Everyone is Familiar With the DC-3, the DC-4, and the DC-6 but Did You Know There is Also a DC-5?
They Called It “Black Saturday” – July 5, 2024
July 5, 2024
Lindbergh Conquered The Atlantic But What About The Conquest of The Pacific – July 19, 2024
July 19, 2024
New Guinea. 1942-09-03. A United States Army Air Force (USAAF) C-110 (DC-5) (VHCXA) transport aircraft used to carry supplies from Australia to New Guinea. Four DC-5's were purchased by the Netherlands and all four were used to evacuate civilians from Java to Australia in 1942. One was damaged at Kemajoran airport, Batavia, on 9 February 1942, and was captured by the Japanese and later test flown at Tachikawa air force base. The surviving three aircraft were operated by the Allied Directorate of Air Transport and were given the USAAF designation of C-110.
RN3DB
July 12, 2024
Good Morning,
This week I want to talk about the airplane that no one remembers…..the DC-5. There were not many of them produced but they brought forward many innovations as you will see.
Enjoy…..
The DC-5
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 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 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 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.
When the United States entered the Second World War in December 1941, Douglas stopped production of the DC-5 to build more SBD Dauntless dive bombers for the American Navy. However, even following the end of the conflict, production of the DC-5 never resumed, as by this point, there was a massive surplus of C-47s, a military version of the DC-3 airliner.
Have a good weekend, enjoy time with family and friends, and be safe,
Robert Novell
July 12, 2024
