The Douglas DC-3
is considered by some to be the most successful civil aircraft ever built.
The technical innovations included retractable landing gear, wing flaps,
variable-pitch propellers, stressed-skin structure, flush riveting and Jack
Northrop's multi-cellular wing structure.
The first airplane
flew in 1935. American Airlines was the first to use the DC-3 commercially
and on June 25th 1936 between New York and Chicago. United Airlines became
the second DC-3 customer in November 1936, and KLM in the Netherlands was
the first overseas DC-3 user. By the end of 1938, 95 percent of all U.S.
commercial airline traffic flew on DC-3s. By 1939, 90 percent of the world's
airline traffic was being carried by these aircraft. Douglas built a total
of 10,655 of the DC-3 series and about another 2,500 planes were built under
license in the Soviet Union and Japan.
When the war began,
many commercial DC-3s were pressed into military service as the C-47. These
planes were attractive because of their large load-carrying capacity. Their
normal range was 1,500 miles, but adding fuel tanks extended the range.
The Army Air Forces became the largest purchaser of DC-3 military derivatives,
acquiring some 10,000 aircraft. After the war, a large number of C-47s
became surplus and joined the commercial air fleet, seeing use by almost
every airline and many militaries around the world.
The Museum's DC-3,
Serial No. 3269, was rolled out at the Douglas plant in Santa Monica on
January 17, 1941, and sold to TWA with Civil Aviation Authority license
no. NC 1944. In 1956 the air-craft was transferred to the Union Oil Company
(Union 76) and the license was changed to N760. Union Oil used the
aircraft as an executive transport until it was donated to the California
Science Center at Exposition Park in Los Angeles. The Science Center loaned
the airplane to WMOF in October, 2001.
Douglas DC-3 Specification
Manufacturer
Douglas Aircraft, Santa Monica, California
Number Built
Over 18,000
Wing Span
95 ft
Overall Length
64 ft 5½ in
Overall Height
16 ft 11½ in
Speed (Maximum)
207 mph
Range (Maximum)
2,125 miles
Altitude (Maximum)
23,200 Feet
Power plants
Two 895-kW Pratt and Whitney R-1830-S1C3G Twin Wasp radials
at 1200 hp
