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Air Travel in the 1950s
DC-3
Conceptually similar
DC-3 Cabin Looking Aft - All-Swivel Chair Front
DC-3 Lavatory
DC-3 Galley
DC-3/DST Flight Deck
DC-3 Manufacturing
Executive DC-3 Ground Maintenance
DC-3 Being Serviced
Executive DC-3 in Flight
DC-3 on the Ground
Douglas Workers with DC-3
DC-3 Nose with Workers
DC-3 Tail with Woman Worker
DC-3, Douglas Sleeper Transport with Cord Automobile
DC-3 Production Line in Santa Monica
Lady at Work on a DC-3
DC-3 in Santa Monica
Damaged DC-3
DC-3/C-47 in Flight
DC-3 in Flight
DC-3 Refueling
Similar tones
View images with similar tones
Executive DC-3 Passenger Cabin
The DC-3, which made air travel popular and airline profits possible, is universally recognized as the greatest airplane of its time. Some would argue that it is the greatest of all time. Design began in 1934 at the insistence of C.R. Smith, president of American Airlines. Smith wanted two new planes - a longer DC-2 that would carry more day passengers and another with railroad-type sleeping berths, to carry overnight passengers. The first DC-3 built was the Douglas Sleeper Transport, and it was the height of luxury. Fourteen plush seats in four main compartments could be folded to form seven berths, while seven more folded down from the cabin ceiling. The plane could accommodate 14 overnight passengers or 28 for shorter daytime flights. The first was delivered to American Airlines in June 1936, followed two months later by the first standard 21-passenger DC-3. In November 1936, United Airlines became the second DC-3 customer. Initial orders from American and United were soon followed by orders from more than 30 other airlines in the next two years. The DC-3 was not only comfortable and reliable, it also made air transportation profitable. American's C.R. Smith said the DC-3 was the first airplane that could make money just by hauling passengers, without relying on government subsidies. As a result, by 1939, more than 90 percent of the nation's airline passengers were flying on DC-2s and DC-3s. In addition to the 455 DC-3 commercial transports built for the airlines, 10,174 were produced as military transports during World War II. For both airline and military use, the DC-3 proved to be tough, flexible, and easy to operate and maintain. Its exploits during the war became the stuff of legend. Today, more than six decades after the last one was delivered, hundreds of DC-3s are still flying and still earning their keep by carrying passengers or cargo.
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Unique identifier
BI21486
Boeing ID
kdc3138
Type
Image
Size
4627px × 5998px 79MB
License type
RM
Keywords
1930s
airplanes
blue
brown
close-ups
comfort
commercial
commercial passenger planes
day
ground shots
historic production status
interiors
luxury
monoplanes
nobody
passenger cabins
payload systems
perspective lines
photos
pink
propeller planes
red
seats
structural systems
sunshine
viewed from above
windows
Restrictions