2-120 (NC14274), crashed into a swamp near Goodwin, Arkansas, for reasons unknown, killing all 17 on board. April 7, 1936: TWA Flight 1, a DC-2-112 (NC13721), crashed into Chestnut Ridge near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in fog due to pilot error, killing 12 of 14 on board. October 10, 1936: A Pan American-Grace Airways DC-2-118B (NC14273) struck the side of a mountain near San Jose Pinula while being ferried from San Salvador to Guatemala City, killing the three crew. December 9, 1936: A KLM DC-2-115E (PH-AKL, Lijster) crashed on takeoff at Croydon Airport killing 15 of the 17 passengers and crew on board. The aircraft was operating a flight from London to Amsterdam. Juan de la Cierva, inventor of the autogiro, was among the dead. March 25, 1937: TWA Flight 15A, a DC-2-112 (NC13730), crashed into a small gully near Clifton, Pennsylvania, due to icing, killing all 13 on board. July 28, 1937: 1937 Beert KLM Douglas DC-2 crash: A KLM DC-2-115L (PH-ALF, Flamingo) crashed into a field near Belligen, Belgium, after takeoff due to an in-flight fire, killing all 15 on board. August 6, 1937: An Aeroflot DC-2-152 (URSS-M25) exploded in mid-air and crashed near Bistrita, Romania, killing all five on board. August 10, 1937: Eastern Air Lines Flight 7, a DC-2-112 (NC13739), crashed on takeoff at Daytona Beach Airport after striking a power pole, killing four of nine on board. August 23, 1937: A Pan American-Grace Airways DC-2-118A (NC14298) crashed and burned 20 mi north of San Luis, Argentina in dense fog, killing all three on board. November 23, 1937: A LOT DC-2-115D (SP-ASJ) crashed in the Pirin mountains, killing all six occupants. The aircraft was operating a flight from Thessaloniki to Bucharest.