5184 x 3456 px | 43,9 x 29,3 cm | 17,3 x 11,5 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
12 juillet 2015
Lieu:
Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambrisgeshire, UK
Informations supplémentaires:
The Douglas DC-3 is a fixed-wing propeller-driven airliner. Its speed & range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made. The major military version was designated the C-47 Skytrain, & over 10, 000 were produced. Many DC-3s and converted C-47s are still usedall over the world. The DC-3 was the result of a marathon telephone call from American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith to Donald Douglas, during which Smith persuaded a reluctant Douglas to design a sleeper aircraft based on the DC-2 to replace American's Curtiss Condor II biplanes. Douglas agreed only after Smith informed him of American's intention to purchase 20 aircraft. The aircraft was engineered by a team led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond over the next two years, & the prototype DST ( Douglas Sleeper Transport) first flew on December 17, 1935 (the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina). A version with 21 passenger seats instead of the sleeping berths was also designed & given the designation DC-3. There was no prototype DC-3; the first DC-3 built followed seven DSTs off the production line. Total production of all derivatives was 16, 079. More than 400 remained in commercial service in 1998. The amenities of the DC-3 & DST popularized air travel in the United States. With only three refueling stops, eastbound transcontinental flights crossing the U.S. in approximately 15 hours became possible This Breitling DC-3 HB-IRJ was delivered to American Airlines 12th March 1940 as “Flagship Cleveland”. It was leased to the U.S. Army between 1942 & 1944, then bought by Trans Texas in February 1949, & later by Texas Int’l in 1968. Tradewinds restored her in 1969 In 2008, Francisco Agullo bought her. Since May 2009, it is operated by the Super Constellation Flyers Association.
