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Douglas DT-2 World
Cruiser
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The DT-2 was redesigned
as the basis for the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC) and was selected as
part of a secret military project to build the first airplane to
circumnavigate the globe. It marked Douglas' entry into long range passenger service.
Douglas built five DWCs for the Aviation
Service of the U.S. Army. Four of the planes, the Seattle, the Boston,
the Chicago and the New Orleans, left Santa Monica,
Calif., for Seattle, March 17, 1924, and left Seattle April 4. The Seattle
was lost during a Pacific storm over Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The Boston
made a forced landing in the mid-Atlantic. The other two DWCs were
kept flying with the help of 15 extra engines, 14 extra sets of floats
and duplicates of all the airframe parts, stashed at various sites
around the world. The Chicago and New Orleans circled the
globe and returned to Seattle Sept. 28, 1924. They flew 27,553 miles in
six months and six days and earned the company its motto "First
Around the World - First the World Around."
The fifth DWC was tested and delivered to the
Army Air Service for test and approval. It was later renamed Boston
II and used to replace the first Boston, and with the first Boston's
crew, completed the flight around the world. The 1924
round-the-world flight remains one of the truly great
achievements in aviation. It was an incredibly arduous trek. The
loss of two of the airplanes and the close call for Major Martin
and Sgt. Harvey in the crash of the Seattle were hardly
the only setbacks. Throughout the journey the crews prevailed
against an endless series of forced landings, repairs, bad
weather, and other mishaps that continually threatened the
success of the flight. Further, it was a monumental logistical
accomplishment. More than just an aviation milestone, the flight
was an important step toward the goal of world-wide air
transport in the decades to come.
The Chicago was restored in 1971-1974 and
moved into the new National Air and Space Museum building in 1976.
Of the five Douglas World Cruisers built, the New Orleans is the
only other survivor. It is in the collection of the United States Air
Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. |
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Douglas
World Cruiser
From our Premier Series. 1/32nd scale. 20.75"
wingspan x 13.5" long.
No AB1DD-PR. Only $229.95 |
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