Douglas and his DC-3

Douglas and His DC-3



Donald Willis Douglas was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 6, 1892. As a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Douglas had high hopes. With only a few hundred dollars in his pocket Douglas set out to make his business. Douglas’s first big order came when David R. Davis gave him 40,000 to make a plan that would take him coast-to-coast. Donald Willis Douglas began his company on July 22, 1920 building passenger transports and bombers in Santa Monica, California. By 1928, which was only eight years after the company had started; it was already worth an estimated $25 million dollars. Donald Douglas Sr. once said “Scientist and mechanic alike have a heritage and tradition with which there is no compromise. Together they work; together they plan ahead and look ahead.”
Boeing had produced the 247 which was the leading transporter plane at the time and was only being used by United Airlines. This put the pressure on the other Airl...