The Douglas DC-2 is a retired 14-passenger, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3, which became one of the most successful aircraft in history.
Design and development
In the early 1930s, fears about the safety of wooden aircraft structures drove the US aviation industry to develop all-metal airliners. United Airlines had exclusive right to the all metal twin-engine Boeing 247; rival TWA issued a specification for an all-metal trimotor.

The Douglas response was more radical. When it flew on July 1, 1933, the prototype DC-1 had a robust tapered wing, retractable landing gear, and two 690 hp (515 kW) Wright radial engines driving variable-pitch propellers. It seated 12 passengers. The DC-2 was longer than the DC-1, had more powerful engines, and carried 14 passengers in a 66-inch-wide cabin.

Douglas test pilot Carl Cover flew the first test flight of the DC-2 on May 11, 1934. TWA was the launch customer for the DC-2, ordering twenty. The design impressed American and European airlines, and further orders followed. Although Fokker had purchased a production licence from Douglas for $100,000 (about $2,224,000 in 2022), no manufacturing was done in the Netherlands. Those for European customers, KLM, LOT, Swissair, CLS, and LAPE purchased via Fokker in the Netherlands, were built and flown by Douglas in the US, sea-shipped to Europe with wings and propellers detached, then erected at airfields by Fokker near the seaport of arrival (e.g. Cherbourg or Rotterdam). Airspeed Ltd. took a similar licence for DC-2s to be delivered in Britain and assigned the company designation Airspeed AS.23, but, although a registration for one aircraft was reserved, none were built.Another licence was taken by the Nakajima Aircraft Company in Japan; unlike Fokker and Airspeed, Nakajima built five aircraft as well as assembling at least one Douglas-built aircraft. A total of 130 civil DC-2s were built with another 62 for the United States military. In 1935, Don Douglas stated in an article that the DC-2 cost about $80,000 (about $1,780,000 in 2022) per aircraft, if mass-produced.
Operational history
Although overshadowed by its ubiquitous successor, it was the DC-2 that first showed that passenger air travel could be comfortable, safe, and reliable. As a token of this, KLM entered its first DC-2 PH-AJU Uiver (Stork) in the October 1934 MacRobertson Air Race between London and Melbourne. It finished second of the twenty entrants, behind the purpose-built de Havilland DH.88 racer Grosvenor House (race time 70 hours 54 minutes), and nearly three hours ahead of the Boeing 247D.






During the total journey time of 90 hours 13 minutes, it was in the air for 81 hours 10 minutes. It won the handicap section of the race, as although the DH.88 had finished first in the handicap section, the regulations allowed the crew to claim only one victory. It flew KLM's regular 9,000-mile route (a thousand miles longer than the official race route), carrying mail, making every scheduled passenger stop, turning back once to pick up a stranded passenger, and became lost in a thunderstorm and briefly stuck in the mud after a diversionary landing at the Albury race course on the last leg of the journey.
Variants
DC-2
156 civil DC-2s, powered by two Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial piston engines of varying in power from 710 to 875 hp (529 to 652 kW) depending on model.










































DC-2A
Two civil DC-2s, powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet (SD-G, S1E-G or S2E-G) radial piston engines.

DC-2B
Two DC-2s sold to LOT Polish Airlines, fitted with two 750 hp (560 kW) Bristol Pegasus VI radial piston engines.



Nakajima-Douglas DC-2 transport
DC-2 transports license built in Japan by Nakajima.

Military
XC-32
(DC-2-153) One aircraft, powered by two 750 hp (560 kW) Wright R-1820-25 radial piston engines, for evaluation as a 14-seat VIP transport aircraft, one built, later used by General Andrews as a flying command post.





C-32A
Designation for 24 commercial DC-2s impressed at the start of World War,



C-33
(DC-2-145) Cargo transport variant of the C-32 powered by two 750 hp (560 kW) Wright R-1820-25 engines, with larger vertical tail surfaces, a reinforced cabin floor and a large cargo door in the aft fuselage, 18 built.

YC-34
(1x DC-2-173 & 1x DC-2-346) VIP transport for the secretary of war, basically similar to XC-32, later designated C-34, two built.

C-38
The first C-33 was modified with a DC-3-style tail section and two Wright R-1820-45 radial piston engines of 975 hp (727 kW) each. Originally designated C-33A but redesignated as prototype for C-39 variant, one built..

C-39
(DC-2-243) 16-seat passenger variant, a composite of DC-2 and DC-3 components, with C-33 fuselage and wings and DC-3-type tail, center-section and landing gear. Powered by two 975 hp (727 kW) Wright R-1820-45 radial piston engines; 35 built..

C-41
The sole C-41 was a VIP aircraft for Air Corps Chief Oscar Westover (and his successor Hap Arnold). Although supplied against a C-39 order it was not a DC-2 derivative but in fact a DC-3-253 fitted with two 1,200 hp (890 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-21 engines. (The sole Douglas C-41A was also a VIP version of the DC-3A)

C-42
(DC-2-267) VIP transport variant of the C-39, powered by two 1,000 hp (750 kW) Wright R-1820-53 radial piston engines, of 1,000 hp (746 kW) each, one built in 1939 for the commanding general, GHQ Air Force, plus two similarly-converted C-39s with their cargo doors bolted shut were converted in 1943.

R2D-1
(3x DC-2-125 & 2x DC-2-142) 710 hp (530 kW) Wright R-1820-12-powered transport similar to the XC-32, three built for the United States Navy and two for the United States Marine Corps.





Specifications (DC-2)
General characteristics
Crew: two-three
Capacity: 14 passengers
Length: 61 ft 11.75 in (18.8913 m)
Wingspan: 85 ft 0 in (25.91 m)
Height: 16 ft 3.75 in (4.9721 m)
Wing area: 939 sq ft (87.2 m2)
Airfoil: root: NACA 2215; tip: NACA 2209[64]
Empty weight: 12,408 lb (5,628 kg)
Gross weight: 18,560 lb (8,419 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Wright GR-1820-F52 Cyclone 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 775 hp (578 kW) each
Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch metal propellers
Performance
Maximum speed: 210 mph (340 km/h, 180 kn) at 8,000 ft (2,400 m)
Cruise speed: 190 mph (310 km/h, 170 kn) at 8,000 ft (2,400 m)
Range: 1,000 mi (1,600 km, 870 nmi)
Service ceiling: 22,450 ft (6,840 m)
Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 19.8 lb/sq ft (97 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.082 hp/lb (0.135 kW/kg)
(Text from Wikki)