5/11/1934: the Douglas DC-2 Takes Flight
Today in Aviation, the Douglas DC-2 operated its maiden flight in 1934. In command was Douglas Test Pilot Carl Cover.
Today in Aviation, the Douglas DC-2 operated its maiden flight in 1934. In command was Douglas Test Pilot Carl Cover.
DALLAS - Today in Aviation, the Douglas DC-2 operated its maiden flight in 1934. In command was Douglas Test Pilot Carl Cover.
The DC-2 was a larger, re-engined development of the DC-1. Douglas had developed the latter following a request from Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA). After six months of testing, the manufacturer modified the aircraft, and TWA ordered 20, becoming the launch customer.
When it entered service with TWA on May 18, the type proved very popular with airlines and passengers alike. The airline placed the DC-2 on its "Sky Chief" overnight coast-to-coast flights. It would leave New York at 4 pm and arrive in Los Angeles at 7 am local time. Stops were made in Chicago, Kansas City, Missouri, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The DC-2 set 19 American speed and distance records during its first six months of service.
It also became the first Douglas airliner to enter service with a foreign airline. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) entered its maiden example 'Uiver' (PH-AJU) into the 1934 MacRobetson Air Race from London to Melbourne.
Uiver flew 9,000 miles (14,484 km) along KLM's regular route, 1,000 miles (1,609 km) longer than the official route. It carried passengers and mail, got lost during a thunderstorm, and stuck in the mud during a diversionary landing. The aircraft finished in second place after a total journey time of 90 hours and 13 minutes.
Douglas would build 130 civilian versions of the DC-2 and 62 for the US military between 1934 and 1937 before the renowned DC-3 took over.
https://airwaysmag.com/maiden-flight-md-80/
Featured image: The Douglas DC-2 was developed for TWA but became hugely popular with airlines worldwide. Photo: SDASM Archives, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
.webp)
David H. Stringer, the History Editor for AIRWAYS Magazine, has chronicled the story of the commercial aviation industry with his airline history articles that have appeared in AIRWAYS over two decades. Here, for the first time, is a compilation of those articles.
Subjects A through C are presented in this first of three volumes. Covering topics such as the airlines of Alaska at the time of statehood and Canada's regional airlines of the 1960s, the individual histories of such carriers as Allegheny, American, Braniff, and Continental are also included in Volume One. Get your copy today!
