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75-536: 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,

150-629: A Farman biplane and a Grade monoplane , which had been brought back by the officers from Western Europe. On December 19, 1909, Captain Yoshitoshi Tokugawa in a Farman III conducted the first successful powered flight on Japanese soil at Yoyogi Parade Ground in Tokyo. The following year in 1911, several more aircraft were imported and an improved version of the Farman III biplane, the Kaishiki No.1 ,

225-615: A division , the unit was a brigade-sized force, and was part of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS). The Teishin units were therefore distinct from the marine parachute units of the Special Naval Landing Forces . ' Giretsu ' ( 義烈空挺隊 , Giretsu Kūteitai ) was an airborne special forces unit of the Imperial Japanese Army formed from Army paratroopers , in late 1944 as

300-503: A "DC-3 replacement" over the next three decades (including the very successful Fokker F27 Friendship ), but no single type could match the versatility, rugged reliability, and economy of the DC-3. While newer airliners soon replaced it on longer high-capacity routes, it remained a significant part of air transport systems well into the 1970s as a regional airliner before being replaced by early regional jets . Perhaps unique among prewar aircraft,

375-758: A complete re-organization of the Army Air Service resulted in the creation of the Hikō Sentai ( 飛行戦隊 , Air Combat Group) , which replaced all of the former Air Battalions and Air Regiments. Each Air Combat Group was a single-purpose unit consisting typically of three squadrons, divided into three shōtai ( 小隊 , flights) of three aircraft each. Together with reserve aircraft and the headquarters flight, an Air Combat Group typically had 45 aircraft (fighter) or up to 30 aircraft (bomber or reconnaissance). Two or more Air Combat Groups formed an Hikōdan ( 飛行団 , Air Brigade) , which, together with base and support units and

450-495: A cruising speed of 207 mph (333 km/h), a capacity of 21 to 32 passengers or 6,000 lbs (2,700 kg) of cargo, and a range of 1,500 mi (2,400 km), and can operate from short runways. The DC-3 had many exceptional qualities compared to previous aircraft. It was fast, had a good range, was more reliable, and carried passengers in greater comfort. Before the World War II, it pioneered many air travel routes. It

525-448: A decommissioned model is attached to the store. There is dine-in seating available in the plane. Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Imperial Japanese Army Air Force It did not usually control artillery spotter/observer aircraft; artillery battalions controlled the light aircraft and balloons that operated in these roles. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service

600-618: A last-ditch attempt to reduce and delay Allied bombing raids on the Japanese home islands . The Giretsu Special Forces unit was commanded by Lieutenant General Kyoji Tominaga . In 1940 the Japanese Army Air Service consisted of the following: The Japanese Air Army Force had one technical section, the First Tachikawa Air Army Arsenal, which was in charge of aviation research and development. The Arsenal included

675-529: A number of Independent Squadrons, formed an Hikō Shudan ( 飛行集団 , Air Corps) . In 1942, the Air Corps were renamed Hikō Shidan ( 飛行師団 , Air Divisions) , to mirror the terminology for infantry divisions , but the structure remained the same. Two Air Divisions, together with some independent units made an Kōkū gun ( 航空軍 , Air Army) . Throughout most of the Pacific War , the Japanese Army Air Service

750-501: A single Nieuport VI-M monoplane flew 86 sorties between them. In December 1915, an air battalion based around 1 air company and 1 balloon company was created under the Army Transport Command and located at Tokorozawa . The Army Transport Command became responsible for all air operations. In total 10 aircraft were added the Army Air Service in 1914 and 1915. A number of Japanese pilots served with French flying corp during

825-771: A testing section for captured Allied aircraft, the Air Technical Research Laboratory (Koku Gijutsu Kenkyujo). The Army Air Arsenal was also connected with Tachikawa Hikoki K.K. and Rikugun Kokukosho K.K. , the Army-owned and operated aircraft manufacturing companies. much as the IJNAS operated its own firm, the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal . Due to the poor relations between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy ,

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900-672: A trip entailed short hops in slower and shorter-range aircraft during the day, coupled with train travel overnight . Several radial engines were offered for the DC-3. Early-production civilian aircraft used either the 9-cylinder Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 or the 14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp , but the Twin Wasp was chosen for most military versions and was also used by most DC-3s converted from military service. Five DC-3S Super DC-3s with Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasps were built in

975-501: A very large number of civil and military operators of the DC-3/C-47 and related types, which would have made it impracticable to provide a comprehensive listing of all operators. A common saying among aviation enthusiasts and pilots is "the only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3". Its ability to use grass or dirt runways makes it popular in developing countries or remote areas, where runways may be unpaved. The oldest surviving DST

1050-399: Is N133D, the sixth Douglas Sleeper Transport built, manufactured in 1936. This aircraft was delivered to American Airlines on 12 July 1936 as NC16005. In 2011 it was at Shell Creek Airport, Punta Gorda, Florida . It has been repaired and has been flying again, with a recent flight on 25 April 2021. The oldest DC-3 still flying is the original American Airlines Flagship Detroit (c/n 1920,

1125-837: Is a conversion of the DC-3/C-47. Basler refurbishes C-47s and DC-3s at Oshkosh , Wisconsin , fitting them with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67R turboprop engines, lengthening the fuselage by 40 in (1,000 mm) with a fuselage plug ahead of the wing, and some local strengthening of the airframe. South Africa-based Braddick Specialised Air Services International (commonly referred to as BSAS International) has also performed Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop conversions, having performed modifications on over 50 DC-3/C-47s / 65ARTP / 67RTP / 67FTPs. American Airlines inaugurated passenger service on June 26, 1936, with simultaneous flights from Newark, New Jersey and Chicago , Illinois. Early U.S. airlines like American , United , TWA , Eastern , and Delta ordered over 400 DC-3s. These fleets paved

1200-498: The Taiyō Maru , Unyo Maru , Chuyo Maru , Kaiyō Maru , Shinyo Maru , Kamakura Maru , Akitsu Maru , Nigitsu Maru , Kumano Maru , Yamashiro Maru , Shimane Maru , Chigusa Maru (not completed), and Otakisan Maru (not completed) and were operated by civilian crews with Army personnel manning the light and medium anti-aircraft guns . As an integral part of the IJA,

1275-570: The Bolshevik Red Army near Vladivostok . From 1918 reorganisation of the Army Air Service, the basic unit of the Service remained the Air Battalion (航空大隊, Kōkū Daitai), with each battalion consisting of two squadrons (中隊, Chutai) with nine aircraft each, plus three reserve aircraft and three earmarked for use by the headquarters, for a total of 24 aircraft per battalion. The officer commanding

1350-581: The C-47 Skytrain (the Dakota in British RAF service), and Soviet- and Japanese-built versions, brought total production to over 16,000. Many continued to be used in a variety of niche roles; 2,000 DC-3s and military derivatives were estimated to be still flying in 2013; by 2017 more than 300 were still flying. As of 2023 it is estimated about 150 are still flying. "DC" stands for "Douglas Commercial". The DC-3

1425-696: The Hispano-Suiza engine. Nakajima later license-produced the Gloster Sparrowhawk and Bristol Jupiter . Similarly, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries started producing aircraft under license from Sopwith in 1921, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries started producing the Salmson 2 A.2 bomber from France, and hired German engineers such as Dr. Richard Vogt to produce original designs such as the Type 88 bomber. Kawasaki also produced aircraft engines under license from BMW . By

1500-675: The Japanese Home Islands . 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

1575-661: The 1930s to 1940s and World War II . It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2 . It is a low-wing metal monoplane with conventional landing gear , powered by two radial piston engines of 1,000–1,200 hp (750–890 kW). Although the DC-3s originally built for civil service had the Wright R-1820 Cyclone , later civilian DC-3s used the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine. The DC-3 has

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1650-690: The 1933 DC-1 , was promising, and led to the DC-2 in 1934. The DC-2 was a success, but with room for improvement. The DC-3 resulted from a marathon telephone call from American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith to Donald Douglas, when Smith persuaded a reluctant Douglas to design a sleeper aircraft based on the DC-2 to replace American's Curtiss Condor II biplanes. The DC-2's cabin was 66 inches (1.7 m) wide, too narrow for side-by-side berths. Douglas agreed to go ahead with development only after Smith informed him of American's intention to purchase 20 aircraft. The new aircraft

1725-527: The 1942 evacuation of civilians from Java to Australia; the fourth was damaged in an air strike by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force at Batavia Kemajoran Airport on February 9, 1942, and abandoned. Japanese forces captured and subsequently repaired it for testing in Japan during 1943. This DC-5, painted in camouflage with Japanese Imperial Army Air Force markings, was later used as a transport in

1800-809: The 43rd aircraft off the Santa Monica production line, delivered on 2 March 1937), which appears at airshows around the United States and is owned and operated by the Flagship Detroit Foundation. The base price of a new DC-3 in 1936 was around $ 60,000–$ 80,000, and by 1960 used aircraft were available for $ 75,000. In 2023, flying DC-3s can be bought from $ 400,000-$ 700,000. As of 2024, the Basler BT-67 with additions to handle cold weather and snow runways are used in Antarctica including regularly landing at

1875-512: The Air Armies were combined under a centralised command of General Masakazu Kawabe . Teishin Shudan ("Raiding Group") was the IJA's special forces / airborne unit during World War II . The word teishin may be literally translated as "dash forward", and is usually translated as "raiding". It may also be regarded as similar to the " commando " designation in the terminology of other armies. Called

1950-482: The Army found it necessary to procure and operate their own aircraft carriers for the purposes of providing escort and protection for Army transport shipping convoys. These escort/transport carriers were converted from small passenger liners or merchant ships and possessed the capacity to operate from eight to 38 aircraft, depending on type and size, and were also used to transport personnel and tanks. These vessels included

2025-569: The Croix de Guerre. Isobe Onokichi , Ishibashi Katsunami , Masaru Kaiya (IJN), Tadao Yamanaka , Masatoshi Takeishi , Isakitchy Nagao , and Moro Goroku , a Kawasaki aircraft engineer, also served in the French Flying corp. However, serious interest in military aviation did not develop until after World War I . Japanese military observers in Western Europe were quick to spot the advantages of

2100-513: The DC-2 in service from Amsterdam via Batavia (now Jakarta ) to Sydney , by far the world's longest scheduled route at the time. In total, KLM bought 23 DC-3s before the war broke out in Europe. In 1941, a China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) DC-3 pressed into wartime transportation service was bombed on the ground at Suifu Airfield in China, destroying the outer right wing. The only spare available

2175-493: The DC-3 continues to fly in active commercial and military service as of 2021, eighty-six years after the type's first flight in 1935, although the number is dwindling due to expensive maintenance and a lack of spare parts. There are small operators with DC-3s in revenue service and as cargo aircraft . Applications of the DC-3 have included passenger service, aerial spraying, freight transport, military transport, missionary flying, skydiver shuttling and sightseeing. There have been

2250-516: The DC-5 was soon overtaken by world events, although a limited number of military variants were produced. The DC-5 was developed in 1938 as a 16-22 seat civilian airliner, designed to use either Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet or Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial engines . It was the first airliner to combine shoulder wings and tricycle landing gear , a configuration that is still common in turboprop airliners and military transport aircraft , although

2325-480: The DST was given the designation DC-3 . No prototype was built, and the first DC-3 built followed seven DSTs off the production line for delivery to American Airlines. The DC-3 and DST popularized air travel in the United States. Eastbound transcontinental flights could cross the U.S. in about 15 hours with three refueling stops, while westbound trips against the wind took 17 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours. A few years earlier, such

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2400-592: The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II were: With the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, operational conditions favored the use of many small units, resulting in the creation of many Dokuritsu Hikō Daitai ( 独立飛行大隊 , independent Air Battalions) or even Dokuritsu Hikō Chutai ( 独立飛行中隊 , independent squadrons) , each with its own distinctive markings. In August 1938,

2475-601: The Japanese was in 1874 at the cadet military school. Japan began to construct its own balloons in 1877 based on a French one they had acquired. Yamada Isaburô, an industrialist, started to develop a hydrogen balloon in 1897. In 1900 he invented a cylindrical kite balloon and sold them to the Imperial Japanese Army. The army first used them operationally during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 for artillery spotting. In 1907, Lieutenant Commander Eisuke Yamamoto approached

2550-863: The Ministers of the Army and Navy, General Masatake Terauchi and Admiral Minoru Saito . They formulated an aeronautical policy and established a dedicated military balloon unit. In 1909, together with the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Tokyo Imperial University , the Rinji Gunyo Kikyu Kenkyukai ( Temporary Military Balloon Research Association ) was set up. The association was chaired by Major General Masahiko Obama and continued to drive Japanese aviation policy until 1920. During March of that year Army Lieutenant Hino and Navy Engineer Sanji Narahara each designed an aircraft. Narahara flew

2625-605: The South Pole during the austral summer. Douglas C-47-DL serial number 41-7723 is on display at Pima Air & Space Museum near Tucson , Arizona . The aircraft was previously displayed at the United States Air Force Museum . Data from McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920 General characteristics Performance An attraction for the city Taupō in New Zealand , is a McDonald's outlet, where

2700-607: The Soviet Union as the Lisunov Li-2 (4,937 aircraft). After the war, thousands of cheap ex-military DC-3s became available for civilian use. Cubana de Aviación became the first Latin American airline to offer a scheduled service to Miami when it started its first scheduled international service from Havana in 1945 with a DC-3. Cubana used DC-3s on some domestic routes well into the 1960s. Douglas developed an improved version,

2775-514: The Super DC-3, with more power, greater cargo capacity, and an improved wing, but with surplus aircraft available for cheap, they failed to sell well in the civilian aviation market. Only five were delivered, three of them to Capital Airlines . The U.S. Navy had 100 of its early R4Ds converted to Super DC-3 standard during the early 1950s as the Douglas R4D-8/C-117D . The last U.S. Navy C-117

2850-616: The US Navy with the designation YC-129 alongside 100 R4Ds that had been upgraded to the Super DC-3 specifications. From the early 1950s, some DC-3s were modified to use Rolls-Royce Dart engines, as in the Conroy Turbo Three . Other conversions featured Armstrong Siddeley Mamba or Pratt & Whitney PT6 A turbines . The Greenwich Aircraft Corp DC-3-TP is a conversion with an extended fuselage and with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AR or PT6A-67R engines fitted. The Basler BT-67

2925-454: The World's Aircraft 1939, McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller -driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company , which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in

3000-459: 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 Haifa in May 1948, and from there it went to Sde Dov , where its markings were removed and the name " Yankee Pasha – The Bagel Lancer " was crudely painted on

3075-556: The aircraft on 5 May 1910 making it the first Japanese built plane to do so. Subsequent designs were unsuccessful and the Army and Navy decided to utilise foreign aircraft until they could build a sufficient level of technical skill in Japan to design and build their own aircraft. In 1910, the society sent Captain Yoshitoshi Tokugawa and Captain Hino Kumazō to France and Germany, respectively, to receive pilot training and purchase aircraft. The Japanese Army purchased its first aircraft,

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3150-511: The airliner market was flooded with surplus transport aircraft, and the DC-3 was no longer competitive because it was smaller and slower than aircraft built during the war. It was made obsolete on main routes by more advanced types such as the Douglas DC-4 and Convair 240 , but the design proved adaptable and was still useful on less commercially demanding routes. Civilian DC-3 production ended in 1943 at 607 aircraft. Military versions, including

3225-560: The chutai was the Chutaicho, whose rank was usually that of captain. The commander's aircraft often had distinctive markings, often a partly or totally scarlet, red, orange or yellow tail. The first aircraft factory in Japan, Nakajima Aircraft Company , was founded in 1916 and later obtained a license to produce the Nieuport 24 and Nieuport-Delage NiD 29 C.1 (as the Nakajima Ko-4) as well as

3300-749: The command structure of the Imperial Japanese Air Service fell under three separate areas. Operations were controlled by the Chief of General Staff through the area Army's direct to the Air Army's in each respective area. Training fell under the Inspectorate General of Aviation and personal, administration, and procurement fell under both the Minister of War and the Aviation Headquarters. See

3375-566: The end of the 1920s, Japan was producing its own designs to meet the needs of the Army, and by 1935 had a large inventory of indigenous aircraft designs that were technically sophisticated. Japanese army aviation was organized into a separate chain of command within the Ministry of War of Japan in 1919. In May 1925, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Corps was established under the command of Lieutenant General Kinichi Yasumitsu , it

3450-451: The final phase of the war, the Special Attack Units evolved into dedicated suicide units for kamikaze missions. Around 170 of these units were formed, 57 by the Instructor Air Division alone. Notionally equipped with 12 aircraft each, it eventually comprised around 2,000 aircraft. The final reorganisation of the took place during preparation for Operation Ketsu-Go , the defence of the home islands in 1945 against expected invasion when all

3525-443: The final stages of the war were the formation of "Special Attack Units" and "Air-shaking Units", which were short-lived units with their own names (often taken from Japanese mythology or history) and markings, but located within existing squadrons. These units were specially designated and trained with the mission of air-to-air ramming of Allied bomber aircraft. They usually had their armaments removed and their airframes reinforced. In

3600-624: The high-winged airliner. 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 KLM West-Indisch Bedrijf and flew between Paramaribo in Surinam (now Suriname) and Curaçao in the Dutch colonial territory of the same name . The other two were sold to the Netherlands-Indies Government for use by KNILM (with no affiliations with KLM, despite having their head offices in Amsterdam) from Batavia (now Jakarta , Indonesia) from 1940 onwards. The first pair were later also transferred to KNILM. Of these four aircraft, three were used for

3675-434: The late 1940s, three of which entered airline service. Total production including all military variants was 16,079. More than 400 remained in commercial service in 1998. Production was: Production of DSTs ended in mid-1941 and civilian DC-3 production ended in early 1943, although dozens of the DSTs and DC-3s ordered by airlines that were produced between 1941 and 1943 were pressed into the US military service while still on

3750-400: The modern versions are actually high wing, as the structure sits atop the fuselage shell rather than intersecting a significant segment. The tricycle landing gear was innovative for transport airplanes. It provided better ground handling and better ground visibility for the pilots. The fuselage was about two feet above the ground, so loading of passengers and cargo was easier than aircraft with

3825-455: The new technology, and after the end of the war, Japan purchased large numbers of surplus military aircraft, including 20 Sopwith 1½ Strutters , 3 Nieuport 24s , and 6 Spads . To cope with this increase in the number of available aircraft the first flying school was set up at Tozorozawa (Tokorozawa Rikugun Koku Seibi Gakkō) followed by Akeno and Shimoshizu . A French military mission was invited to Japan to help develop aviation. The mission

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3900-478: The nose by hand. The aircraft joined 103 Squadron at Ramat David Airbase . Because Israel was in the midst of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , it was occasionally used as a bomber as well as flying transport missions. On bomber missions the aft loading door was removed and bombs were rolled out of the opening "by a judicious shove from a crewman's foot." The operational record of the aircraft is in dispute as authoritative sources do not verify its combat service. When

3975-402: The production line. Military versions were produced until the end of the war in 1945. A larger, more powerful Super DC-3 was launched in 1949 to positive reviews. The civilian market was flooded with second-hand C-47s, many of which were converted to passenger and cargo versions. Only five Super DC-3s were built, and three of them were delivered for commercial use. The prototype Super DC-3 served

4050-445: The respective Air Army: See the Inspectorate General of Aviation See Ministry of the Army By 1941, the Japanese Army Air Force had about 1,500 combat aircraft. During the first years of the war, Japan continued technical development and deployment of increasingly advanced aircraft and enjoyed air superiority over most battlefields due to the combat experience of its crews and the handling qualities of its aircraft. However, as

4125-500: The restricted strategic materials, the Japanese found themselves materialistically outmatched. In terms of manpower, Japan was even worse off. Experienced crews were killed and replacements had not been planned. The Japanese had lost skilled trainers, and they did not have the fuel or the time to use the trainers they did have. Because of this, towards the end of its existence the JAAF resorted to kamikaze attacks against overwhelmingly superior Allied forces. Important aircraft used by

4200-416: The then-standard conventional landing gear . 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

4275-399: 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 . After World War II, production of the DC-5 was not resumed because of

4350-441: The type was KLM , who ordered four planes. Pennsylvania Central (later renamed Capital Airlines ) ordered six and SCADTA ( Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéreos ), ancestor of Avianca , ordered two. When Douglas factories went into war production, DC-5 production was curtailed to build additional SBD Dauntless dive bombers for the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) and so only KLM received

4425-407: The war continued, Japan found that its production could not match that of the Allies. On top of these production problems, Japan faced continuous combat and thus continued losses. Furthermore, there were continual production disruptions brought on by moving factories from location to location, each transfer with the goal of avoiding the Allied strategic bombing. Between these factors and others, such as

4500-415: The war effort and more than 10,000 U.S. military versions of the DC-3 were built, under the designations C-47, C-53, R4D, and Dakota . Peak production was reached in 1944, with 4,853 being delivered. The armed forces of many countries used the DC-3 and its military variants for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded. Licensed copies of the DC-3 were built in Japan as the Showa L2D (487 aircraft); and in

4575-424: The war ended and 103 Squadron moved, the DC-5 was left behind at Ramat David. 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. Data from Jane's all

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4650-418: The war. Kiyotake Shigeno joined the corps in December 1914. He was a member of the league of French flying aces having shot down two confirmed and six unconfirmed German aircraft. He also was awarded the Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur, France's highest decoration. Kobayashi Shukunosuke became a licensed pilot in December 1916, dying in combat during the 1918 Spring Offensive. He was posthumously awarded

4725-409: The way for the modern American air travel industry, which eventually replaced trains as the favored means of long-distance travel across the United States. A nonprofit group, Flagship Detroit Foundation, continues to operate the only original American Airlines Flagship DC-3 with air show and airport visits throughout the U.S. In 1936, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines received its first DC-3, which replaced

4800-399: Was able to cross the continental United States from New York to Los Angeles in 18 hours, with only three stops. It is one of the first airliners that could profitably carry only passengers without relying on mail subsidies. In 1939, at the peak of its dominance in the airliner market, around ninety percent of airline flights on the planet were by a DC-3 or some variant. Following the war,

4875-461: Was built and flown in Japan by Captain Togugawa. Also in 1911 a policy decision was made to split the Army and Navy aviation into two separate organisations. In 1914, with the outbreak of war, the Japanese laid siege to the German colony of Qingdao , aircraft from the army together with navy's seaplane carrier Wakamiya conducted reconnaissance and bombing operations. The Provisional Air Corps consisting of four Maurice Farman MF.7 biplanes and

4950-444: Was built at El Segundo, California , with 1,000 hp Wright R-1820-44 Cyclone engines. The aircraft made its first flight on February 20, 1939, with Carl Cover at the controls. This sole prototype (configured with just eight seats) became the personal aircraft of William Boeing , who named it Rover . It was later impressed into the US Navy and converted for military use as an R3D-3 variant in February 1942. The first customer for

5025-419: Was engineered by a team led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond over the next two years, and the prototype DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) first flew on December 17, 1935 (the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers ' flight at Kitty Hawk) with Douglas chief test pilot Carl Cover at the controls. Its cabin was 92 in (2,300 mm) wide, and a version with 21 seats instead of the 14–16 sleeping berths of

5100-399: Was headed by Jacques-Paul Faure and composed of 63 members to establish the fundamentals of the Japanese aviation, the mission also brought several aircraft including 30 Salmson 2A2 as well as 2 Caquot dirigibles. In 1919 40 Nieuport , 100 Spad XIII , and two Breguet XIV . During this time Japanese aircraft were being used in combat roles during the 1920 Siberian Intervention against

5175-487: Was organized into four Air Armies, with two more added in the final stages of the war: In April 1944, a reorganization of the Japanese Army Air Service occurred. Maintenance and ground service units, formerly a separate command, were merged into the Air Combat Group ( Hiko Sentai ). The flying squadrons of the Air Combat Group were re-designated as Hikōtai ( 飛行隊 , Squadron) , and the ground units were designated Seibutai ( 整備隊 , Maintenance Units) . Other changes in

5250-449: Was regarded as a branch equal to the artillery, cavalry or infantry, and contained 3,700 personnel with about 500 aircraft. In a reorganization of 1927-05-05, the Air Regiment ( 飛行連隊 , Hikō Rentai ) was created, each consisting of two battalions, with each battalion consisting of up to four squadrons. Each Air Regiment was a mixed purpose unit, consisting of a mixture of fighter and reconnaissance squadrons . By World War Two

5325-413: Was responsible for long-range bomber and attack aircraft, as well as strategic air defense. It was not until the later stages of the Pacific War that the two air arms attempted to integrate the air defense of the home islands . The Japanese military became interested in the use of captive balloons in the mid 19th century, having noted their use by Western European armies. The first experimental ascent by

5400-514: Was retired July 12, 1976. The last U.S. Marine Corps C-117, serial 50835, was retired from active service during June 1982. Several remained in service with small airlines in North and South America in 2006. The United States Forest Service used the DC-3 for smoke jumping and general transportation until the last example was retired in December 2015. A number of aircraft companies attempted to design

5475-472: Was retroactively incorporated after the series entered production. 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. Prior to US entry into World War II, one prototype and four production aircraft were built. The prototype DC-5, Douglas serial 411,

5550-451: Was that of a smaller Douglas DC-2 in CNAC's workshops. The DC-2's right wing was removed, flown to Suifu under the belly of another CNAC DC-3, and bolted up to the damaged aircraft. After a single test flight, in which it was discovered that it pulled to the right due to the difference in wing sizes, the so-called DC-2½ was flown to safety. During World War II, many civilian DC-3s were drafted for

5625-520: Was the culmination of a development effort that began after an inquiry from Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA) to Donald Douglas . TWA's rival in transcontinental air service, United Airlines , was starting service with the Boeing 247 , and Boeing refused to sell any 247s to other airlines until United's order for 60 aircraft had been filled. TWA asked Douglas to design and build an aircraft that would allow TWA to compete with United. Douglas' design,

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