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Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
The Douglas World Cruiser (DWC)
was developed to meet a requirement from the United States Army Air Service for
an aircraft suitable for an attempt at the first flight around the world. The
Douglas Aircraft Company responded with a modified variant of their DT torpedo
bomber, the DWC.
Five aircraft were ordered for
the round-the-world flight: one for testing and training and four for the
actual expedition. The success of the World Cruiser bolstered the international
reputation of the Douglas Aircraft Company. The design of the DWC was later
modified to create the O-5 observation aircraft, which was operated by the Army
Air Service.
Design and development
In 1923, the U.S. Army Air
Service was interested in pursuing a mission to be the first to circumnavigate
the earth by aircraft, a program called "World Flight". Donald
Douglas proposed a modified Douglas Aircraft Company DT to meet the Army's
needs. The two-place, open cockpit DT biplane torpedo bomber had previously
been supplied to the Navy, thus shortening production time for the new series.
The DTs to be modified were taken from the assembly lines at the company's
manufacturing plants in Rock Island, Illinois and Dayton, Ohio. Douglas
promised that the design could be completed within 45 days after receiving a
contract. The Air Service agreed and lent Lieutenant Erik Nelson, a member of
the War Department planning group, to assist Douglas. Nelson worked directly
with Douglas at the Santa Monica, California factory, to formulate the new
proposal.
The modified aircraft known as
the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC), powered by a 420 hp Liberty L-12 engine, also
was the first major project at Douglas for Jack Northrop. Northrop designed the
fuel system for the series. The conversion involved incorporating a total of
six fuel tanks in wings and fuselage. For greater range, the total fuel
capacity went from 115 gallons (435 liters) to 644 gallons (2,438 liters).
Other changes from the DT involved having increased cooling capacity, as well
as adding two separate tanks for oil and water. To ensure a more robust
structure, a tubular steel fuselage, strengthened bracing, a modified wing of
49 ft (15 m) wingspan and larger rudder were required. The dual cockpits for
the pilot and copilot/crewman were also located more closely together with a
cutout in the upper wing to increase visibility.
Like the DT, the DWC could be
fitted with either floats or a conventional landing gear for water or ground landings.
Two different radiators were available, with a larger version for tropical
climes. After the prototype was delivered in November 1923, upon the successful
completion of tests on 19 November, the Army commissioned Douglas to build four
production series aircraft. Due to the demanding expedition ahead, spare parts,
including 15 extra Liberty engines, 14 extra sets of pontoons, and enough
replacement airframe parts for two more aircraft were specified and sent to way
points along the route. The last aircraft was delivered on 11 March 1924.
Operational history
From 17 March 1924, the pilots
practiced in the prototype which served as a training aircraft. On 6 April
1924, the four expedition aircraft, named Boston, Chicago, New Orleans and
Seattle, departed Sand Point, Washington, near Seattle, Washington. Seattle,
the lead aircraft, crashed in Alaska on 30 April. The other three aircraft with
Chicago assuming the lead, continued west across Asia and Europe relying on a
carefully planned logistics system, including prepositioned spare engines and
fuel caches maintained by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, to keep the aircraft
flying. Boston was forced down and damaged beyond repair in the Atlantic, off
the Faroe Islands. The remaining two aircraft continued across the Atlantic to
North America, where they were joined by Boston II at Pictou, Nova Scotia. The
recently re-christened prototype continued with the flight back to Washington
and on the World Flight's ceremonial flypast across the United States. The
three surviving aircraft returned to Seattle on 28 September 1924. The flight
covered 23,942 nm (44,342 km). Time in flight was 371 hours, 11 minutes and average
speed, 70 miles per hour.
Company
After the success of the World
Cruiser, the Army Air Service ordered six similar aircraft as observation
aircraft, retaining the interchangeable wheel/float undercarriage, but with
much less fuel and two machine guns on a flexible mounting in the rear cockpit.
These aircraft were initially designated DOS (Douglas Observation Seaplane),
but were redesignated O-5 in May 1924.
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, replacing the original winged heart logo.
Survivors
In returning to their starting
point, during the ceremonial flight across the United States, when the aircraft
made it to Chicago for a celebration attended by thousands, Lieutenant Smith,
as the spokesman for the mission, addressed the crowd. Eddie Rickenbacker, the
celebrated flying ace and chair of the welcoming committee, formally requested
that the Chicago, as the mission flagship, remain in its host city, donated to
the Field Museum of Natural History. Major General Mason M. Patrick, Chief of
the Air Service, was on hand to accept the request, and promised its formal
consideration.
Upon the request of the
Smithsonian Institution, however, the U.S. War Department transferred ownership
of the Chicago to the national museum. It made its last flight, from Dayton,
Ohio to Washington, D.C., on 25 September 1925. It was almost immediately put
on display in the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building. In 1974, the
Chicago was restored under the direction of Walter Roderick, and transferred to
the new National Air and Space Museum building for display in their Barron
Hilton Pioneers of Flight exhibition gallery.
After 1925, the "New
Orleans" was donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
Beginning in 1957, the New Orleans was displayed at the National Museum of the
United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. In 1988, it was transferred to the Museum
of Flying, Santa Monica. The aircraft was on loan from the Los Angeles County
Museum of Natural History and was returned in 2005. Since February 2012, the
New Orleans is to be a part of the exhibits at the Museum of Flying, Santa
Monica, California.
The wreckage of the Seattle was
recovered and is now on display in the Alaska Aviation Museum. The original
Boston sank in the North Atlantic, and it is thought that the only surviving
piece of the original prototype, the Boston II, is the aircraft data plate, now
in a private collection, and a scrap of fuselage skin, in the collection of the
Vintage Wings & Wheels Museum in Poplar Grove, Illinois.