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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Douglas DC-3, SE-CFP: Towpilot· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Lisunov Li-2: Julian Herzog ( Website )· CC BY 4.0
- 3. Showa/Nakajima L2D: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 4. Douglas C-47: Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 5. 2022-06-09 Douglas DC-3 of McDonald's at Taupo: Maksym Kozlenko· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. CX-DC3-VRHDB2: Wrightbus· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 7. DC-3 in SoAfrica: Daniel H. Schumann ( Doontass at en.wikipedia )· Public domain
- 8. DC-3 on Floats N130Q: TimothyMN ( talk )· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 9. DC-3 spinning props: Jud McCranie· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 10. Dc3.takeoff.thales.arp: Arpingstone· Public domain
what is it?
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner that was manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It had a lasting effect on the airline industry from the 1930s through World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved, 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2. It is a low-wing metal monoplane with conventional landing gear, powered by two radial piston engines of 1,000–1,200 hp (750–890 kW).
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · low wing · retractable tailwheel (taildragger) · 29 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 91 years ago, in 1935.
- Top speed is 3.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 29 m: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
- Range of 2,537 km: 14× Amsterdam to Brussels.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1935-12-17
- introduced
- 1936
- status
- still flying
- number built
- 607
- role
- airliner and transport aircraft
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Douglas
- engines
- 2× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S1C3G Twin Wasp / Twin Wasp S1C3G
- passengers
- 32
- length
- 19.7 m
- wingspan
- 29 m
- height
- 5.2 m
- max take-off weight
- 11.4 t
- top speed
- 413 km/h
- cruise speed
- 339 km/h
- range
- 2,537 km
- ceiling
- 7,071 m
- wings
- low wing
- landing gear
- retractable conventional landing gear
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q190211, Wikipedia: Douglas DC-3 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.