History Of The Douglas Aircraft Company - Peace And War (Part 2)
Today we continue to explore the history of the Douglas Aircraft Company.
Recommended reading:
amzn.to/3LpaCG9 (McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920, Vol I)
amzn.to/3Lp7Mkx (McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920, Vol II)
amzn.to/44PGz1h (Honest Vision: The Donald Douglas Story)
amzn.to/44QnmN0 (Doland W. Douglas: A Hear With Wings)
Looking for aviation-themed art? → ikarusart.net/
Want to join the community? Visit our Discord - / discord
Want to support the channel? I have a Patreon here - / rexshangar
Sources:
Francillon.R.J (1979), McDonnel Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume I & Volume II.
Morrison.W.H (1991). Donald W. Douglas, a Heart with Wings.
Filucci.J.B (2018), Honest Vision: The Donald Douglas Story.
Time Magazine, various articles, 1940-1952.
0:00 Intro
1:56 The Douglas Dolphin Amphibian
07:59 Biplanes To Monoplanes
11:48 The Origins Of The DC-1
25:28 The DC-2 Succcess Story
32:07 More Success, And The DC-3
40:07 The Lead Up To WW2
49:02 The War Years
57:58 The Post-WW2 Challenge
F.A.Q Section Q: Do you take aircraft requests? A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:) Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others? A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both. Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos? A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :) Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators? A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible.
This is a most EXCELLENT HISTORY of the Douglas Aircraft Company.....Thanks my friend 👍 Shoe🇺🇸
I would love to see a video series like this on North American Aviation and the whole development of the P51, oddly enough, I haven't seen one on it.
This was awesome👍 Would love to see a story on Harry Hawker and how that went to what we know now.👍
Suggestion: pls cover the Dauntless. Despite being considered obsolete by the time ww2 started it was THE BEST USN bomber aircraft. Or maybe some german/Japanese designs?
@@southronjr1570 Definitely going to be covering the P-51! :D
In our little corner of the internet, Rex you've become the go to channel for flying things. Much as Drachinifel is for ships and the Chieftain is for armored warfare.
Rex and Ed Nash are my two go-to aircraft channels. They're my video equivalent of comfort food🙂
@ConnAshby Ed Nash is also very very good. His voice is really really unique, like I can't place where he may be from, it's that unique. Id love to see him, Rex do a collab.
I've only seen "The Chieftain" on collaborations with "Forgotten Weapons". Might want to look at "C&Rsenal" as well. 😁
@tombogan03884 he's done a video or two with Ian from Forgotten weapons. Plus a video with Drach as well. Of course Ian is best friends with C@R.
There are several good firearms channels, but for general information, Ian at Forgotten Weapons and Others and Mae have deep history covered at C&Rsenal.
The aerodynamic windtunnel data for the Boeing 247 was presented to Douglas by the student who ran the windtunnel tests.
Are you taking about Bailey Oswald?
@@tombrown1898 sorry, I can't remember the name of the student. I don't have access to my copy of Widebody.
Are you sure there is no confusion with the story of Kelly Johnson correcting the design of the Lockheed 10 ? He conducted tests in the wind tunnel of the University of Michigan…
@@Roucasson Bailey Oswald earned a doctorate in Aerodynamics from USC in, I believe, 1932, the first such at that school. He was hired by Arthur Raymond at Douglas and contributed much to the success of the DC-1, 2, and 3. I just know that back then there was much "cross-pollination" of ideas among aircraft manufacturers, and that Ozzy was a true believer in wind tunnel testing.
@@Roucasson no, it's taken from the book Widebody - the 747 story.
My mother worked at Douglas Aircraft El Segundo during WW2. She worked on the SBD2 Dauntless horizontal stabilator. My father worked at Douglas Ling Beach, Ca for 29 years following WW2. And, I worked at Douglas Aircraft in 1965 on the A-4 Scooter line briefly before enlisting in the Marine Corps. Great and through history of the aircraft company!
❤
Dad worked at Santa Monica in the early 40s, he upholstered the seats on DC3s, joined the navy, served in the Pacific on an Escort Carrier the USS Nehenta Bay he ended up working on the Mercury space capsules.
@@marlobreding7402 you have a great family saludos
I'm third Gen CA, WHOLE Family was here for ship building in WWI and the Long Beach Quake, almost Every single family member was Involved in Aviation and or Naval. grew up in Downey, our family lost a home to the 5 fwy at Imperial, And Clark at Imperial to the 105. learned to drive bikes, mini bikes, motorcycles, stick shift, cars and trucks in Vaught or Rockwell Int parking Lots with security kinda wagging a finger at us kids off Imperial Hwy as a kid. R.I.P! Greatest Generation! and CA Economy. I Miss YOU All! I miss getting a haircut sitting next to Astronauts or Test Pilots, just like Anyone's, Everyone's Dad's!
I got to Sit in several scorched from reentry capsules, Gemini, Mercury, And Appolo "I recall" as a Kid in Downey Schools or a Boy Scouts. I knew this was special as a kid! Just NOT HOW BLESSED! I am! I wish I would have Asked More Questions!@@marlobreding7402 RIP Greatest Gen! I Miss You.
It is amazing how DC-3's are still in regular commercial use to this very day.
Yes. They made a lot of them and they aren’t pressurized which fatigues the airframes.
As a military and commercial pilot I have been a fan of aviation history my entire life, and I can tell you that you are doing a great job. Congratulations
The DC-9 became the DC-3 of the jet age, looking forward to the next episode
I think that title belongs to the Boeing 737 series which is still in production after first going into operation back in 1967.
@@WAL_DC-6BThough it has heen outsold by its main competitor for most of the past 30 years.
32:47. "Somewhat critically important to the success of the entire Douglas company" Understatement of the year.
My grandfather was Jacob "Jake" Moxness who was VP of International Sales at Douglas Aircraft - was so excited to see him in the group shot that is at 1:00:47 into the video! He started as a test pilot and was one of the first to test the DC-3. He also was he pilot who delivered the only triple tail that Douglas Aircraft made, the DC4E, the Nippon, Japan prior to WWII. I still have Douglas Aircraft 1st class cups and martini glasses! Thanks so much for compiling this - VERY much looking forward to Part 3!
My father worked for Douglas, starting at El Segundo in 1943 and soon becoming the Leadman in Prototype, building the first Skystreak (D-558-1) and the Skyrocket (D-558-2) and the first aircraft to achieve Mach 2. He also built the first F3D, F4D, F5D, A2D, A3D, A4D and AD-1 program modification. He worked directly for and with Ed Heinemann as his department was prototype, building the first of any new airframe as Heinemann was Doug's chief designer. Later he worked on the DC-8 program.
I worked at the Douglas plant in Long Beach in the early 2000's, I got to get up close with a DC2 under restoration, and a flight on a DC3 that gave sightseeing flights.
I got a flight on the DC2. We went to Catalina and back. We were the last flight before it was about to go under some wing work. The two pilots were so old that they needed both to meet the regulations. They looked over 70 years old.
I was blessed to work for both Douglas and Boeing. I started working for Douglas in 1997 and we were bought out by Boeing in 1999 or 2000. Kind of neat.
McDonnell Douglas was officially absorbed under the Boeing Corp. on August 1, 1997. A very sad day indeed for aviation history and the American taxpayer.
Did you work on the C-17?
@@jamesdellaneve9005 no, only commercial
This has been an excellent series so far. Thank you for 'toughing-it out'. Stay well.
You Sir are the Mark Felton or Ian McCollum of Aviation. You should do a Collab. That might just break the History lover part of the internet.
His closest analogue in content and style is someone he's already done a collab with: Drachinifel.
As a kid I grew up in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, IL and recall seeing the huge Douglas-Chicago plant (mostly built of wood to save on strategic materials during WWII) near the corners of Higgins and Mannheim roads back in the early 1960s before it was demolished. Over half of the Douglas C-54 "Skymaster" production was built at this facility including all C-54Ds.
Thanks for the video, hope you get better soon, and the whole tubes, probes, hoses and surgery shenanigans won't be too hard on you! You have a solid fan base here and we'll wait for as long as it takes, so take care of yourself, and take as much time as you need to recover!
Fascinating to learn about Douglas Aircraft's connection to the Knute Rockne tragedy. To give some reference as to the American cultural impact; Knute Rockne was considered a legend of modern American Football at the time, and to this day. He was a PIONEER of technique, and a fundamental architect of modern American Football you see today at professional level in the NFL. Knute played football for Notre Dame college in his early life. He played the position of receiver, and together with his quarterback Charlie "Gus" Dorais lead a historic 35-13 upset of the West Point "Cadets" using a combination of strong running, and accurate downfield forward passes from Gus to Knute. This game was the first successful implementation of the new, and developing American Football technique known as the "forward pass". After a successful career as a player in various American Football leagues (NFL didn't exist per-se, yet) Knute returned to Notre Dame to an unprecedented professional coaching career. Where "During 13 years as head coach, Rockne led Notre Dame to 105 victories, 12 losses, five ties and three consensus national championships, which included five undefeated and untied seasons" -From Murray Sperber's book Shake Down The Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football. The man was an Icon in his day, and personally shaped the multi-billion dollar game of American Football. "Rockne's unexpected death startled the nation and triggered a national outpouring of grief, comparable to the deaths of presidents. President Herbert Hoover called Rockne's death "a national loss" -Sudekum Fisher, Maria (February 1, 2008). "J. E. Heathman; found crash that killed Rockne". Boston Globe. Associated Press. Retrieved February 14, 2008. Great Video as always Rex. Thank you!
For those not familiar with American college football and might be confused about what a "consensus national champion" is: Until a few years ago, there were no true playoffs for a national college championship. Instead, there was a poll of sportswriters and a poll of coaches. Get the most votes in both and people call you the consensus national champion. Yes, it was *=
He was played by Pat O'Brian, I believe.
sorry to hear about your health issues. I wish you the best and hope for a fast and complete recovery. This Douglas mini series was fantastic. I learned so much new information. Bravo! and that film clip of the XB-19 low pass. amazing!
Rex . Be well my friend !. Without you , aircraft enthusiasts would be bereft. Thanks. Dave
Minor note, at @55:40 photo is of head-on B-25's. Excellent shot btw.
Saw that too. Ed was just talking about North American Aviation the minute before. Editing glitch.
Those with a few spare hours can read the accounts of Ernest Gann and Robert Buck, who flew the DC-2 and then the DC-3. The latter, who eventually wound up as #1 on the TWA seniority list on 747s, describes the competition for DC-3 slots ahead of the DC-2.
Been waiting for part 2 of the Douglas Aircraft Company history and all I can say is, it's definitely well worth the wait! As always, I enjoyed it so much. Keep up the awesome work, Rex.^^
My Sunday just got a whole lot better 👍 Nice videos Rex !!
I hope things go well for you, Rex.
Douglas A-1 Skyraider and A-4 Skyhawk two of the best attack aircraft every built and the F4D Skyray one of the best looking fighters every built! Douglas really is one of the best!.
Great video:) Might i humbly suggest a video on Fokker and/or his craft? As a Dutchman that would be awesome.
The Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab), originally designated PS-84, was a license-built Soviet-version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by Factory #84 in Moscow-Khimki and, after evacuation in 1941, at TAPO in Tashkent. Approximately 5,000 built.
This is an amazing video! Count me in as a Patreon member! Hang in there on the illness and congrats on the move!
After watching Part 1 , I really didn't think this story could continue to be so interesting. Well done Rex ! There should be a special youtube award , just for you.
Thank you very much for an outstanding video. Prayers for your reflux problem. Congratulations to your continued and enhanced success. My mom worked on the DC9 assembly line for a few years.
Another great effort. Thank you. As a former MDC employee and lifetime airplane nut, this was great and looking forward to the next segment. On another question, have you already done, or considered doing, a review of Coast Guard aviation? I was an avionics tech and air crewman 70 to 73, primarily on the Grumman Albatross, HU16-E, or as we knew them, The Goat. We proudly wore patches declaring us to be Goat Herders. I can personally attest to the old adage about USCG aviation being, "Hours and hours of boredom, punctuated by moments of sheer terror." Anyway, the USCG flew a WIDE range of little known aircraft, as well as the better knowns, like the C-130. I didn't find anything in your catalog on the USCG and would recommend it for a future effort. Thanks again.
Thank you for this, I look forward to the next one! Congrats on the house, and good luck with the medical turmoil
Best wishes, Rex, for your long covid recovery. Went this way since March 2020 so I fully understand what you're goiing through. Try not to overdo it, it's the cheatcode of this bloody treacherous disease: as soon as you feel a slight bit better and tihink you're out of it, the bugger comes back with a vengeance. We have to learn to pace ourselves. Not easy since it means totally redifining not only your workflow but yout whole way of life. Take care, mate.
Ditto your comments, a year into LC myself it’s a game/ life changer so we’ll done Rex for keeping going and making such interesting content with everything else on top. I’m investigating the stories behind the airmen who lay at rest in the many cemeteries around Farnborough in Hampshire (military and civil) , my own act of remembrance I guess
Thank you Rex, this series has been fantastic. Look forward to the next segments. Meanwhile, take care of yourself. While we look forward to your vids, we would have nothing to look forward to if you weren't able to continue creating them. Hope the health issues get easily resolved!
Remarkable. The inflation-corrected price of a Dolphin is about $1 million. That wouldn't cover the price of a new four-place Cirrus.
This is brilliant, well done Rex and thank you.
This has been a very interesting series! Lots of little interesting tidbits that I wasn't aware of. Parts 1 & 2 have been thoroughly enjoyed, looking forward to Part 3! Oh, and that quick clip of the XB-19 low flyby....stunning! I've never seen that in 40-some years of aviation history study!
I will take your good, well researched word sir...but to believe a request for MORE leg room in an airliner? Mind blown!
this is very interesting and well-illustrated. would enjoy more single model stories focusing on design, usage and history. C2-C3/CST could almost have own series as well as the C-47. think DC-3 was basis of Alaska Airlines and there's one sitting outside Prague Airport. So maybe you could make some videos on individual stories rather overall linear history because they were very influential historic aircraft. C-47 is always associated with Berlin Airlift, but there must be many other significant historic events associated with individual Douglas aircraft. It's a DC-3 not an Avia, Let or Electra that sits in front of Prague Airport.
Genuinely cannot wait for the next part.
I really like this in depth history. I'd say best of every bunch.
Thanks Rex, I enjoyed this episode very much and learned a lot.
Extremely interesting video - looking very much forward to part 3. Good work :)
Tremendous work you've done.... Hubby and I cannot imagine the hours and hours of work that goes into simply writing the script, much less researching and editing!! Bravo!!!
Thank you for your efforts! I said to someone else, that I am very thankful to live in modern times, where someone like you is able to produce an interesting and comprehensive documentary on a budget and share it with us, the few (by comparison with TV spectators), who really, really enjoy your work! Anyway, hope that the number of tuves can be kept to an absolute minimum and that your health recovers as much as possible.
A very good presentation! Almost perfect. Thanks! And I hope you'll get over your health problems and get installed in you new home as soon as possible. Your work is really good! 🙂
Rex, just joined & i’m on part 2! Absolutely fascinating & looking forward to the next installments👍🏻
As always. Great stuff, Rex. Thank you.
My best wishes for your health & future move. Thank you really appreciate the effort.
Pure excellence, Rex. Already hyped for Part 3 after that cliffhanger!
Thanks Rex, this channel has come on leaps and bounds may your success continue.
Brilliant video! Great to see the start of the DC planes, the DC3/C47/Dakota is an amazing plane, I used to regularly see an Air Atlantique one flying over, I don't know if it still exists. And it looks like Donald Douglas saved the commercial aviation industry. Best wishes on your health situation.
Absolutely fantastic series.
No mention of the famous but rare DC-5, with both the A-20 & A-26 being derivative designs of the higher wing DC-5, which could travel as far as the DC-3, using half the fuel.
Great video as always Rex....and get well soon.👍👍👍👍
Thank you for another superb video. Appreciate your health condition I've been there too. Fingers crossed for you
Excellent series on Douglas. I love the research you put into it. Looking forward to chapter 3.
Keep it up, mate. I love the way you provide insider details on the ways the companies relate.
Good news all around! Well, except for the reflux. I hope it’s been diagnosed soon enough that there won’t be too many lasting effects. Thoroughly enjoyed this part 2. I appreciate all your hard work with the videos. I really love learning about aircraft I’m unfamiliar with, e.g. Blackburn, and discovering little tidbits I didn’t know about the familiar and loved planes. Good luck to you and your family from across the pond.
What an awesome video
Fantastic piece of work!
loved it.
WOOOO! I was waiting for this one! Your content has gotten consistently better with time, and I appreciate that. Keep up the great work!
Great video. Many thanks. Hope the health issue gets resolved with less trouble than you fear
Today flying may have lost its glamour but we are living in the tomorrow these people dreamt of so long ago. What took days to fly today is done in mere hours, one amazing accomplishment that has been realized. The earth has indeed shrunk thanks to the aircraft of today which began to take shape years ago with the DC 3 and Boeing 247 which laid the basic design groundwork for today's jetliners.
Hope you feel better soon, Rex.
Great series so far. Well worth the time spent watching it.
Something for those future office accessory costs. Look after yourself in the meantime.
Bravo. Thank you.
great video thanks for putting this together!
the "El Segundo" site is now Basically SPACE X, I grew up around Lakewood and Imperial, still in this hood, knew people who retired from Douglas. Mom remembered driving UNDER a fake camo to scale city of AAA protection Disney designed for the plants.
I believe that it was the Convair factory. Douglas El Segundo is no the USAF base Los Angeles.
Little purple pill works wonders. Esomeprazole Magnesium/Nexium Woke up throwing up blood for about a year. Started taking prescribed Nexium and that cured that. Now I just take as needed or about every three days if I can remember to take them.
Very well done. Thank you.
Awesome documentary!
Excellent video, really digging these looks into the companies behind the planes - hope you feel better soon!
What a great follow up video cheers mate .
Great stuff, Rex. Thank you.
Ohhh Man----Get well! and thanks for these wonderful presentations
Thanks for this history lesson. Great content and insights. Really appreciate your work.
Great research mate.
Well made! Very interesting.
Hey Rex! Huge fan of your work! Would you possibly be able to do a video on the XF-84H ThunderScreech? Keep up the great work man! Cheers!
Thanks. That was really interesting. .
great series
Nice job, thanks.
Another Great video.
Awesome video. Hope you feel better.
Got to check out a DC-3. It was surprising how small the cockpit was, especially compared the spacious passenger seating.
Love the California/Arizona route map! 😊
Keep well Rex
Hope your reflux issues got sorted out. Having suffered it for years, I can empathise with you. And although this video is four months old, it is the first time I have seen it and another really good piece of research by you.
Great video but do you need to set the Advertisement frequency to maximum? Can’t remember ever seeing soo many on any channel
You know you ate doing something right when your cheif rival wants one of your aircraft
Amazing video.
keep on flying!
Good job. Please take care of yourself
Please do get well soon. I hope it won't be a big of a "thing". And, once again, a very good video!
At 42:22, in the center is actually the rather well camouflaged factory of either the Douglas or Boeing company, following the USA's entrance into World War II. At 53:37, a more detailed view with mock up houses and bushes on top of the factory.
Danke!
Obligatory Polish contribution on 28:02. DC-2 in Polish Airlines LOT livery.