Tag Archives: Douglas Aircraft Company

18–19 February 1934

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Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc.’s Douglas DC-1, NC223Y, “City of Los Angeles,” at Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, California, 1934. This is the aircraft that carried the mail on a transcontinental flight, 18–19 February 1934. (San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives)

18–19 February 1934: The final commercial air mail flight before United States Army took over the U.S. air mail set a new transcontinental speed record. An estimated 15,000 people were present at the Grand Central Air Terminal to witness the takeoff.

Because of a controversy as to how several long-term air mail contracts had been issued by the U.S. Postal Service, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt cancelled all of the commercial contracts by executive order, then ordered the U.S. Army to take over flying of the mail.

The airplane, the prototype Douglas Commercial Model 1 (DC-1), NC223Y, took off from Glendale, California, under the command of William John (“Jack”) Frye, vice president and chief pilot of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc. Two other T.W.A. pilots, Silas Amos (“Si”) Morehouse and Paul Ernest Richter, Jr., completed the flight crew. Also aboard were Edward Vernon (“Eddie”) Rickenbacker, president of Eastern Air Transport, the leading US. fighter ace of World War I. Six journalists rode as passengers during the flight. Approximately 3,300 pounds (1,497 kilograms) of mail were carried.

Douglas DC-1 NC223Y, “City of Los Angeles,” at Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, California, 1934. (San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives)

The route of the flight was from Glendale, California, to Albuquerque, New Mexico; Kansas City, Kansas; Columbus, Ohio; and Newark, New Jersey. The DC-1, named City of Los Angeles, departed Grand Central Air Terminal at 8:56 p.m., Pacific Standard Time (04:56 UTC) and arrived at Newark after a total elapsed time of 13 hours, 4 minutes, 20 seconds. The refueling stops at Albuquerque, Kansas City and Columbus were approximately ten minutes each.

Transcontinental & Western Douglas DC-1, NC223Y, “City of Los Angeles,”at Grand Central Air Terminal, 1934. (San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives)

The Los Angeles Times reported:

SKY TRAVEL MARK SET

NEW YORK TRIP TIME SLASHED

Latest T.-W.A. Liner Reaches Goal in Thirteen Hours, Four Min., Twenty Sec.

Best Passenger Transport Run Eclipsed by More than Six Hours

     [Aviation writer for the Los Angeles Times, Jean Bosquet, on invitation of officials of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., represented this newspaper on the history-making, record-smashing flight of the air line’s new Douglas transport plane from Los Angeles to New York.]

BY JEAN BOSQUET

     NEW YORK, Feb. 19. (Exclusive) Los Angeles to New York in thirteen hours, four minutes and twenty seconds.

     Incredible as it may seem, an air liner of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., constituting herself a winged representative of the American aviation industry, accomplished today the feat of carrying a capacity load of passengers and air mail across the continent in slightly more than thirteen hours, faster than the best previous time of a passenger plane in coast-to-coast flight by more than six hours.

     Shattering all existing speed and efficiency records for multimotored transport aircraft, the T.-W.A. liner City of Los Angeles performed the amazing gesture designed, in part, to impress the Federal government with the high efficiency attained by civilian aviation in the United States.

DEBUT AND CHALLENGE

    The performance of the Douglas monoplane, making its maiden flight across the continent, served as a protest against the government decree threatening the existence of the aviation industry by cancellation of air-mail contracts held by major air lines.

     The great gray liner’s epochal flight was at once a debut and a challenge.

     Slipping through the night skies, the swift monoplane rushed over almost 1500 miles of continent between Los Angeles and Kansas City in seven hours and eight minutes, elapsed time, maintaining an average of 210 miles an hour. A ten-minute stop was made at Albuquerque for refueling. The 715 miles between Los Angeles and the New Mexico point were spanned in three hours and fifteen minutes, 220 miles an hour being her average speed. Normal flying time for this run, in ships to be replaced next April by a fleet of these Douglas planes,is at present more than seven hours.

DETAILS OF FLIGHT

     The City of Los Angeles took off from Grand Central Air Terminal in 8:56 p.m. yesterday and reached Albuquerque as 12:11 a.m. today, Pacific standard time. Three hours and forty-four minutes were required for the next leg of the maiden flight, to Kansas City, which point was reached at 4:05 a.m., Pacific standard time.

     Refueling in ten minutes, the T.W.A. transport sped eastward, reaching Newark less than six hours after taking off from Kansas City and that following a stop at Columbus, O.

     At Columbus the landing was made in a flurry of snow. Undaunted by threat of storm, the angle of the blades on the flashing controllable-pitch propellers was changed and the mighty craft stuck its nose into the flurries and climbed like a condor until it road above the storm at 18,500 feet.

     At Lebanon, Pa., it had dropped to 14,000 feet and, riding the radio beam through a dull and cloudy sky, it soared into Newark under a broken ceiling of approximately 7000 feet.

SHIP STEAM-HEATED

     When the ship had reached its highest altitude, some of the six news writers and cameramen on board were seized with violent headaches. The portable oxygen tank was brought out and everybody had a few whiffs “to bring down the altitude.” Outside sleet smacked the metal sides of the aircraft and the temperature was 30 deg. below zero. Inside it was warm and cozy—the ship is steam-heated.

     From Columbus to a point east of Allentown, Pa., somewhat off the regular course, the plane was flying completely blind, depending on the radio beacons. Near the Delaware Water Gap the weather was clearing and the transport made its landing without difficulty before the fog caught up with it.

STOP ELIMINATED

     A third stop scheduled for Pittsburgh was eliminated, when the storm made it advisable to take on a heavier load of fuel at Columbus for the direct hop to New York.

     Although a sixty-mile tail wind at the 18,500-foot level enabled the aircraft to increase its speed to between 240 and 260 miles an hour, the plane for most of the distance was not helped by favoring winds. For the most part, according to Capt. Rickenbacker, there were cross winds. Fair weather was encountered most of the distance to Columbus.

     The amazing performance was unexpected even to T.W.A. officials, who had hoped their new liner would make the flight in fifteen hours with favorable weather. Aviation circles nationally were astonished by the speed of the transport, product of scientific engineering genius of the Southland.

SPLENDID SHOWING

     It was as though the great ship were aware of the trust reposed in her by her owners and by the rest of the nation’s aviation industry as well, when she roared out of Los Angeles, swept majestically over 12,000-foot mountain peaks and burst into the mist of morning over Kansas City.

     It was not alone the tremendous speed of the sleek liner which stood out as her flight progressed. She astonished a group of newspapermen and surprised even the flight host, Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, World War ace, with the quiet of her luxurious cabin, her steadiness in flight over mountain country, and the ease with which she sped on her course, the roaring of her two Wright Cyclones heard but faintly in her cabin.

     As she made her record-smashing way eastward her passengers slept in reclining chairs held steadier than berths in railroad trains.

LAST MAIL CARGO

     In the after compartment of the liner was the last consignment of mail to be carried by civilian aircraft, the governmental order canceling air-mail contracts taking effect three hours after the ship took off in Los Angeles.

     Veteran pilots forming the liner’s crew grimly hummed “The Last Round-up” as they sent the swift craft into the east.

     The  nine-ton monoplane with her 3300-pound pay load swept over treacherous terrain which now must be spanned by army aircraft and pilots ill-equipped for the task.

      Leaving Los Angeles the craft climbed to a height of 14,000 feet, rushing upward at the rate of 600 feet a minute at a speed of 190 miles an hour. Soon she was clearing the loftiest mountain peaks along her course by at least 2000 feet, disdainfully soaring over them.

VETERAN AVIATORS

     At her controls when the City of Los Angeles began her flight were Jack Frye, veteran airman and vice president of T.-W.A.; Paul Richter, superintendent of operations for the line’s western region, and Si Morehouse, senior pilot of T.-W.A. The combined flight hours of the three veterans totaled more than 15,000. Commenting on this during the flight, Capt. Rickenbacker pointed out the perilous undertaking of the army pilots now flying the mails with averages of less than 400 hours each.

     Other pilots replaced Richter and Morehouse as division points were reached, but Frye remained in the ship’s control room throughout her record breaking flight.

—Los Angeles Times, Vol. III, 20 February 1934, Page 1, Column 6, and Page 2, Column 4

Douglas DC-1 X223Y, at Clover Field, Santa Monica, California, 1 July 1933. (San Diego Air & Space Museum, Michael Blaine Collection, Catalog #: Blaine_00263)

The Douglas DC-1 was a prototype commercial transport, built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, Santa Monica, California. It was a twin-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear. It had a flight crew of two pilots, and seats for 12 passengers.

The new airplane had been requested by Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., in August 1932. Originally intended as a three-engine transport, the new airliner was required to have a maximum speed of at least 185 miles per hour (298 kilometers per hour) and a service ceiling of 21,000 feet (6,400 meters). It would be required to take off from Winslow, Arizona—at 4,941 feet (1,506 meters) above Sea Level, the highest airfield in the T.W.A. route system. It was required to carry more passengers than the Boeing Model 247, and to have a landing speed of 65 miles per hour (105 kilometers per hour).

The DC-1 was 60 feet, 0 inches (11.288 meters) long, with a wing span of 85 feet, 0 inches (25.908 meters), and height of 16 feet, 0 inches (4.877 meters). Its empty weight was 11,780 pounds (5,343 kilograms), and gross weight, 17,500 pounds (7,938 kilograms).

Passenger cabin of the Douglas DC-1. (Dick Whittington Studio)
Reclining seats in the passenger cabin of the Douglas DC-1. (Dick Whittington Studio)

The DC-1 was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged Wright Cyclone SGR-1820-F3 nine-cylinder radial engines. These engines had a compression ratio of 6.4:1 and required 87-octane gasoline. They were rated at 700 horsepower at 1,950 r.p.m. They turned three-bladed variable-pitch propellers through a 16:11 gear reduction. The -F3 was 3 feet, 11-3/16 inches (1.199 meters) long, 4 feet, 5¾ inches (1.365 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,047 pounds (475 kilograms).

The DC-1 had a cruise speed of 190 miles per hour (306 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 210 miles per hour (338 kilometers per hour). Its range was 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers), and the service ceiling was 23,000 feet (7,010 meters).

Only one DC-1 was built. It was rolled out of its hangar 22 June 1933. Registered X223Y, it made its first flight, 1 July 1933, at Clover Field, Santa Monica, California, with test pilots Carl Cover and Fred Herman in the cockpit.

The prototype Douglas DC-1, X223Y, takes off from Clover Field, Santa Monica, California, 1 July 1933. (Airport Journals)
The Douglas DC-1, X223Y, in flight. (Larry Westin)

NC223Y was retired from passenger service in 1936. T.W.A. loaned it to the U.S. government for high altitude research. It was then sold to Howard Hughes. NC223Y was sold to Viscount Forbes of the United Kingdom, 27 May 1938, transported across the Atlantic aboard a freighter, then registered G-AFIF, 25 June 1938. The airplane was re-sold to France in September 1938.

Spanish-registered Douglas DC-1 EC-AGN, owned by Lineas Aéreas Postales Espanolas. (Iberia Airlines)

The DC-1 was again sold, this time to Spanish Republican government, and operated by Lineas Aéreas Postales Espanolas, also known as LAPE. The airplane made a forced landing at Malaga, Spain, in December 1940. It was damaged beyond repair.

Wreck of the Douglas DC-1, Malaga, Spain. (Weird Wings)

The single DC-1 prototype led to an order for 20 improved 14-passenger DC-2s for T.W.A. This, in turn, resulted in the development of the legendary Douglas DC-3.

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

15 February 1946

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Douglas XC-112A Liftmaster 45-873 (U.S. Air Force)
Douglas XC-112A 45-873 (W. T. Larkins Collection/Wikipedia)

15 February 1946: First flight of Douglas XC-112A (s/n 36326) 45-873.

In 1944, the U.S. Army Air Corps had requested a faster, higher-flying variant of the Douglas C-54E Skymaster, with a pressurized cabin. Douglas Aircraft Company developed the XC-112A in response. It was completed 11 February 1946 and made its first flight 4 days later. With the end of World War II, military requirements were scaled back and no orders for the type were placed.

Douglas saw a need for a new post-war civil airliner to compete with the Lockheed L-049 Constellation. Based on the XC-112A, the prototype Douglas DC-6 was built and made its first flight four months later, 29 June 1946.

Prototype Douglas DC-6 civil transport. (Century of Flight)

The Air Force ordered the twenty-sixth production Douglas DC-6 as a presidential transport, designated VC-118, The Independence. Beginning in 1951, the Air Force ordered a variant of the DC-6A as a the C-118A Liftmaster military transport and MC-118A medical transport. The U.S. Navy ordered it as the R6D-1.

The Douglas DC-6 was flown by a pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and a navigator on longer flights. It was designed to carry between 48 and 68 passengers, depending on variant.

The DC-6 was 100 feet, 7 inches (30.658 meters) long with a wingspan of 117 feet, 6 inches (35.814 meters) and overall height of 28 feet, 5 inches (8.612 meters). The aircraft had an empty weight of 55,567 pounds (25,205 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 97,200 pounds (44,090 kilograms).

The initial production DC-6 was powered by four 2,804.4-cubic-inch-displacement (45.956 liter), air-cooled, supercharged Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp CA15 two-row, 18 cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.75:1. The CA15 had a Normal Power rating of 1,800 h.p. at 2,600 r.p.m. at 6,000 feet (1,829 meters), 1,600 horsepower at 16,000 feet (4,877 meters), and 2,400 h.p. at 2,800 r.p.m with water injection for take off. The engines drove  three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic 43E60 constant-speed propellers with a 15 foot, 2 inch (4.623 meter) diameter through a 0.450:1 gear reduction. The Double Wasp CA15 was 6 feet, 4.39 inches (1.940 meters) long, 4 feet, 4.80 inches (1.341 meters) in diameter, and weighed 2,330 pounds (1,057 kilograms).

The Douglas DC-6 had a cruise speed of 311 miles per hour (501 kilometers per hour) and range of 4,584 miles (7,377 kilometers).

XC-112A 45-873 was redesignated YC-112A and was retained by the Air Force before being transferred to the Civil Aeronautics Administration at Oklahoma City, where it was used as a ground trainer. 36326 was sold at auction as surplus equipment, and was purchased by Conner Airlines, Inc. Miami, Florida and received its first civil registration, N6166G, 1 August 1956. The YC-112A was certified in the transport category, 20 August 1956.

Conner Airlines sold 36326 to Compañia Ecuatoriana de Aviación (CEA), an Ecuadorian airline. Registered HC-ADJ, Ecuatoriana operated 36326 for several years.

It was next re-registered N6166G, 1 August 1962, owned by ASA International. A few months later, 1 May 1963, 36326 was registered to Trabajeros Aereos del Sahara SA (TASSA) a Spanish charter company specializing in the support of oil drilling operations in the Sahara, registered EC-AUC.

XC-112A was operated as a DC-6, EC-AUC, by TASSA Air Charter, seen here at London Gatwick, 29 August 1964. (RuthAS)
The XC-112A was operated as EC-AUC by TASSA Air Charter, seen here at London Gatwick, 29 August 1964. (RuthAS)

In 1965, with a private owner, 36326 was once again re-registered N6166G. Just two weeks after that, 1 June 1965, 36326 was registered to TransAir Canada as CF-TAX.

A TransAir DC-6
A TransAir DC-6

Two years later, 13 June 1967, Mercer Airlines bought 36326. This time the airplane was registered N901MA. Mercer was a charter company which also operated a Douglas C-47 and Douglas DC-4.

N901MA at Hollywood-Burbank Airport (Bureau d'Archives des Accidents d'Avion)
N901MA at Hollywood-Burbank Airport (Bureau d’Archives des Accidents d’Avion)

A Las Vegas, Nevada, hotel chartered Mercer Airlines to fly a group of passengers from Ontario International Airport (ONT), Ontario, California, to McCarran International Airport (LAS). On 8 February 1976, 36326, operating as Mercer Flight 901, was preparing to fly from Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR) where it was based, to ONT. The airliner had a flight crew of three: Captain James R. Seccombe, First Officer Jack R. Finger,  Flight Engineer Arthur M. Bankers. There were two flight attendants in the passenger cabin, along with another Mercer employee.

Weather at BUR was reported as 1,000 feet (305 meters) scattered, 7,000 feet (2,134 meters) overcast, with visibility 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) in light rain and fog. The air temperature was 56 °F. (13.3  °C.), the wind was 180° at 4 knots (2 meters per second).

At 10:35 a.m. PST (18:35 UTC), Flight 901 was cleared for a rolling takeoff on Burbank’s Runway 15. While on takeoff roll, Flight Engineer Bankers observed a warning light for engine #3 (inboard, starboard wing). He called out a warning to the Captain, however, the takeoff continued.

Immediately after takeoff, a propeller blade on #3 failed. The intense vibration from the unbalanced propeller tore the #3 engine off of the airplane’s wing, and it fell on to the runway below.

The thrown blade passed through the lower fuselage, cut through hydraulic and pneumatic lines and electrical cables and then struck the #2 engine (inboard, port wing), further damaging the airplane’s electrical components and putting a large hole in that engine’s forward accessory drive case. The engine rapidly lost lubricating oil.

Flight 901 declared an emergency and requested to land on Runway 07, which was approved by the Burbank control tower, though they were informed that debris from the engine was on the runway at the intersection of 15/33 and 07/25. The airplane circled to the right to line up for Runway 07.

Just prior to touchdown, warning lights indicated that the propeller on the #2 engine had reversed. (In fact, it had not.) Captain Seccombe announced that they would only reverse #1 and #4 (the outboard engines, port and starboard wings) to slow 36326 after landing, and the airplane touched down very close to the approach end of the runway.

Because of the damage to the airplane’s systems, the outboard propellers would not reverse to slow the airplane and the service and emergency brakes also had failed. N901MA was in danger of running off the east end of the 6,055 foot (1,846 meters) runway, across the busy Hollywood Way and on into the city beyond.

The flight crew applied full power on the remaining three engines and again took off.  The landing gear would not retract. The electrical systems failed. The #2 engine lost oil pressure and began to slow.

The DC-6 circled to the right again and headed toward Van Nuys Airport (VNY), 6.9 miles (11.1 kilometers) west of Hollywood-Burbank Airport. They informed Burbank tower that they would be landing on Van Nuys Runway 34L which was 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) long. Because of the emergency, the crew remained on Burbank’s radio frequency. The #2 engine then stopped but the propeller could not be feathered.

Bob Hope Burbank irport is at the right edge of this image, and Van Nuys Airport is at the left. Woodly Golf Course is just south of VNY. (Google Earth image)
Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR) is at the right edge of this image, and Van Nuys Airport is at the left. Woodley Lakes Golf Course is just south of VNY. (Google Earth image)

Van Nuys weather was reported as 600 feet (183 meters) scattered, 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) overcast, with visibility 10 miles (16.1 kilometers) in light rain, temperature 55 °F. (12.8 °C.). The airliner was flying in and out of the clouds and the crew was on instruments. [1045: “Special, 1,200 scattered, 10,000 feet overcast, visibility—10 miles, rainshowers, wind—130° at 4 kn, altimeter setting—29.93 in.”]

Because of the drag of the unfeathered engine #2 propeller and the extended landing gear, the Flight 901 was unable to maintain altitude with the two remaining engines. The airplane was not able to reach the runway at VNY.

A forced landing was made on a golf course just south of the airport. The airplane touched down about 1 mile south of the threshold of Runway 34L on the main landing gear and bounced three times. At 10:44:55, the nose then struck the foundation of a partially constructed building, crushing the cockpit. All three flight crew members were killed by the impact.

N901MA-2
Douglas YC-112A serial number 36326, N901MA, shortly after crash landing at Woodley Golf Course, Van Nuys, California, 8 February 1976. (Bureau d’Archives des Accidents d’Avions)

Both flight attendants were trapped under their damaged seats but were able to free themselves. They and the passenger were able to escape from the wreck with minor injuries.

Los Angeles City Fire Department firefighters attempted to rescue the crew by cutting into the fuselage. Even though the area around the airplane had been covered with fire-retardant foam, at about 20 minutes after the crash, sparks from the power saw ignited gasoline fumes. Fire erupted around the airplane. Ten firefighters were burned, three severely. N901MA was destroyed.

"Feb. 8, 1976: Firemen scatter after saw ignites gas fumes at crash site of DC-6 in Van Nuys. Three trapped crew members of Mercer Enterprises DC-6 charter plane died. Ten firemen were injured." (Boris Yaro/Los Angeles Times)
“Feb. 8, 1976: Firemen scatter after saw ignites gas fumes at crash site of DC-6 in Van Nuys. Three trapped crew members of Mercer Enterprises DC-6 charter plane died. Ten firemen were injured.” (Boris Yaro/Los Angeles Times)

At the time of the accident, YC-112A 36326 was just three days short of the 30th anniversary of its completion at Douglas. It had flown a total of 10,280.4 hours. It was powered by three Pratt & Whitney R-2800-83 AMS, and one R-2800-CA18 Double Wasp engines. All four engines drove three-bladed Curtiss-Wright Type C632-S constant-speed propellers. The failed propeller had been overhauled then installed on N901MA 85 hours prior to the 8 February flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident. It was found that a fatigue fracture in the leading edge of the propeller blade had caused the failure. Though the propeller had recently been overhauled, it was discovered that the most recent procedures had not been followed. This required that the rubber deicing boots be stripped so that a magnetic inspection could be made of the blade’s entire surface. Because this had not been done, the crack in the hollow steel blade was not found.

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

22 January 1968, 22:48:08.86 UTC, T + 00:00:00.86

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Apollo 5 Saturn IB (AS-204) lifts off with LM-1 at Launch Complex 37B, Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 22:48:09 UTC, 22 January 1968. (NASA)

22 January 1968: At 22:48:00.86 UTC (5:48:08 a.m., Eastern Standard Time) a Saturn IB rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Cape Kennedy, Florida, carrying LM-1, an unmanned Apollo Program lunar lander, into a low-Earth orbit.

AS-204 reached Mach 1 at T + 0:59.8, passing 24,574 feet (7,490.16 meters). First stage separation occurred at T + 02:23.6, at an altitude of 194,228 feet (59,201 meters), with the vehicle accelerating through 7,563 feet per second (2,305 meters per second).

The AS-204 S-IVB engine cut off occurred at T + 09:53 at 536,166 feet (163,423 meters) with the vehicle travelling 25,659 feet per second (7,820 meters per second). Orbital insertion occurred at T + 00:10:03 at an altitude of 88 nautical miles (163 kilometers) with a velocity of 25,684 feet per second (7,828 meters per second). The orbit was elliptical with an apogee of 120 nautical miles (222 kilometers) and perigee of 88 nautical miles (163 kilometers). The orbital period was 88.39 minutes.

Apollo 5 lefts off from Launch Complex (NASA)

The Lunar Module separated from the S-IVB stage at T + 00:53:55.24. It was the allowed to cold-soak for about 3 hours. At T + 03:59.46, the LM’s descent engine was fired but aborted by the guidance computer after 4.0 seconds. A little over 3 hours later, at T + 06:10:42, the descent engine was fired a second time, and burned until T +  06:13:14.7.

The ascent engine fired at  06:12:14.7 while the descent and ascent stages were still joined. The engine burned 60.0 seconds. It was fired a second time at T + 07:44:13.

With the tests completed, the orbits of the separated LM stages were allowed to decay. LM-1 quickly re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and was destroyed.

The purpose of the Apollo 5 mission was to test the Grumman-built Lunar Module in actual spaceflight conditions. Engines for both the descent and ascent stages had to be started in space, and be capable of restarts. Although the mission had some difficulties as a result of programming errors, it was successful and a second test flight with LM-2 determined to be unnecessary and was cancelled.

Apollo 5/Saturn IB (AS-204) clears the tower at Launch Complex 37B, Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida, 22:48 UTC, 22 January 1968. (NASA)

SA-204 ¹ had originally been the scheduled launch vehicle for the Apollo 1 manned orbital flight.

When a fire in the command module killed astronauts Virgil I. (“Gus”) Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee, 27 January 1967, the rocket was undamaged. It was moved from Launch Complex 39 and reassembled at LC 37B for use as the launch vehicle for Apollo 5.

Apollo 5 Saturn IB AS-204 at Launch Complex 37B, 22 January 1968. (NASA)

The Saturn IB AS-204 was a two-stage, liquid-fueled, heavy launch vehicle. It consisted of a S-IB first stage and S-IVB second stage. The total height of AS-204 was 181 feet, 0.355 inches (55.17782 meters). The Saturn IB rocket stood 141 feet, 8.644 inches (43.19636 meters), without payload. It had a maximum diameter of 22.8 feet (6.949 meters), and the span across the first stage guide fins was 40.7 feet (12.405 meters). Its empty weight was 159,000 pounds (72,122 kilograms) and at liftoff, Apollo 5 weighed 1,285,044 pounds (582,886 kilograms). The Saturn IB was capable of launching a 46,000 pound (20,865 kilogram) payload to Earth orbit.

The S-IB first stage was built by the Chrysler Corporation Space Division at the Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, Louisiana. The first stage was 80 feet, 4.089 inches (24.4878606 meters) long, with a maximum diameter of 21 feet, 8.0 inches (6.604 meters) (21 feet, 5.0 inches across the Redstone tanks). The stage was powered by eight Rocketdyne H-1 engines, burning RP-1 and liquid oxygen. Eight Redstone rocket fuel tanks, with four containing the RP-1 fuel, and four filled with liquid oxygen, surrounded a Jupiter rocket fuel tank containing liquid oxygen. Total thrust of the S-IB stage was 1,666,460 pounds (7,417.783 kilonewtons) and it carried sufficient propellant for a maximum 4 minutes, 22.57 seconds of burn. The first stage of AS-204 was S-IB-4.

Saturn S-IB first stages in final assembly at Michoud, 1967. (NASA GPN-2000-000043)

The McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company S-IVB stage was built at Huntington Beach, California. The stage was 61 feet, 4.555 inches (18.708497 meters) long, with a maximum diameter of 21 feet, 8.0 inches (6.604 meters). It was powered by a single Rocketdyne J-2 engine, fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The J-2 produced 229,714 pounds of thrust (1,021.819 kilonewtons), at high thrust, and 198,047 pounds (880.957 kilonewtons) at low thrust). The second stage carried enough fuel for 7 minutes, 49.50 seconds burn at high thrust.

Three-view drawing of the Lunar Module with dimensions. (NASA)

The Lunar Module was a two-stage vehicle designed to transport two astronauts from Lunar Orbit to the surface of the Moon, provide shelter and a base of operations while on the Moon, and then return the astronauts to lunar orbit, rendezvousing with the Apollo Command and Service Module.  It was designed and built by the Grumman Aerospace Corporation at Bethpage, Long Island, New York.

The Descent Stage incorporated extendable landing gear, a hypergolic-fueled rocket engine to brake from orbital speed, establish a landing trajectory, and then decelerate for landing. The TRW Space Technology Laboratories Lunar Module Descent Engine (LMDE) produced a maximum of 10,500 pounds of thrust (46.706 kilonewtons), and could be throttled from 10–100% thrust. The stage also carried support equipment, oxygen, water, etc., needed by the astronauts, and equipment for use during surface activities.

To return to Lunar Orbit, the Descent Stage was left behind, and the Bell Aerosystems Lunar Module Ascent Engine (LMAE) was fired. This engine also used hypergolic fuel and produced 3,500 pounds of thrust (15.569 kilonewtons).

LM-1 weighed 36,342 pounds (16,484 kilograms).

Apollo Lunar Module LM-1 being assembled with upper stage. (NASA)
Apollo Lunar Module LM-1 being assembled with upper stage. (NASA)

¹ The Apollo Program Saturn rockets were designated as both AS-xxx and SA-xxx. The AS-xxx designation was applied to the complete vehicle, or “full stack,” while the SA-xxx designation applied to only the multi-stage rocket assembly.

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

16 January 1942

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Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., Douglas DC-3-362 NC1943, the same type aircraft as NC1946. (Boeing Images)

16  January 1942: Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., Flight 3, was a transcontinental passenger flight enroute to Los Angeles, California from New York City.

The airplane was a Douglas DC-3-362, registered NC1946.

The pilot in command was Captain Wayne C. Williams, an 11-year employee of T&WA. He had 12,204 hours total flight time with more than 3,500 hours in DC-3s. He had flown 204 hours at night within the previous six months. The co-pilot was S. Morgan Gillette, who had been with T&WA for a little less than 1 year, 6 months. He had 1,330 hours of flight time with 650 in DC-3s.

Transcontinental and Western Air Douglas DC-3 NC1945, sister ship of NC1946, TWA Flight 3. (TWA)

After a refueling stop at Las Vegas Airport, the airliner departed at 7:07 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, on the final leg of the flight to the Lockheed Air Terminal at  Burbank, California (officially, the Bob Hope Airport, but now known as Hollywood Burbank Airport). It was dark, but the weather was clear. Because of wartime regulations, the lighted airway beacons on the route had been extinguished.

Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., DC-3-362 NC1944. (Nelson Ronsheim)

At 7:20 p.m., PST, Flight 3 crashed into a vertical cliff face on Potosi Mountain, an 8,517-foot (2,596 meters) mountain 32 miles (51.5 kilometers) southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. The DC-3 was completely destroyed and all 22 persons aboard were killed, including actress Carole Lombard, Mrs. Clark Gable.

In planning the flight, the crew had made an error in the compass course for this leg of the flight. Their written flight plan, filed with the airline’s operations department, indicated a compass course of 218° which took them directly to the mountain.

Carole Lombard (6 October 1908–16 January 1942)
Carole Lombard (Paramount Studios)

Carole Lombard (née Jane Alice Peters) was one of the most successful motion picture actresses in Hollywood. She was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1908, and had her first motion picture role in 1921. At age 16, she was under contract to the Fox Film Corporation and as was customary, was given a more dramatic name. She was primarily a comedic actress though she also had several dramatic roles.

Lombard was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in “My Man Godfrey” which starred William Powell, to whom she was married 1931–1933. In 1938, Lombard married actor Clark Gable.

Carole Lombard had been on a War Bonds tour and was returning home to Hollywood. She was seated in an aisle seat in the third row, next to a U.S. Army private. Her mother, Elizabeth Peters, was seated directly across the aisle.

Transcontinental and Western Flight 3 crash site
Scene of the crash of Transcontinental and Western Flight 3 on Petosi Mountain, Nevada. The point of impact was at an elevation of 7,770 feet (2,368 meters). (Bettman Archive via Lost Flights)
Crash site, T&WA Flight 3 on Petosi Mountain, Nevada.
Rescue/recovery team at the crash site of T&WA Flight 3 on Petosi Mountain, Nevada, 18 January 1942. (Civil Aeronautics Authority, Bureau of Aviation Safety)
TWA Flight 3 crashed on this vertical face of Mount Potosi, Nevada, 16 January 1942, killing all on board. (Harlan Stockman)
TWA Flight 3 crashed into this vertical face of Potosi Mountain, Nevada, 16 January 1942, killing all on board. (Harlan Stockman)

NC1946 was a DC-3-362, c/n 3295, built in February 1941 for Transcontinental and Western Air by the Douglas Aircraft Company at Santa Monica, California. It was an all-metal, twin-engine civil transport with retractable landing gear. The airplane was operated by a pilot and co-pilot and could carry up to 21 passengers.

The DC-3-362 was 64 feet, 5 inches (19.634 meters) long with a wingspan of 95 feet (28.956 meters). It was 16 feet, 11 inches (5.156 meters) high. The airplane weighed approximately 18,000 pounds (8,165 kilograms) empty and had a gross weight of 25,200 pounds (11,431 kilograms).

NC1946 was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged 1,823.129-cubic-inch-displacement (29.875 liter) Wright Aeronautical Division Cyclone 9 GR-1820G202A nine-cylinder radial engines with compression ratio of 6.7:1. These engines had a Normal Power rating of 1,100 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m., and 1,200 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m. for Takeoff, burning 91/96 octane aviation gasoline. They drove three-bladed, constant-speed, full-feathering Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propellers through a 0.5625:1 gear reduction. The GR-1820G202A was 4 feet, 2.04 inches (1.271 meters) long, 4 feet, 7.10 inches (1.400 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,310 pounds (594 kilograms).

The DC-3  had a cruise speed of 150 miles per hour (241 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 237 miles per hour (381 kilometers per hour) at 8,500 feet (2,591 meters). The airplane had a service ceiling 24,000 feet (7,315 meters), and its range was 1,025 miles (1,650 kilometers).

The Douglas DC-3 was in production for 11 years with 10,655 civil and C-47 military airplanes built, and another 5,000 license-built copies. Over 400 are still in commercial service.

Petosi Mountain, looking west. (Detail from photograph by Stan Shebs)
Petosi Mountain, looking west. (Detail from photograph by Stan Shebs)

Commercial Aviation Archaeology has a very informative site on this accident at:

https://www.lostflights.com/Commercial-Aviation/11642-TWA-TWA-Douglas-DC-3/

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

31 December 1985

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Eric Hilliard Nelson (8 May 1940–31 December 1985) (Guy Webster)

31 December 1985: At 5:14 p.m., Central Standard Time, a Douglas DC-3C, N711Y,¹ crash-landed in a field near DeKalb, Texas. The airplane struck a wire and several trees and was extensively damaged. The airplane, already on fire, was completely destroyed.

The pilot and co-pilot escaped through cockpit windows, but all seven passengers, including singer Rick Nelson, died.

N711Y was a Douglas C-47A-25-DK Skytrain twin-engine military transport, serial number 42-108981, built at the Midwest City Douglas Aircraft Company Plant, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, circa 1943–1944. Following U.S. military service, the transport was operated in Brazil. The Skytrain had been converted to a civil DC-3C in 1959, and registered N136H. At one time the airplane had been owned by the DuPont family, and later by singer Jerry Lee Lewis. It was registered to the Century Equipment Co., Los Angeles, California, 13 March 1981.

Rick Nelson's Douglas DC-3C, N711Y. © Thomas P. McManus
Rick Nelson’s Douglas DC-3C, N711Y. (Thomas P. McManus via lostflights)

At 5:08 p.m., the pilot informed Air Traffic Control  that he had a problem and was going to divert from the intended destination of Dallas, Texas, to Texarkana. At 5:11 p.m., ATC received a call from N711Y saying that there was smoke in the cockpit. At 5:12 p.m., it was seen on radar at an altitude of 600 feet (183 meters). The airplane disappeared from radar at 5:14 p.m.

Witnesses reported seeing the airplane descending in a left turn to line up with a farm field. It was trailing smoke. Small pieces of metal fell off which started several small fires. The DC-3 struck two power wires suspended about 30 feet (9 meters) above the ground, then a utility pole and several trees.

The pilot and co-pilot, who were both severely burned, gave differing statements as to what had occurred. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation found that there had been an in-flight fire in the passenger cabin which had probably started in the on-board cabin heater. The board concluded that the pilot in command did not follow proper procedures or check lists.

Burned-out wreckage of Douglas DC-3C N711Y. (Unattributed)

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain is an all-metal twin-engine, low wing monoplane transport with retractable landing gear. It was operated by a minimum flight crew of two pilots, a navigator and a radio operator. The wing is fully cantilevered and the fuselage is of semi-monocoque construction. Control surfaces are fabric-covered. The C-47A variant used a 24-volt electrical system.

The C-47 is 64 feet, 5½ inches (19.647 meters) long with a wingspan of 95 feet (28.956 meters) and height of 17 feet (5.182 meters). The wing center section is straight, but outboard of the engine nacelles there is 5º dihedral. The wings’ leading edges are swept aft 15.5°. The trailing edges have no sweep. Empty weight of the C-47A is 17,257 pounds (7,828 kilograms) and the maximum takeoff weight is 29,300 pounds (13,290 kilograms).

The C-47 is powered by two 1,829.4-cubic-inch-displacement (29.978 liter) air-cooled, supercharged R-1830-92 (Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp S1C3-G) two-row 14-cylinder radial engines. These had a maximum continuous rating for normal operation was 1,060 horsepower at 2,550 r.pm., up to 7,500 feet (2,286 meters), and 1,200 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m., at Sea Level, for takeoff. Each engine drives a three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic constant-speed full-feathering propeller with a diameter of 11 feet, 6 inches (3.505 meters) through a 16:9 gear reduction. The R-1830-92 is 48.19 inches (1.224 meters) long, 61.67 inches (1.566 meters) in diameter, and weighs 1,465 pounds (665 kilograms). (N711Y had been re-engined with Pratt & Whitney R-1830-75 engines, rated at 1,350 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m.)

The C-47 has a cruising speed of 185 miles per hour (298 kilometers per hour) at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and service ceiling of 24,100 feet (7,346 meters).

The C-47 could carry 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms) of cargo, or 28 fully-equipped paratroopers. Alternatively, 14 patients on stretchers could be carried, along with three attendants.

The C-47A served with the United States Air Force until 1971. Hundreds of C-47s and DC-3s are still operational, worldwide.

Crash site of Douglas DC-3C N711Y, near DeKalb, Texas. (Unattributed)
Crash site of Douglas DC-3C N711Y, near DeKalb, Texas. (Unattributed)

¹ N711Y was  registered to Century Equipment, Inc., Los Angeles, California. The airplane was sold to Rick Nelson on 2 May 1985, but was never re-registered.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes