Douglas DC-3C-47 Dakota

132 Pages·2013·51.668 MB·English

by  Tim Callaway

Runningthroughthepre-startchecklist,
thecrewoftheBattleofBritainMemorial
Flight’sDouglasDakotareadytheaircraft
foranotherdisplay.BBMF
Contents
8 Douglas Aircraft Company 54 Operation Wildhorn
16 In the beginning 62 The Dakota as a
glider tug in Europe
20 Commercial viability and
military developments 70 American paratroop
forces on D-Day
28 Enter the legend
80 Operation Market Garden
36 Pratt and Whitney
with the 101st
and the R-1830
83 Running return
44 Ready for war
84 Postwar plethora
50 Licence built Dakotas
Editor: TimCallaway
86 A Dakota’s tale [email protected]
Publisher: DanSavage
Contributors: LuiginoCaliaro,NormDeWitt,
KeithDraycott,JulianHumphries,
90 Blockade busters SteveMcCabe,LizMatzelle,
ConstanceRedgrave,CliveRowley,
DanSharp,AdamTooby
96 Spooky – the AC-47
Designer: LibbyFincham
Reprographics: JonathanSchofield
102 The Super DC-3 Groupproductioneditor: TimHartley
Divisionaladvertisingmanager: SandraFisher
104 New power sfi[email protected]
Advertisingsalesexecutive: StuartYule
[email protected]
01507529455
108 A pilot’s tale
Subscriptionmanager: PaulDeacon
Circulationmanager: SteveO’Hara
114 Inside the legend Marketingmanager: CharlottePark
Productionmanager: CraigLamb
Publishingdirector: DanSavage
Commercialdirector: NigelHole
122 Survivors Managingdirector: BrianHill
Editorialaddress: AviationClassics
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©2013MortonsMediaGroupLtd.Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthis
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writingfromthepublisher
ISBNNo978-1-909128-01-9
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MemberoftheProfessional youacopy
Independentpublishersince1885 Publishers’Association
Immor tality
defined
The only replacement for a DC-3…
is another DC-3
O
nethingIhavelearnedisthat designedaradialenginesogoodthattheUS widerversionoftheDC-2tofitsleeping
eachsubjectofAviation Navywanteditinnumbers.Frederick berths.Theresultingaircraftwouldbecomea
Classicspresentsitsown Rentschlerknewthecompanyheworkedfor civilthenmilitarylegend,theperfect
uniquedifficulties.Whatis wouldnotproduceit,soresignedand transportforsomanyuses,yetbeganfroma
theretosayabouttheDC-3/C- approachedPrattandWhitneytodevelopthe refusaltoselladifferenttypeandtheneedfor
47thathasnotalreadybeensaidmanytimes? conceptbecauseheknewofthenavy’sinterest. fastflyingbeds.See?Historyismessy.
Iwouldliketoanswerthatbysuggestingthat Theaircraftenginestheywentonto Tomymindthough,theDC-3isfarmore
thisisanaeroplanewithConnections,ifImay producebecamesomeofthemostpowerful thanthesumofitsparts.Yes,itisfastforits
returntoJamesBurke’sseminaltelevision andreliableinaviationhistory,changingthe ageandabletoliftausefulload.Ithandles
seriesofthelate1970s.Theseriesshowed faceofcommercialaviationandequippingthe extremelywell,beingsmooth,ifalittleheavy,
thatnothingiscreatedinisolation,and militarywiththerightaircraftatexactlythe butatthesametimeissurprisinglyagile.Its
nothingisdevelopedinalinearmanner. righttime.So,massproduction,computers, structuralstrengthandabilitytooperatefrom
Despiteourneedasaspeciestobring powerandreliabilityinaviation,alldirectly shortroughstripshavesavedmanylives,
ordertotheuniverse,thingshappenby linkingdownthroughtimetotheDC-3,and includingmyown,andithasdonethingsit
accidentandtheconnectionsbetweenpeople that’sjusttheenginemanufacturer. wasneverdesignedforextremelywell.
andinventionsarecomplex.Unrelated Ifyouthenconsiderthecompanyformed Itsroundedformstillgracesmanyairports
fragmentscoalescefortheunlikeliestof byDonaldDouglasandthemenheemployed, whilemoremoderntypesintendedasits
reasonstocreatesomethingnew.Soitwas thelistoftheirconnecteddevelopments replacementhavelongbeenconsignedtothe
withPrattandWhitney,DouglasandtheDC-3. coversthemajorityofmannedatmospheric scrapyard.Upgradedandpreservedexamples
FrancisPrattandAmosWhitneysetthe andspaceflight.Douglashimselfwould willeasilyseeacenturyofflying,thefirst
standardsforaccuratemeasurementandso overseethedevelopmentofeverythingfrom aircrafttodosoinitsoriginalrole.Across
enabledmassproduction,thereforebecoming militaryaircrafttotransports,missilesand Asia,Africa,SouthAmerica,theArcticand
largelyresponsiblefortheshapeofourmodern rockets,buthebeganhisowncompany Antarctic,theDC-3affectsmanylivesevery
world.Didtheyseethattheirattempttodefine becausehelikedtheclimateinCalifornia. day,itsfriendlyshapepresagingthearrivalof
exactlywhataninchwaswouldleadtousall TheDC-3isalsoacaseinpoint.Boeing family,equipmentorvitallyneededsupplies.
beingabletoownthesamephone,computeror wouldnotsellitsnewModel247toTWA Consideringjusthowmanylivesthis
car?No,theywerejusttryingtobuildmachine untilitsownairline,United,haditsorder aircrafthas,andcontinuestotouch,its
toolsthatalloftheircustomerscoulduse. filled.Asaresult,JackFrye,TWA’svice immortalityisassured,notjustthrough
Theirpassionforaccuracyhelpedthem president,convincedDouglastodesignthe exploitsinwaraswithsomanyothertypes,
buildanelectro-mechanicaldataprocessor DC-1thendeveloptheDC-2toallowhis butthroughitssheer
designedbyamancalledHermanHollerithin airlinetostaycompetitive. reliabilityinpeace.
1890.Thisleddirectlytothecreationofthe Slowanduneconomicsleeperairliners
computer,Hollerith’scompanylaterbecoming thenpromptedAmericanAirlines’president Allbest,
IBM.Thirtyyearslater,CharlesLawrance CyrusSmithtoinsistthatDouglasdevelopa Tim
ADouglasDakotaoftheRoyalAir
Forceseeninthedramaticshadow
oftheRockofGibraltar,bothlitby
searchlights.Editor’scollection

DonaldWillsDouglasSnr.
SanDiegoAirandSpaceMuseum
Douglas
AAiirrccrraafftt CCoommppaany
From dirigibles to bombers, the early years of Donald Douglas
The story of the Douglas Aircraft Company is the story of one visionary businessman and engineer,
Donald Wills Douglas. Founded on July 22, 1921, the company was to build some of the most
famous transport aircraft in aviation history, as well as a family of naval aircraft, prior to its merger
with McDonnell in 1967. The early story of Douglas’s aviation career is a complex and fascinating
one, not to mention having its dangers, as at one point, he was almost shot by the US Army.
Y
oumayhavenoticedthatIput EdwardAHeinemann,JamesH‘Dutch’ recovered,givingDouglasamarketleadfor
businessmanandengineerinthat KindelbergerandJohnK‘Jack’Northrop; manyyearsandcreatingthelargestaircraft
orderintheintroductiontothis theirstoriesareallinextricablylinkedtoDon manufacturerintheUnitedStates.Itwasnot
pieceaboutDonaldWDouglas Douglas.Thesewerethemindsthatcreated justfortransportaircraftthatDouglasgained
andtheDouglasAircraft thegreataircraftthatrolledoutofDouglas’s fame;thefamilyofnavalcombataircraftthe
Company.IdidthisbecauseIfeelthatitwas factories,butitwashisbusinesssensethat companyproducedwastoserveinan
hisbusinessacumenandhisabilitytospot allowedDouglastoundertakesuchan unbrokenchainfromtheUSNavy’sDT-1of
talentandnurtureitthattrulymadehis expensivedevelopmentastheDC-1inthe 1921totheA-4Skyhawksstillinservice
companygreat. middleofarecession,becausehenurtured aroundtheworldtoday.
Lookingatthelistoffamousdesignersand hiscompanyascarefullyashedidhispeople. Here,wewillcoverthehistoryofthe
engineerswhoworkedforDonaldDouglas Hisforesightmeanttheaircraftwasready companyuptotheintroductionoftheDC-1,
readslikeawho’swhoofaviationhistory; atexactlytherighttimeastheeconomy asthefullstoryneedsanentireissueinitself
8 DOUGLASAIRCRAFTCOMPANY
TheMartinMB-1orGMBbomber.USAF
GlennLMartinatthecontrolsofone
ofhisearlyaircraftdesigns.Martin
respectedDonald’sdecisiontoleavethe
academytopursuehispassion,JeromeC
Hunsaker.Later,CommanderHunsaker
wouldbecomethedirectoroftheBureauof
ConstructionandRepairs,AircraftDivisionof
theUSNavy,andheandDouglaswouldwork
togetheragain,butfornow,between1914and
DonaldDouglasatworkathisdrawingboard ProfessorJeromeCHunsaker,Donald mid-1915,DouglasremainedatMITas
attheMartinCompany.Martin Douglas’smentorandfriend.MIT Hunsaker’sassistant.
Ayearoftheacademiclifewasenoughto
convinceDouglasthathispassionlayinthe
andwillbethesubjectofAviationClassicsin tobuildasuccessionofpoweredmodel creationofaircraft,notinteaching.Hewas
thefuture.Oddly,foranamesooften aircraft.HisbrotherHaroldgraduatedfrom hiredasaconsultantengineerbythe
associatedwithCalifornia,ourstorystartsin Annapolisasamidshipmanin1911,butby ConnecticutAircraftCompanyinNewHaven,
NewYorkCity,in1892. thefollowingyear,Donaldcouldnolonger whoputhimtoworkonthedesignsforthe
DonaldWillsDouglaswasbornin denythathisinterestinnavalmattershad DN-1,thefirstdirigiblefortheUSNavy
BrooklynonApril6,1892,thesecondsonof beenreplacedbyafascinationwith whichwastakenfortestingatPensacola,
WilliamandDorothyHagen-LocherDouglas. aeronauticalengineering. Florida,in1916.
WilliamDouglaswasacashierattheNational Heresignedhiscadetshipandwenttofind Bythistime,Douglashadalreadyleft,only
ParkbankonWallStreet,anditwasfromhim workintheaviationindustry,approaching spendingafewmonthsontheprojectbefore
thatDonaldwastolearnandappreciatethe LoeningandCurtiss,bothofwhomturned movingtotheGlennLMartinCompanyat
valueofadollar.Hismotherwasastrongand himdownforlackoftrainingandexperience. GriffithParkinLosAngeles,Californiain
vitalwomanwhopassedontohersonsagreat Everthepragmatist,Donalddecidedto August1915.Here,GlennMartingavehim
enthusiasmforlifeandherpersonalsenseof addressboththesedrawbackswithasingle thejobofchiefengineer,aremarkable
determination. action,soinmid-1912heenrolledinthe responsibilityforthe23-year-oldgraduate.He
Thefamilyalsosharedamutualpassion MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT) wastoworkonanumberofearlyMartin
forsailing,andaloveoftheseawastoshape onafouryeardegreecourseinaeronautical militarytrainingaircraft,includinghisfirst
theyoungDouglas’searlylives.Donald’s engineering,thefirstofitskindintheworld. solodesignforthecompany,theMartin
elderbrotherHaroldenrolledintheUSNaval Herethegritanddeterminationingrained ModelS.
AcademyatAnnapoliswhileDonaldattended inDonaldDouglasfirstshoweditselfclearly. Thiswasaconventionaltwoseattractor
theTrinityChapelPreparatorySchoolinNew Hisearlywindtunnelexperimentsintothe biplanewithequalspanwings,thefuselage
York,followinghisbrotherintotheacademy fundamentalsofaerodynamicswasground- beingmountedbetweenthewingsonstruts.
whenhegraduatedfromthecollegein1909. breakingandhespentlonghoursinresearch Thepontoonundercarriageconsistedofa
However,anewpassionhadbecome andwriting.Realisinghisthreeyearsat largeforwardandsmalltailfloat,with
prevalentinDonald’slife.Justpriortojoining Annapolishadputhimbehindhispeers,he outriggersnearthewingtips.Twowere
theNavalAcademy,hehadbeenpresentat vowedtocompletehisfouryearcoursein acquiredbytheUSNavyandafurthersixby
thetrialsoftheWrightFlyeronJuly30,1909, onlytwo.Thishedid,receivinghisBachelor theUSArmy’sSignalCorps,whousedthem
havingconvincedhismotherthatheneeded ofSciencediplomainthespringof1914, asthefirstUSMilitaryaircrafttobebased
toattend.Thesetrials,flownbyOrvilleWright makinghimMIT’sfirstaeronautical overseasinMarch1916.
atFortMyer,Virginia,werethefinaltestsof engineeringgraduate. Theywereassignedtothe1stCompany,
theaircraftpriortoitsacceptancebytheUS Hesoimpressedhisprofessorswithhis 2ndAeroSquadronatFortMillson
Army.Donaldhadalreadyshowngreat driveandperformancethathewas CorregidorinthePhilippines,where,
interestinthedevelopmentsinaviation,but immediatelyhiredbyMITasanassistant equippedwithradios,theyassistedthecoastal
witnessingtheseeventswasplantaseedthat professorinaeronauticsforthenextyear.The artillerytoadjusttheirfirebyreportingthe
wastogrowrapidly. professorwhorecommendedthishiringwas fallofshot.Douglas’sfirstaircraftdesign
OnceattheNavalAcademy,asidefromhis toplayanimportantroleinthelifeofDonald provedtobeawinner,notjustinthesalesit
studies,Donaldfoundthetimeandresources Douglas,anotherAnnapolisgraduatewho generatedforMartin,butinsettingthree➤
TheDouglasDC-3/C-47Dakota9
Above:TheMartinModelS,DonaldDouglas’s
firstdesign.Editor’sCollection
Left:ConnecticutAircraftCompanyDN-1,the
firstdirigiblefortheUSNavy,approachingits
floatinghangaratPensacola,Florida.
NationalMuseumofNavalAviation
worldaltitudeandanendurancerecordin TheMartinGMP,Douglas’sfirst
1916,thelatterofwhichwastostandforthree passengertransportdesign.USAF
years.Notabadresultforthefirstdesignby
theyoungengineer.
WhileworkingatMartin,Douglashadmet
ayoungregisterednursebythenameof
CharlotteMargueriteOgg.Afterashort
engagement,theyweremarriedinRiverside,
Douglashavingdecidedthattheclimateand
lifestyleofCaliforniaweremuchtohisliking,
notjustpersonally,butbecausethegood
weatherallowedforopenairaircraft
constructionanduninterruptedtestflying.
Hisambitiontoraiseafamilyandworkin
Californiawasthwartedinitially,astheMartin
andWrightCompaniesamalgamatedin Afteronlyayearinpost,GlennMartin However,ondeliveryoftheaircraftto
August1916,Douglasresigningfromhis askedhimtoresumehisroleofchief McCookFieldatDayton,Ohio,nooneatthe
positioninNovember. engineeratthenewlyreformedGlennMartin companyhadtelephonedtheAirServiceoffice
Hisresignationwascauseddirectlybyhis Company,andDouglasjumpedatthechance. theretotellthemthenewbomberwascoming.
successwiththeModelS;theUSArmySignal Thenewcompanyhadbeenformedat Itwaswartime,soalargeunknownbomber
Corpsofferedhimthepostofchiefcivilian Cleveland,Ohio,aftertherehadbeenafalling suddenlyarrivingatamilitaryfieldcaused
aeronauticalengineer,atremendousvoteof outbetweenMartinandWright,withGlenn consternation,theaircraftbeingmetby
confidenceinhiscapabilitiesasanengineer. Martinelectingtoresumeindependent alarmedandarmedguards,weaponsdrawn.
Again,thiswasnottobealongemployment, aircraftdesignandconstruction.TheUS ThecrewoftestpilotEricSpringer,owner
ashequicklydiscoveredthefrustrationsof Army’sAirServicewaslookingtoacquirea GlennMartinanddesignerDonaldDouglas
workingwithingovernmentadministration, twinenginedbomberwithaperformanceand himselfweresavedbyDouglas’scolourfuluse
particularlyonethatremainedunconvincedas payloadsuperiortothatoftheBritishHandley ofprofanity,convincinglyAmericanenoughto
totheviabilityofaviation. Page0/400,andMartinhadrespondedwhen persuadetheirarmedescortthataninvasion
thearmyissueditsofficialrequirement. hadnotbegun.Aftertrials,theAirService
Douglas’sfirsttaskwasthedesignofthis, acceptedtheMB-1,knownastheGMBor
hislargestaircrafttodatewithawingspanof GlennMartinBomber,inOctober1918.An
71ft5in(21.77m).TheMB-1,asitwasknown orderforsixwasquicklyfilled,thefirstfour
insidethecompany,quicklytookshape beingconfiguredforreconnaissance,thelast
aroundapairof400hpLiberty12Aengines, twoasbombers.Fourmorewerebuiltbythe
makingitsfirstflightonAugust17,1918.It endoftheFirstWorldWar,atwhichpointall
wasaconventionaltwinenginedbiplane,with furthercontractswerecancelled.
thecrewofthreehousedinopencockpits. Whilethelastfouraircraftwerebeing
Forsuchalargeaircraft,itshandlingwas built,itwasdecidedtoproducethefinalthree
describedassprightly,thebomberbeing inexperimentalconfigurations.Thefirstwas
docileandstable,butwithaquickresponseto theGMTorGlennMartinTranscontinental,a
thecontrols. longrangeversionofthebomberwith
TheMB-1hadamaximumspeedof additionalfueltanksthatgaveita1500mile
105mph(169kph)andcouldcarryaloadof (2400km)endurance.Thesecondwasthe
1040lbofbombs(472kg)overarangeof390 GMC,withtheCstandingforCannon,which
miles(628km).Thereargunnerandthe mounteda37mmcannoninthefrontcockpit.
bombardier’spositionswerebotharmedwith Thethirdversionwastheonewhichwasto
.30calmachinegunsonflexiblemountsfor havealastingeffectonDonaldDouglas,
defence.Givenhisrecentemployment changinghisgoalsandambitionsinaviation.
history,DonaldDouglasknewthe ThiswastheGMP,orPassenger,withan
requirementandthepeoplerunningthe enclosedcockpitforthecrewand10
DonaldDouglasandDavidDavis, projectoffice,sowasabletoensurehis passengers,whichlaterbecameknownasthe
foundersoftheDavis-DouglasCompany.
aircraftmetorexceededalloftheplanned T-1.Itwasthedesignandproductionofthis
SanDiegoAirandSpaceMuseum
targetsforthebomber. aircraftthatconvincedDonaldDouglasthat
10 DOUGLASAIRCRAFTCOMPANY