Douglas DC-3 VH-ANH
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Following the success of the Douglas DC-2, American Airlines(AA) approached Douglas with a proposed stretch of the DC-2 to accommodate sleeper berths. Douglas was not interested in building a highly specialised aircraft for one customer, but following an approach by AA's President stressing the payload advantages that the proposed widening and lengthening of the fuselage offered, Douglas agreed to build the aircraft, and AA agreed to purchase twenty of them, ten of which would be the night sleeper variant designated Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST), and the rest would be the twenty one seat day aircraft, designated DC-3. The prototype of the DST first flew on December 7 1935 and entered service in June 1936 featuring fourteen seats that converted to seven sleeper berths while a further seven berths were lowered from above the cabin ceiling. These were followed by the standard twenty one seat DC-3s in November of that year.
United Airlines became the second Douglas customer and over the next two years more than thirty other airlines followed suit. The DC-3 became the most important commercial aircraft to that time with a reputation among operators in the industry, including the Military. From 1935 to1946 , 607 civilian DC-3s were built and during WW2 10,000+ DC-3s were mass produced for the Military designated as C-47(US Army) R4D (US Navy) and Dakota (RAF) etc, as well as several purpose built examples for specific tasks such as Troop Transport C-53 eg. These were rugged versions of the civilian DC-3 with strengthened undercarriages and floors, tie down points and large cargo doors, powered by 1,250hp Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp R-1830 two row 14 cylinder radial engines.
Slightly less than 5,000 machines were built under license by Russia, and 480 odd were built by Nakajima of Japan between 1939 and 1945 as the L2D Type O Transport allied name "Tabby", making a total production of 16,000+ aircraft.
During the war years, the air forces of all the participants and many others operated fleets of DC-3s. In Australia the RAAF operated 124 Dakotas between 1945 and 2000, four of which were operated by the RAN between 1949 and 1974.
Post WW2, the DC-3 became the mainstay of airline services world wide for many years until larger capacity piston engined aircraft, followed by turbine powered machines came into the market place, and they were relegated to lower levels of operation. The major Australian airlines operated 120 DC-3s, Ansett ANA - 70, TAA - 23, Qantas - 20 and East-West 7. Some still fly today 87 years after the type first flew.
The Museum's DC-3 came to the RAAF in 1943 and served with No 36 Squadron before being transferred to Guinea Airways operating transport flights under military contract. Post war, Australian National Airways (ANA) took over the aircraft in early 1946 and converted it to DC-3 specifications and operated it as VH-ANH until being retired after logging some 45,000 hours of flight time.
It is the third oldest DC-3 still in Australia and is one of three original factory built civil airline DC-3 aircraft still in existence in the country. Other examples in Australia were converted from Military machines.
Ansett ANA donated it to the Museum in August 1972 and it was flown into Moorabbin Airport by Capt Peter Gibbes, Ansett ANA Operations Manager at the time.
VH-ANH is currently being completely restored to a display standard at Moorabbin.
TECHNICAL DATA - Museum aircraft.
Crew : Captain and First Officer plus one or two Flight Attendants.
Power plant : 2 x 1,100hp Wright Cyclone R-1820-G2, nine cylinder radial engines.
Length : 68'08'' (19.7m) Wing span : 96'02'' (29.0m) Height : 16'11'' (5.16m)
Weights : empty - 16,865lbs (7,650kg) maximum - 25,200lbs (11,431kg)
Speeds : maximum - 192kt (230mph) (370km/hr) cruise - 173kt (207mph) (333km/hr)
Range : 1,580 miles (2,540km)
United Airlines became the second Douglas customer and over the next two years more than thirty other airlines followed suit. The DC-3 became the most important commercial aircraft to that time with a reputation among operators in the industry, including the Military. From 1935 to1946 , 607 civilian DC-3s were built and during WW2 10,000+ DC-3s were mass produced for the Military designated as C-47(US Army) R4D (US Navy) and Dakota (RAF) etc, as well as several purpose built examples for specific tasks such as Troop Transport C-53 eg. These were rugged versions of the civilian DC-3 with strengthened undercarriages and floors, tie down points and large cargo doors, powered by 1,250hp Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp R-1830 two row 14 cylinder radial engines.
Slightly less than 5,000 machines were built under license by Russia, and 480 odd were built by Nakajima of Japan between 1939 and 1945 as the L2D Type O Transport allied name "Tabby", making a total production of 16,000+ aircraft.
During the war years, the air forces of all the participants and many others operated fleets of DC-3s. In Australia the RAAF operated 124 Dakotas between 1945 and 2000, four of which were operated by the RAN between 1949 and 1974.
Post WW2, the DC-3 became the mainstay of airline services world wide for many years until larger capacity piston engined aircraft, followed by turbine powered machines came into the market place, and they were relegated to lower levels of operation. The major Australian airlines operated 120 DC-3s, Ansett ANA - 70, TAA - 23, Qantas - 20 and East-West 7. Some still fly today 87 years after the type first flew.
The Museum's DC-3 came to the RAAF in 1943 and served with No 36 Squadron before being transferred to Guinea Airways operating transport flights under military contract. Post war, Australian National Airways (ANA) took over the aircraft in early 1946 and converted it to DC-3 specifications and operated it as VH-ANH until being retired after logging some 45,000 hours of flight time.
It is the third oldest DC-3 still in Australia and is one of three original factory built civil airline DC-3 aircraft still in existence in the country. Other examples in Australia were converted from Military machines.
Ansett ANA donated it to the Museum in August 1972 and it was flown into Moorabbin Airport by Capt Peter Gibbes, Ansett ANA Operations Manager at the time.
VH-ANH is currently being completely restored to a display standard at Moorabbin.
TECHNICAL DATA - Museum aircraft.
Crew : Captain and First Officer plus one or two Flight Attendants.
Power plant : 2 x 1,100hp Wright Cyclone R-1820-G2, nine cylinder radial engines.
Length : 68'08'' (19.7m) Wing span : 96'02'' (29.0m) Height : 16'11'' (5.16m)
Weights : empty - 16,865lbs (7,650kg) maximum - 25,200lbs (11,431kg)
Speeds : maximum - 192kt (230mph) (370km/hr) cruise - 173kt (207mph) (333km/hr)
Range : 1,580 miles (2,540km)