Douglas World Cruiser

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World Cruiser
Douglas World Cruiser "Chicago" equipped with floats
Type	Seaplane
Manufacturer	Douglas Aircraft Company
Primary user	U.S. Army Air Service
Number built	5
Variants	Douglas DT

The Douglas World Cruiser (DWC) was developed to meet a requirement from the U.S. Army Air Service for an aircraft suitable for an attempt at the first flight around the world. The Douglas Aircraft Company responded with a modification of their DT torpedo bomber. Five of these aircraft were ordered for the round-the-world flight, one for testing and training and four for the actual expedition.

The DWC differed from the DT in having a greater fuel capacity for greater range. The cockpits for the pilot and crewman were also located more closely together. Like the DT, the DWC could be fitted with either floats or a conventional landing gear.

The four expedition aircraft, named Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, and Seattle, departed Seattle on April 4, 1924 for the expedition around the world. The Seattle crashed into a mountain in Alaska on April 30. The crew, Major Frederick L. Martin and Staff Sergeant Alva L. Harvey, survived and made their way through the wilderness to safety. The other three aircraft continued on through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, relying on a carefully planned logistics system, including pre-positioned spare engines, to keep the aircraft flying. The Boston was forced down while crossing the Atlantic and damaged beyond repair while being towed by a U.S. Navy cruiser. The remaining two aircraft continued across the Atlantic back to the United States, where they were joined by the test aircraft, now christened Boston II. The aircraft returned to their Seattle starting point on September 28, 1924, 23,942 nm (44,342 km) and 175 days since departing.

The Chicago is now part of the collection of the Smithsonian Institution and the New Orleans is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. The wreckage of the Seattle was recovered and is now on display in the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum.

Douglas Aircraft Company's logo was later changed in commemoration of the first aerial circumnavigation.

The success of the DWC established Douglas Aircraft Company among the major aircraft companies of the world and led it to adopt the motto "First Around the World - First the World Around". The company also adopted a logo that showed aircraft circling a globe. This logo evolved into an aircraft, a rocket, and a globe and was adopted by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation following the merger of Douglas and the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in 1967, and then became the basis of the logo of the Boeing Company following its acquisition of McDonnell Douglas in 1997.

[edit] Specifications (DWC with wheels/floats)

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General characteristics

• Crew: two
• Length: 35 ft 6 in (wheels) / 39 ft (floats) (10.82 m / 11.89 m)
• Wingspan: 50 ft (15.24 m)
• Height: 13 ft 7 in (wheels) / 15 ft 1 in (floats) (4.14 m / 4.6 m)
• Wing area: 707 ft² (65.68 m²)
• Empty weight: 4,380 lb (wheels) / 5,180 lb (floats) (1543 kg / 1825 kg)
• Loaded weight: 6,995 lb (wheels) / 7795 lb (floats) (3173 kg / 3536 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Liberty V12 engine, 420 hp (313 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 103 mph (wheels) / 100 mph (floats) (166 km/h / 161 km/h)
• Range: 1,998 nm (wheels) / 1,433 nm (floats) (3700 km / 2655 km)
• Service ceiling: 10,000 ft (wheels) / 7000 ft (floats) (3050 m / 2135 m)
• Wing loading: 9.9 lb/ft² (wheels) / 11 lb/ft² (floats) (48.3 kg/m² / 53.8 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 16.7 lb/hp (wheels) / 18.6 lb/hp (floats) (10.2 kg/kW / 11.3 kg/kW)

[edit] External links

• Air Force Association
• Air Force Museum
• Centennial of Flight
• Smithsonian Institution

[edit] External source

• René Francillon, "McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume I", ISBN 0-87021-428-4

[edit] Related content

Related development

Douglas DT

See also