Color photos Airplanes 1940-1941

[Marc Chevalier]

Great color snapshots taken in 1940 and 1941. Each link has one photo.


http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02543.jpg

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02542.jpg

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02541.jpg

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P01764.jpg

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02602.jpg

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02603.jpg

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02604.jpg

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[Tony in Tarzana]

Great stuff! One doesn't see many pictures of the Douglas DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) that was the precursor to the DC-3.

 

[Andykev]

It's a DC-3 for sure.

That is a DC-3. The DC-2 had a different wing. The DC-3 was equipped as a standard 21 seat passenger configuration, or like this one, with sleeper berths.

Beautiful airplane. Notice the flag above the co-pilot's window? That was placed there by crew on the taxi in.

The big red fire extinguisher was mandatory, in case of a "burp" during engine start. The cart is the booster battery for starting also. Ladders, necessary for the fuelers. Also, the tail and elevator, as well as ailerons were fabric covered.

Those engines are neat too. To start, you set the controls.. stand on the brakes, prime, throttle forward, mixture back, engage the starter and count nine blades. This is to circulate oil and to purge the bottom cylinders..then you hit the ignition and there is lots of blue smoke, etc. and a very loud roar. Then as the engine catches, you advance the mixture and asjust the throttle. Repeat for #1 engine. Last time I started a DC-3, it shounded like men with shovels banging on an empty wheelbarrow! LOVE this plane.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Never said it was a DC-2. It's a DST.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Too bad they didn't get the whole Beech Staggerwing in the fifth image.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Ha, good eye, I didn't even notice. The Staggerwing is a beautiful airplane, even though the "back stagger" offended my Dad's sensibilities. (He was an aircraft engineer from the 1930s through the 1960s.)

 

[EdinLA44]

Great photos. The Boeing 307 Stratoliner is one of my favorite of that era.

 

[CWetherby]

Those are great! I tried just now to upload some pix I have of a plane, but couldn't get it to work....I'll try again later, I guess.

Anyway, thanks for sharing those links!

CW

 

[Twitch]

Nice stuff. There just weren't many folks using color film back then. Rare.

 

[Andykev]

It's my favorite plane

Never said it was a DC-2. It's a DST.

Sorry. The DC-3 is a DC-3. The only thing changed was the windows and the interior cabin. Still, it's a DC-3. My favorite plane. Anyone flown in one or actually flown one?

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I flew in one that was operated by the FAA to test navigational aids, I was a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol at the time, about 25 years ago. Great ride, but the FAA pilot did bounce once on landing. I live near Van Nuys Airport, so I see them fly over occasionally. There is a group of T-6 pilots who fly out of VNY, and I see them in formation fairly regularly. I've also seen a Connie and a Curtiss C-46 overhead when the airshow is in town.

http://www.ingraham.ca/bob/DST.html

Here's a link for the DST, and please understand, I'm not trying to be snotty. It's just that I used to work for Douglas Aircraft and studied a bit of their history. I got to watch the DC-2 that they restored in their shops take off for the first time. At that time (mid 1980s) it was the only flyable DC-2 in the world, it may still be.

 

[Baggers]

Huh. Learn something new everytime I check in here. Andykev, take a close look at the engine cowlings, they're a bit different from the normal DC3 configuration we're used to.

Cheers!

 

[EdinLA44]

Huh. Learn something new everytime I check in here. Andykev, take a close look at the engine cowlings, they're a bit different from the normal DC3 configuration we're used to.

Cheers!

I noticed the engine cowlings too. I thought those cowlings were identification points for a DC-2 but I suspect the early DC-3s also used them (but I could be wrong).

 

[Absinthe_1900]

There were quite a few variations and changes over the years to the DC-3 series.

The DC-1 through 3, and the DC-4 through 7, are well remembered, yet you never hear much about this one.:cry:

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

A DC-5! Great picture! Apparently DAC sold a few of them to KLM, but they never went anywhere. I think, but wouldn't bet money, that the wing was related to the Douglas A-20 Havoc light bomber.

 

[Andykev]

This is great

I have never seen a DC-5. Wow that is a great picture.

The DST/DC-3 difference, is in the link "The main difference between the DST and the DC-3 was in the seating. The DST's 14 seats converted to Pullman-type berths. It was distinguished outwardly from the DC-3 by the small upper-berth windows above the regular windows. In the postcard at the left, one of the small windows is covered by curtains.

Airline accountants soon relegated the DST to history: replacing the berths with seats meant that the plane could carry another seven paying passengers, and the DC-3 was born."

I believe the fulslage, gear, engines, controls, dimensions, weights, and systems were basically the same. And they flew the same, ie. performance. Just a pilot's perspective.

Now I have to go look up the DC-5....

 

[warbird]

My favorite plane. Anyone flown in one or actually flown one?

Yes. I have flown them. Have quite a few hours in some very very high hour 3's.

They still are used to haul cargo. The 3's and Beech 18's are being converted to turboprops. It says a lot, that these old planes are more thought of as conversions than more modern planes.

By the way, I am quite impressed at the level of knowledge about small differences betwen models known by some here. I don't know most of that stuff at all.

 

[Wild Root]

Icky turbo props! ICK! It's all about the old radials! There's no better sound then that of an old radial motor! From start to shut off... it's beautiful!

I've seen some great planes when I was in Canada... saw a DC-3 at a small little airfield just out side of Selkirk Manitoba also, a rare Beach 18 with floats! It was natural aluminum with black and blue paint... in a very nice streamlined fashion! I'll have to scan some of the photos I took of these aircraft!

=WR=

 

[Andykev]

Don't call her a "GOONEY BIRD"

Icky turbo props! ICK! It's all about the old radials! There's no better sound then that of an old radial motor! From start to shut off... it's beautiful! .....=WR=

Root, there is nothing better than the SOUND of the P&W or the Wright radial engines coming to life, belching smoke, roaring, and chugging.

They are also very inefficient and prone to failure. A turboprop is FAR FAR lighter, and you get a HUGE increase in performance and reliability. I think the fuel economy changes, but I forget if it goes up or down.

Nostalgia is great, but modern marvels are better. The AIRFRAME and the wing design, and cargo capacity is what made the DC-3 such a wonderful machine. And it is a "Lady" in the sky. My friend has one, and I have been in it and have started the engines, but alas, we were doing maintenance, and I have not flown in one yet. This is my favorite plane. If I won the lottery, I would NOT buy one, but I sure would get my Type Certificate in one, just to have said I did it. The plane is far too slow, and thirsty, and maintenance needy, to justify it's use for "private ownership". Now, running a freight operation in a small regional environment, say, in Alaska, now that's fun.

Oh, and since I moderate the MOVIES, the John Wayne movie "Island in the Sky" is out on DVD and has WONDERFUL DC-3 flying scenes. "****" RECOMMENDATION!!

 

[Wild Root]

Yes, this is all very true but, I say leave old, old. They're just fine for recreation aviation. They just sound better and look better on those old planes. You know me, I drive a 6volt car, if I wanted performance, I'd buy a new car.

You do have to admit that putting turbos on say, a B-17 would be very wrong!

Keep'em Flying!

=WR=