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Douglas DC-1
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<h2 id="design-and-development">Design and development</h2> <p>Development of the DC-1 can be traced back to the <a href="/facts/1931_Transcontinental_%2526_Western_Air_Fokker_F-10_crash/TqRgwQkB">1931 crash</a> of a <a href="/facts/Trans_World_Airlines/zRCD2X1J">TWA</a> airliner, a <a href="/facts/Fokker_F-10/WzHnfXx2">Fokker F-10</a> trimotor in which a wing failed, likely because water had seeped between the layers of the wood laminate and dissolved the glue holding the layers together. Following the accident, the <a href="/facts/United_States_government_role_in_civil_aviation/tMG7TGX1">Aeronautics Branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce</a> placed stringent restrictions on the use of wooden wings on passenger airliners.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Boeing/tF5sMe9F">Boeing</a> developed an answer, the <a href="/facts/Boeing_247/nJYrQtof">247</a>, a twin-engined all-metal <a href="/facts/Monoplane/2fLoovyH">monoplane</a> with a retractable undercarriage, but their production capacity was reserved to meet the needs of <a href="/facts/United_Airlines/0tCTdbNh">United Airlines</a>, part of <a href="/facts/United_Aircraft_and_Transport_Corporation/gbTFj3lX">United Aircraft and Transport Corporation</a> which also owned Boeing. TWA needed a similar aircraft to respond to competition from the Boeing 247 and they asked five manufacturers to bid for construction of a three-engined, 12-seat aircraft of all-metal construction, capable of flying 1,080 mi (1,740 km) at 150 mph (242 km/h). The most demanding part of the specification was that the airliner would have to be capable of safely taking off from any airport on TWA's main routes (and in particular <a href="/facts/Albuquerque/SATmBfJb">Albuquerque</a>, at high altitude and with severe summer temperatures) with one engine non-functioning.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Donald_Wills_Douglas_Sr./e2uRU5sh">Donald Douglas</a> was initially reluctant to participate in the invitation from TWA. He doubted that there would be a market for 100 aircraft, the number of sales necessary to cover development costs. Nevertheless, he submitted a design consisting of an <a href="/facts/Aluminium/7wmR8jYE">all-metal</a>, low-wing, twin-engined aircraft seating 12 passengers, a crew of two and a flight attendant. The aircraft exceeded the specifications of TWA even with only two engines, principally through the use of <a href="/facts/Variable-pitch_propeller_(aeronautics)/IC1o922Q">controllable pitch propellers</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> It was insulated against noise, heated, and fully capable of both flying and performing a controlled takeoff or landing on one engine. </p><p>Donald Douglas stated in 1935 that the first DC-1 cost $325,000 to design and build.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="operational-history">Operational history</h2> <p>Only one aircraft was produced. The prototype <a href="/facts/Maiden_flight/LW569ILn">first flew</a> on July 1, 1933,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> flown by <a href="/facts/Carl_Cover/hVcUhakv">Carl Cover</a>. It was given the model name DC-1, or Douglas Commercial Model 1.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> During a half-year of testing, it performed more than 200 test flights and demonstrated its superiority over the most-used airliners at that time, the <a href="/facts/Ford_Trimotor/00U6dS73">Ford Trimotor</a> and <a href="/facts/Fokker_F.VII/2m0tWtP6">Fokker Trimotor</a>. It was flown across the United States on February 19, 1934, making the journey in the record time of 13 hours 5 minutes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>TWA accepted the aircraft on 15 September 1933 with a few modifications (mainly increasing seating to 14 passengers and adding more powerful engines) and subsequently ordered 20 examples of the developed production model which was named the <a href="/facts/Douglas_DC-2/YBnacuwV">Douglas DC-2</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>The DC-1 was sold to <a href="/facts/Lord_Forbes/zHK7oJIL">Lord Forbes</a> in the United Kingdom in May 1938, who operated it for a few months before selling it in <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a> in October 1938. It was then sold to <i><a href="/facts/L%25C3%25ADneas_A%25C3%25A9reas_Postales_Espa%25C3%25B1olas/y3mxEMPJ">Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas</a></i> (L.A.P.E.) in <a href="/facts/Spain/bIyrB8EY">Spain</a> in November 1938 and was also used by the <a href="/facts/Spanish_Republican_Air_Force/ytXcgSmN">Spanish Republican Air Force</a> as a transport aircraft.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> It was later operated by <a href="/facts/Iberia_Airlines/5LLStAJn">Iberia Airlines</a> from July 1939 with the name <i>Negron</i>; it force-landed at <a href="/facts/M%25C3%25A1laga_Airport/4cyKpsJL">Málaga Airport</a>, Spain, on October 4, 1940 and was damaged beyond repair.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="specifications-dc-1">Specifications (DC-1)</h2> <p><i>Data from</i> McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></p><p>General characteristics </p><ul><li>Crew: 2 pilots</li> <li>Capacity: 12 passengers</li> <li>Length: 60 ft 0 in (18.29 m)</li> <li>Wingspan: 85 ft 0 in (25.91 m)</li> <li>Height: 16 ft 0 in (4.88 m)</li> <li>Wing area: 942 sq ft (87.5 m2)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Airfoil/2d3l6hKd">Airfoil</a>: root: <a href="/facts/NACA_airfoil/cBUodM1n">NACA 2215</a>; tip: <a href="/facts/NACA_airfoil/cBUodM1n">NACA 2209</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></li> <li>Empty weight: 11,780 lb (5,343 kg)</li> <li>Gross weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)</li> <li>Powerplant: 2 × <a href="/facts/Wright_SGR-1820F3_Cyclone/omQKlIo7">Wright SGR-1820F3 Cyclone</a> 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 690 hp (510 kW) each</li> <li>Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch metal propellers</li></ul> <p>Performance </p> <ul><li>Maximum speed: 210 mph (340 km/h, 180 kn)</li> <li>Cruise speed: 190 mph (310 km/h, 170 kn) at 8,000 ft (2,400 m)</li> <li>Range: 1,000 mi (1,600 km, 870 nmi)</li> <li>Service ceiling: 23,000 ft (7,000 m)</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <p> Related development </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Douglas_DC-2/YBnacuwV">Douglas DC-2</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Douglas_DC-3/NWdzDB2u">Douglas DC-3</a></li></ul> <p>Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Boeing_247/nJYrQtof">Boeing 247</a></li></ul> <p> Related lists </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_civil_aircraft/VJsoY0qm">List of civil aircraft</a></li></ul> <h3>Notes</h3> <h3>Bibliography</h3> <ul><li>Francillon, René J. (1979). <i>McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920</i>. London: Putnam. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-370-00050-1.</li> <li>Freidman, Herbert M. and Ada Kera Friedman. "The Legacy of the Rockne Crash". <i>Aeroplane</i>, Vol. 29, No. 5, Issue 337, May 2001, pp. 34–40. London: IPC. ISSN 0143-7240.</li> <li>Gradidge, Jennifer M., ed. (2006). <i>DC-1, DC-2, DC-3: The First Seventy Years</i>. Tonbridge: Air-Britain (Historians). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-85130-332-3.</li> <li>O'Leary, Michael. "Database: Douglas DC-1 & DC-2". <i><a href="/facts/Aeroplane_Monthly/DxcG4F4e">Aeroplane</a></i>, Vol. 35, No. 2, Issue 406, February 2007, pp. 70–89. London: IPC. ISSN 0143-7240.</li> <li>Pearcy, Arthur. "Douglas Commercial Two". <i><a href="/facts/Air_Enthusiast/nwFyK41v">Air Enthusiast</a></i>, Nineteen, August–November 1982, pp. 60–77. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. ISSN 0143-5450.</li> <li>Serrano, José Luis González (March–April 1999). "Fifty Years of DC Service: Douglas Transports Used by the Spanish Air Force". <i>Air Enthusiast</i> (80): 61–71. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0143-5450">0143-5450</a>.</li> <li>Smith, Richard K. (1998). <a href="https://www.amc.af.mil/Portals/12/documents/AFD-141230-027.pdf"><i>Seventy-Five Years of Inflight Refueling: Highlights 1923–1998</i></a> (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=99pjuOJ9aFYC&pg=PA85-IA1">"Inside the Douglas Transport"</a>. <i><a href="/facts/Popular_Aviation/QLs2JQEB">Popular Aviation</a></i>. XIV (2): 86–88. February 1934. A contemporary, somewhat technical article on the Douglas DC-1.</li> <li><a href="http://www.aviation-history.com/douglas/dc3.html">Douglas DC-1, 2, and 3</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.flyinghigher.net/douglas/NC223Y.html">Douglas DC-1</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110723130512/http://www.flyinghigher.net/douglas/NC223Y.html">Archived</a> 2011-07-23 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dc3history.org/douglasdc1.html">The Beginning of an Era: The DC-1</a></li> <li><a href="https://dc3dakotahistory.org/douglas-dc-1/douglas-dc-1-3/">Douglas DC-1 - Douglas DC-3/Dakota History</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220906212522/https://dc3dakotahistory.org/douglas-dc-1/douglas-dc-1-3/">Archived</a> 2022-09-06 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/auburnuniversitydigitallibrary/3018967837/">Photo: The DC-1 before sale to Howard Hughes</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/lord-forbes-and-his-new-douglas-airliner-on-arrival-from-news-photo/3352218">Photo: Lord Forbes inspecting the DC-1 in London Docks on arrival in 1938</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iberialineasaereas/5811450762/">Photo: The DC-1 in Spain</a></li> <li><a href="https://digitalcollections.museumofflight.org/items/show/46307">DC-1 Handbook</a> – The Museum of Flight Digital Collections</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Friedman and Friedman, Aeroplane Monthly May 2001, pp. 34–40. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>O'Leary, Aeroplane Monthly February 2007, p. 71. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Francillon 1979, p. 166 - Francillon, René J. (1979). McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-00050-1. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Pearcy, Air Enthusiast 1982, p. 60. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Smith 1998, p. 10 - Smith, Richard K. (1998). Seventy-Five Years of Inflight Refueling: Highlights 1923–1998 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. <a href="https://www.amc.af.mil/Portals/12/documents/AFD-141230-027.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.amc.af.mil/Portals/12/documents/AFD-141230-027.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Douglas Tells Secrets of Speed". Popular Mechanics. February 1935. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=yN8DAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1935+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA213" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=yN8DAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1935+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA213</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Gradidge 2006, p. 9 - Gradidge, Jennifer M., ed. (2006). DC-1, DC-2, DC-3: The First Seventy Years. Tonbridge: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-332-3. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Historical Snapshot: DC-1 Commercial Transport". Boeing. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2022. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230604075520/https://www.boeing.com/history/products/dc-1.page" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20230604075520/https://www.boeing.com/history/products/dc-1.page</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Air Power History" (PDF). Air Power History. Vol. 57, no. 1. April 1, 2010. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-30. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181130113056/http://www.afhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2010_Spring.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20181130113056/http://www.afhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2010_Spring.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Gradidge 2006, p. 299 - Gradidge, Jennifer M., ed. (2006). DC-1, DC-2, DC-3: The First Seventy Years. Tonbridge: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-332-3. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Aircraft that took part in the Spanish Civil War". Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War (zi.ku). Archived from the original on 2015-02-05. Retrieved February 4, 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150205085135/http://www.zi.ku.dk/personal/drnash/model/Spain/did.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20150205085135/http://www.zi.ku.dk/personal/drnash/model/Spain/did.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Gradidge 2006, p. 299 - Gradidge, Jennifer M., ed. (2006). DC-1, DC-2, DC-3: The First Seventy Years. Tonbridge: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-332-3. <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Francillon 1979, p. 173. <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019. <a href="https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html" target="_blank">https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>