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1990
- Mr. Donald W. Douglas
Engineer, visionary and entrepreneur, Donald W. Douglas was a
monumental figure in aviation history. His aircraft designs revolutionized
commercial transportation. In the matter of military airlift,
his impact was equally significant. The Douglas DC-3 became the
C-47, the workhorse of World War II airborne communications. The
larger DC-4, which blossomed as the C-54, provided the range and
capacity necessary to support the far flung operations of the
Army Air Forces in the latter days of that conflict.
All of these aircraft were developments of commercial types which
were basically designed to transport people, but it was his C-124
which provided MATS and later MAC with the first aircraft designed
specifically for strategic military airlift. Its capacity for
heavy and outsize cargo (by 1950 standards), and its ease of loading
and delivery paved the way for its jet powered successors. The
C-124 quickly proved itself in supporting the United Nations forces
in the Korean War, carrying personnel and cargo across the broad
expanses of the Pacific, and in subsequent years was the single
aircraft capable of reliable outsize cargo delivery until the
introduction of the C-5.
Douglas, of course, will be remembered for a great many other
contributions to aeronautical history, but his vast impact on
air transportation and his introduction of aircraft designed to
support the strategic airflift mission mark him as an outstanding
candidate for induction into the Airlifter Hall of Fame.
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