Douglas DC-2

Early passenger and military transporter

Overview

Douglas United States ICAO: DC2 1934–1939

The Douglas DC-2 was a twin-engine airliner developed and produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Introduced in 1934, it is a fourteen-seater aircraft that competed with the Boeing 247 airliner.

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Specifications

Units
Engine
2 × Wright GR-1820-F52 Cyclone
Engine type
Piston
Power
2 × 875 hp · 652 kW
Avionics
—
Wing tips
No winglets
Seats
17
Crew
—
Cabin width
—
Cabin height
—
Cabin length
—
Exterior length
62 ft 0 in  ·  18.90 m
Tail height
16 ft 4 in  ·  4.97 m
Fuselage diameter
6 ft 7 in  ·  2.00 m
Wing span
85 ft 0 in  ·  25.90 m
Baggage volume
188 ft³  ·  5.3 m³
Gross weight
—
Empty weight
—
Max takeoff weight
18,600 lb  ·  8,400 kg
Max landing weight
—
Max payload
4,150 lb  ·  1,900 kg
Fuel capacity
800 gal · 3,000 L · 2,200 kg (AvGas)
Max cruise speed
180 kt  ·  207 mph  ·  333 km/h
Maximum speed
—
Cruise speed
—
Approach speed
—
Range
870 nm  ·  1,000 mi  ·  1,610 km
Fuel burn
—
Ceiling
22,450 ft  ·  6,800 m
Rate of climb
1,000 ft/min  ·  5 m/s
Takeoff distance
—
Landing distance
—
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Douglas DC-2-120 of Delta Airlines

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Operational Context

In 1933, the Douglas DC-2 was developed when the manufacturing company Douglas Aircraft Company and Trans World Airlines prearranged to lengthen the fuselage of the DC-1 airliner by two feet and to add one extra row of seats which resulted in a 14-seater aircraft.

Trans World Airlines ordered twenty of this version. The design drew attention to other American and European airlines and several orders followed. Commercial and military variants of the aircraft became well-known and padded the skies all over the world.

The largest customer of the Douglas DC-2 was the United States Army Air Corps. On May 11, 1934, the first DC-2 took its first flight. It was produced from 1934 to 1939 with a total of 198 aircraft built. Even though dominated by its descendant DC-3, it was the DC-2 that initially demonstrated that passenger transport over the air could be enjoyable, secure, and attested.

The DC-2 has an exterior length of 18.8 meters, a height of 4.9 meters, and a fuselage diameter of 2 meters. It could accommodate two to three crew members and up to fourteen passengers in flight. The wingspan is 25.9 meters and the wing area is 87.2 square meters. It has a wheelbase of 10 meters.

The aircraft is powered by a twin GR-1820-F52 Cyclone engines by Wright Aeronautical. It is a nine-cylinder single-row supercharged air-cooled radial piston engine with two overhead valves per cylinder with a sodium-filled exhaust valve, a single-speed General Electric centrifugal-type supercharger, a Stromberg downdraft carburetor with automatic mixture control, and a dry-sump with one pressure and one scavenging pump oil system. Each engine produces a maximum thrust of 875 horsepower. The aircraft also features three-bladed variable-pitch metal propellers.

The DC-2 has a maximum speed of 180 knots and a cruise speed of 170 knots at 8,000 feet. The travel range is 870 nautical miles. It could fly up to 22,450 feet and could climb at a rate of 1,000 feet per minute. The maximum takeoff weight is 8,419 kg and the maximum landing weight is 1,876 kg.