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.

Feb 20, 2025 · On this day in aviation history, February 20, 1939, the Douglas DC-5 made its first flight. Less remembered than its cousins, the DC-5 was poised to make advancing strides in the field of civil aviation, but world events ensured that the aircraft never lived to its full potential.

Mar 20, 2022 · The DC-5 was the only airliner in the DC series that did not prove successful. And only one airline in the world can claim to have operated a version of each Douglas Commercial (DC) model from the DC-2 through the DC-10: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Feb 6, 2024 · The right aircraft at the wrong time - that is the story of the lesser-known Douglas DC-5. Developed in the late 1930s to be a 16 to 22-seat civilian airliner, the DC-5 was the first aircraft to be built with a shoulder wing and tricycle landing gear.

Apr 3, 2022 · Introduced in February of 1939, the Douglas DC-5 was designed to work as a short-haul feeder transport similar to the DC-3. Orders were placed by the original British Airways, KLM, Pennsylvania Central, Colombian airline SCADTA and military versions for the US Navy as R3D-1 and R3D-2 for the USMC.

The Douglas DC-5 airliner plays a very important role in several chapters of ‘The Java Gold’. I guess most of you have never heard of this type and don’t have a clue what such an airliner looked like. So here’s a picture of a KNILM DC5.

Formerly PK-ADD with KNILM and flown to Australia in 1942 to escape the Japanese advance through Indonesia. Impressed by the USAAF, it was operated by Australian National Airways (note small "ANA" on the nose) with the call sign VHCXC.

The Dutch company KLM, already operating both the DC-2 and DC-3, took an option on four DC-5s on December 13, 1938. The definitive contract was signed on May 22, 1939, as war clouds were already gathering over Europe. KLM paid $101,200 for the first aircraft and $102,900 each for the other three.

May 8, 2019 · The Douglas DC-5 was designed by Ed Heinemann (who later designed the A-4 Skyhawk) and built at the El Segundo Division of the Douglas Aircraft Company at Inglewood, California to meet airline requirements for a twin-engine airliner.

The Douglas DC-5, the least known of the famous DC airliner series, was a 16-22 seat, twin-propeller aircraft intended for shorter routes than the DC-3 or DC-4. However, by the time it entered commercial service in 1940, many airlines were …