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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, the DC-5 was soon overtaken by world events, although a limited number of military variants were produced.
Design and development
thumb|A Douglas DC-5, circa 1939
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.
After World War II, production of the DC-5 was not resumed because of 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 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 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.
Variants
;Prototype DC-5
:The prototype was sold to William E. Boeing as a personal aircraft, modified to fit 16 passenger seats.
;DC-5
:The basic passenger version: five aircraft were built, one prototype and four production aircraft.
;C-110
:Retroactive designation for three former Indonesian-registered KNILM aircraft that had been bought by the United States Army Air Forces for service in Australia on behalf of the Allied Directorate of Air Transport in March 1942. Withdrawn from use June 30, 1946, in the U.S. Navy Aeronautical Laboratory, Banana River, Florida.
Operators
Military operators
;Australia
- Royal Australian Air Force
- No. 21 Squadron RAAF
;Israel
- Israeli Air Force operated one DC-5.
;Japan
- Imperial Japanese Army Air Force operated one captured Dutch DC-5.
;United States
- United States Army Air Forces three impressed in Australia in 1942 and designated C-110
- United States Navy operated two R3D-1s, a further aircraft crashed before delivery.
- United States Marine Corps operated four R3D-2s.
Civil operators
;Australia
- Australian National Airways
- New Holland Airways
;Dutch West Indies
- KLM West Indies two aircraft delivered new in April and May 1940, from 1941 operated by KNILM, still owned by KLM.
;Dutch East Indies
- KNILM two aircraft delivered to KLM in June/July 1940, sold to the Netherlands East Indies Government and leased to KNILM, two further aircraft transferred from KLM West Indies in 1941. Three escaped to Australia in February 1942 and one damaged in a Japanese air raid in February 1942 was repaired and used by the Japanese Army.
;United States
- William E. Boeing operated one DC-5 delivered in 1940, sold to United States Navy in 1942.
|-
! Construction number !! Civilian registration !! Initial service date !! Military service registration !! last noted !! Remarks
|-
| rowspan="5" | 424 || PH-AXA || || || || Reservation for KLM as PH-AXA "Alk" (reservation not taken up due to getting sent to Netherlands Antilles)
|-
| as PJ-AIW || May 1940 || || || Went to Curaçao for KLM West Indisch bedrijf as PJ-AIW "Wakago". Went to Netherlands Indies via USA briefly after war broke out.
|-
| as PK-ADC || August 1941 || || || Camouflage colour scheme. Was flown to Australia in February 1942 because of the Japanese threat.
|-
| VH-CXB || April 1942 || USAAF unk || || Used for charter work by Allied Directorate of Air Transport (ADAT)
|-
| || June 1944 || retro-serialled 44-83231 || 1946 || registered and assigned type designator C-110. Used by USAAF 21 squadron in USAAF colours and markings. Scrapped in 1946 at Essendon
|-
| 426 || PH-AXB || || || || Reservation for KLM as PH-AXB "Boschduif", but this airframe was used for static destructive testing for modifications demanded by the Netherlands airworthiness agency. Douglas replaced it with a new c/n 426
|-
| rowspan="7" | 426 || PH-AXG || || || || Reservation for KLM as PH-AXG "Grutto" (reservation not taken up due to getting sent to Netherlands Antilles)
|-
| PJ-AIZ|| 30 May 1940 || || || Went to Curaçao for KLM West Indisch bedrijf as PJ-AIZ "Zonvogel". Went to Netherlands Indies via USA briefly after war broke out.
|-
| PK-ADD || August 1941 || || || Camouflage colour scheme. Was flown to Australia in February 1942 because of the Japanese threat.
|-
| 41-426/VH-CXC || April 1942 || || || Used for charter work by Allied Directorate of Air Transport (ADAT)
|-
| || June 1944 || retro-serialled 44-83232 || || registered and assigned type designator C-110. Used by USAAF 21 squadron in USAAF colours and markings
|-
| VH-ARD || July 1946 || || || Sold to Australian National Airways and later to Gregory Richmond Board in Sydney, yet later to New Holland Airways as 'Bali Clipper'.
|-
| 1501 || 1948 || || 1962 || Sold via Italy to Israeli Air Force; received IAF serial 1501, Went to Israëli AF Technical School in Haifa. Supposedly scrapped in mid-1960s.
|-
| rowspan="5" | 428 || PH-AXB || || || || Reservation for KLM as PH-AXB "Boschduif"
|-
| PK-ADB/D-904 || May 1940 || || || went to KNILM in Netherlands-Indies.
|-
| || || || || Camouflage colour scheme. Was flown to Australia in February 1942 because of the Japanese threat.
|-
| 41-428/VH-CXA || April 1942 || || || Used for charter work by Allied Directorate of Air Transport (ADAT). Supposedly damaged during Japanese attack on Port Moresby (PNG) August 1942 others say a Parafield (South Aus) end of 1942.
|-
| || June 1944 || retro-serialled 44-83230 || || registered and assigned type designator C-110, even though it had been written off 18 months earlier.
|-
| rowspan="4" | 430 || PH-AXE || || || || Reservation for KLM as PH-AXE "Eend"
|-
| PK-ADA/D-905 || || || || went to KNILM in Netherlands-Indies.
|-
| || March 1942 || || || Captured by Japanese troops, repaired and flown to Tokio for testing.
|-
| || || || 1945 || scrapped
|}
Specifications (DC-5)
See also
Notes
Bibliography
External links
- Boeing: Historical Snapshot: DC-5 Commercial Transport
- Douglas DC-5/R3D