Douglas DC-5
DC-5/C-110/R3D | |
---|---|
US Navy Douglas R3D-2 | |
Role | Transport |
Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
Designer | Donald Douglas |
First flight | 20 February 1939 |
Introduction | 1940 |
Retired | 1949 |
Status | Retired |
Primary users | KNILM KLM United States Navy United States Marine Corps |
Number built | 12 |
Developed from | Douglas DB-7 |
The Douglas DC-5 (Douglas Commercial Model 5) was a 16-to-22-seat, twin-engine propeller aircraft intended for shorter routes than the Douglas DC-3 or Douglas DC-4. By the time it entered commercial service in 1940, many airlines were canceling orders for aircraft. Consequently, only five civilian DC-5s were built. With the Douglas Aircraft Company already converting to World War II military production, the DC-5 was soon overtaken by world events, although a limited number of military variants were produced.
Design and development
The DC-5 was developed in 1938 as a 16-22 seat
The fuselage was about two feet above the ground, so loading of passengers and cargo was easier than aircraft with the then-standard conventional landing gear.[4] A very early design change was the addition of a 15-degree dihedral to the horizontal tail group to negate a hint of an aeroelasticity problem. The dorsal strake, introduced in minimal form and expanded to full growth on the Boeing 307, is also well developed on the DC-5. Another significant modification was adding exhaust stacks to the engine nacelles, which was retroactively incorporated after the series entered production.[5] An unusual optical trick was applied to the prototype. The top of the vertical stabilizer and the outline of the engine nacelles were painted a darker color following the aircraft's contour, making the tail and engines appear somewhat smaller and the aircraft sleeker.[6]
Prior to US entry into World War II, one prototype and four production aircraft were built.
Operational history
The prototype DC-5, Douglas serial 411, was built at
The first customer for the type was
A dozen DC-5s were completed, of which four went into commercial service with KLM. The first two initially were put to use by the
The three remaining aircraft made their way safely to Australia where they were sold to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and operated for the Allied Directorate of Air Transport (ADAT). Two were destroyed by the end of 1942, the other was transferred to Australian National Airways (ANA), which operated it throughout the war on behalf of ADAT. In 1944 the USAAF retroactively designated the three aircraft C-110 for administrative purposes.
In 1939, the USN ordered seven aircraft. Three were delivered as R3D-1s, the first of which crashed before delivery. The remaining four were R3D-2s for the USMC and were equipped with 1,015 hp R-1820-44 engines, a large cargo hold, and 22 seats for paratroopers.[6]
After World War II, production of the DC-5 was not resumed because of the abundance of surplus C-47 aircraft, converted for civil service as DC-3s. In 1948, the last surviving DC-5 was sold by Australian National Airways to another Australian airline, which smuggled it to Israel for military use. The aircraft arrived at
When the war ended and 103 Squadron moved, the DC-5 was left behind at Ramat David.[8] It eventually found its way to a technical school where it was used extensively as a ground instruction airframe at Haifa Airport. When it was no longer serviceable due to a lack of spares, the airframe was stripped of its engines and instruments and the last DC-5 was reduced to scrap in Israel sometime after 1955.[9]
Variants
- Prototype DC-5
- The prototype was sold to William E. Boeing as a personal aircraft, modified to fit 16 passenger seats.
- DC-5
- The basic passenger version: five aircraft were built, one prototype and four production aircraft.
- C-110
- Retroactive designation for three former Indonesian-registered KNILM aircraft that had been bought by the United States Army Air Forces for service in Australia on behalf of the Allied Directorate of Air Transport in March 1942.[10]
- R3D-1
- Military version of the DC-5 built for the United States Navy as 16-seat personnel carriers. Three were produced. One crashed at Mines Field, June 1, 1940. Another was retired in January 1946. The third is believed to have been used briefly by General Douglas MacArthur; retired January 1945.
- R3D-2
- Military version of the DC-5 built for the United States Marine Corps as 22-seat paratrooper version, four were produced.
- R3D-3
- The prototype, registered NC21701, sold to the military in 1942.[11] Withdrawn from use June 30, 1946, in the U.S. Navy Aeronautical Laboratory, Banana River, Florida.
Operators
Military operators
- Australia
- Israel
- Israeli Air Force operated one DC-5.
- Japan
- Imperial Japanese Army Air Forceoperated one captured Dutch DC-5.
- United States
- United States Army Air Forces three impressed in Australia in 1942 and designated C-110[10]
- United States Navy operated two R3D-1s, a further aircraft crashed before delivery.[12] In 1942 the prototype was bought.[13]
- United States Marine Corps operated four R3D-2s.[12]
Civil operators
- Australia
- Dutch West Indies
- KLM West Indies two aircraft delivered new in April and May 1940, from 1941 operated by KNILM, still owned by KLM.
- Dutch East Indies
- KNILM two aircraft delivered to KLM in June/July 1940, sold to the Netherlands East Indies Government and leased to KNILM,[14] two further aircraft transferred from KLM West Indies in 1941. Three escaped to Australia in February 1942 and one damaged in a Japanese air raid in February 1942 was repaired and used by the Japanese Army.
- United States
- William E. Boeing operated one DC-5 delivered in 1940, sold to United States Navy in 1942.[13]
Known airframes
Construction number | Civilian registration | Initial service date | Military service registration | last noted | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
424 | PH-AXA | Reservation for KLM as PH-AXA "Alk" (reservation not taken up due to getting sent to Netherlands Antilles) | |||
as PJ-AIW | May 1940 | Went to Curaçao for KLM West Indisch bedrijf as PJ-AIW "Wakago". Went to Netherlands Indies via USA briefly after war broke out. | |||
as PK-ADC | August 1941 | Camouflage colour scheme. Was flown to Australia in February 1942 because of the Japanese threat. | |||
VH-CXB | April 1942 | USAAF unk | Used for charter work by Allied Directorate of Air Transport (ADAT) | ||
June 1944 | retro-serialled 44-83231 | 1946 | registered and assigned type designator C-110. Used by USAAF 21 squadron in USAAF colours and markings. Scrapped in 1946 at Essendon | ||
426 | PH-AXB | Reservation for KLM as PH-AXB "Boschduif", but this airframe was used for static destructive testing for modifications demanded by the Netherlands airworthiness agency. Douglas replaced it with a new c/n 426 | |||
426 | PH-AXG | Reservation for KLM as PH-AXG "Grutto" (reservation not taken up due to getting sent to Netherlands Antilles) | |||
PJ-AIZ | 30 May 1940 | Went to Curaçao for KLM West Indisch bedrijf as PJ-AIZ "Zonvogel". Went to Netherlands Indies via USA briefly after war broke out. | |||
PK-ADD | August 1941 | Camouflage colour scheme. Was flown to Australia in February 1942 because of the Japanese threat. | |||
41-426/VH-CXC | April 1942 | Used for charter work by Allied Directorate of Air Transport (ADAT) | |||
June 1944 | retro-serialled 44-83232 | registered and assigned type designator C-110. Used by USAAF 21 squadron in USAAF colours and markings | |||
VH-ARD | July 1946 | Sold to Australian National Airways and later to Gregory Richmond Board in Sydney, yet later to New Holland Airways as 'Bali Clipper'. | |||
1501 | 1948 | 1962 | Sold via Italy to Israeli Air Force; received IAF serial 1501, Went to Israëli AF Technical School in Haifa. Supposedly scrapped in mid-1960s. | ||
428 | PH-AXB | Reservation for KLM as PH-AXB "Boschduif" | |||
PK-ADB/D-904 | May 1940 | went to KNILM in Netherlands-Indies. | |||
Camouflage colour scheme. Was flown to Australia in February 1942 because of the Japanese threat. | |||||
41-428/VH-CXA | April 1942 | Used for charter work by Allied Directorate of Air Transport (ADAT). Supposedly damaged during Japanese attack on Port Moresby (PNG) August 1942 others say a Parafield (South Aus) end of 1942. | |||
June 1944 | retro-serialled 44-83230 | registered and assigned type designator C-110, even though it had been written off 18 months earlier. | |||
430 | PH-AXE | Reservation for KLM as PH-AXE "Eend" | |||
PK-ADA/D-905 | went to KNILM in Netherlands-Indies. | ||||
March 1942 | Captured by Japanese troops, repaired and flown to Tokio for testing. | ||||
1945 | scrapped |
Specifications (DC-5)
Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1939,[17] McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I[18]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Capacity: 16-24 passengers
- Length: 62 ft 2 in (18.95 m)
- Wingspan: 78 ft (24 m)
- Height: 19 ft 10 in (6.05 m)
- Wing area: 824 sq ft (76.6 m2)
- Airfoil: root: NACA 23018; tip: NACA 23012[19]
- Empty weight: 13,674 lb (6,202 kg)
- Gross weight: 20,000 lb (9,072 kg)
- Fuel capacity: ~550 US gal (460 imp gal; 2,100 L) ; 34 US gal (28 imp gal; 130 L) oil in two nacelle tanks
- Powerplant: 2 × Wright GR-1820-G102A Cyclone9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 900 hp (670 kW) each at 2,300 rpm and 6,700 ft (2,000 m)
- Propellers: 3-bladed Hamilton-StandardHydromatic fully-feathering variable-pitch propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 230 mph (370 km/h, 200 kn) at 7,700 ft (2,300 m)
- Cruise speed: 195 mph (314 km/h, 169 kn) 65% power at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
- Range: 1,600 mi (2,600 km, 1,400 nmi) maximum
- Service ceiling: 23,700 ft (7,200 m)
- Absolute ceiling on one engine: 11,400 ft (3,500 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,585 ft/min (8.05 m/s)
- Wing loading: 24.3 lb/sq ft (119 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 0.11 hp/lb (0.18 kW/kg)
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
- List of aircraft of World War II
- List of civil aircraft
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)
Notes
- ^ "DC-5/C-110 Transport". Boeing. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ Delta 1993, p. 14.
- ^ Delta 1993, p. 15.
- ^ Juptner 1994, p. 106
- ^ Delta 1993, pp. 15–16.
- ^ a b c d Verstappen, Harrie. "Douglas DC-5: 'The Forgotten Douglas'." Curassow: The Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao. via vrcurassow.com, September 4, 2001. Retrieved: June 6, 2010.
- ^ Delta 1993, p. 65.
- ^ Norton 2004, p. 109.
- ^ Delta 1993, pp. 64–65.
- ^ a b Andrade 1979, p. 84
- ^ William E. Boeing
- ^ a b Andrade 1979, p. 214
- ^ a b FAA file NC21701
- ^ Piet Kok - Douglas DC-5, page 96.
- ^ "Tweede Register 1929 - 1949 Herman Dekker".
- ^ "IPMS Nederland - Douglas DC-5".
- ^ Grey, C.G.; Bridgman, Leonard, eds. (1939). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1939. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. p. 245c.
- ISBN 0870214284.
- ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
Bibliography
- Delta, Mike. "Forgotten Five: The history of the very limited production of the Douglas DC-5 Airliner." Air Classics, Volume 29, Number 7, July 1993. ISSN 0002-2241.
- Francillon, René J. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920. London: Putnam, 1979. ISBN 0-370-00050-1.
- Jupnter, Joseph P. U.S. Civil Aircraft Series, Vol 8.. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: TAB Books, 1994. ISBN 0-8306-4373-7.
- Ledet, Michel (April 2002). "Des avions alliés aux couleurs japonais" [Allied Aircraft in Japanese Colors]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (109): 17–21. ISSN 1243-8650.
- Ledet, Michel (May 2002). "Des avions alliés aux couleurs japonais". Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (110): 16–23. ISSN 1243-8650.
- Norton, Bill. On The Edge: A History of the Israeli Air Force and its Aircraft since 1947. Hinckley, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 2004. ISBN 1-85780-088-5.
- Pearcy, Arthur. Douglas Propliners: DC-1 – DC-7. London: Airlife, 1995. ISBN 1-85310-261-X.