In this module we will explore early commercial aviation during the 1920s and 1930s in the United States. While barnstormers may have popularized aviation in the American imagination, the commercial industry in this era gave life to practical and reliable forms of air travel for personal, business, and trade opportunities.
After reviewing this lesson, you will be able to:
Analyze 2-3 factors that led to the emergence of the American aircraft industry as a global leader during the 1920s and 1930s
Describe and explain the role of commercial aviation, and specifically aircraft like the DC-3, in supporting the growth of the American aircraft industry
Describe the commercial flight experience during the 1930s
The Douglas DC-3 first flew December 17, 1935, exactly thirty-two years after the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. It became one of the most important planes for aviation in history, and there are still DC-3's, or the transport variants, being flown commercially today. So how did this humble plane come to dominate the early commercial aviation world?
The DC-3 was developed during a convergence of several trends, or seen another way, during the emergence of the American aviation industry as a global leader in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Our reading for this unit, Kessner's book The Flight of the Century, talks about this emergence of American aviation briefly from the perspective of Charles Lindbergh's role in promoting aviation in America. However, there were many factors that led to the explosive growth and success of American aviation during this time, including contributions from philanthropists like Harry Guggenheim and researchers like Jimmy Doolittle (which are explored in another lesson in this unit).
The development of the DC-3, and it's almost instant success, allows us to highlight several of these factors. First, although many airplane designers in Europe were active they were reliant on government subsidies to develop aircraft for commercial or military in the depressed economies of Britain, France, and Germany following World War I. Government subsidies played a role in keeping some American designers active (particularly for the air mail service through 1931), but there was also widespread competition that spurred innovation in design. There were excellent aviation engineers throughout the world, but in these decades there was a particularly fertile environment for engineers to gain access to schooling and competitive jobs in the field in the United States, and to be able to put their designs into production and into service.
Second, there was rapid innovation on multiple engineering fronts, from aircraft engines to materials and construction techniques. One example was the development of stronger aluminum alloys that resisted corrosion and related techniques to rivet together that new aluminum tested in the late 1920s. Alongside the development of new materials, cantilevered wings and structural elements were designed that allowed the cabin of the aircraft to sit on top of the wing instead of needing to incorporate internal supports inside the cabin space. This made the aircraft stronger but also expanded space for transporting materials or people, making it economical for the first time to have commercial flights. This enabled the aircraft industry to exist without subsidies in the United States. The period 1925 to 1935 also saw the construction of stronger radial engines that made commercial aircraft fast--even competitive in some speed races in the case of the DC-3--as well as drag-reducing cowling designs for the engines and propellers whose pitch and speed could be controlled from the cockpit. All of these innovations were incorporated into the DC-3 and were critical to its success, but they also demonstrate how the era 1925 to 1935 was a period of convergence or emergence for American leadership and design in the aircraft industry.
Specifically, the Douglas DC-3 began commercial service between New York and Chicago in 1936. The plane could hold 14 passengers in a sleeper plane arrangement or 21 seated passengers. It was reliable and fast, and by 1938 an amazing 80 percent of American commercial aircraft in service were DC-3s. The plane was seen as the epitome of modern design and was popular with pilots and customers alike. But the plane's success did not stop there, as thousands of aircraft were produced as C-47s (a cargo variant) for use in transporting equipment and troops in World War II. It became the workhorse of the commercial and military aviation world--literally, as Japan, Russia, and other nations would build copies of the aircraft as well during the 1940s.
Below is a short 3 minute video showing the DC-3 in flight and explaining how the dependable plane is still in commercial use today.
Douglas was not the only designer of commercial aircraft in the United States; as mentioned earlier, there was significant competition among roughly half a dozen designers in the interwar and World War II years. Another leader was Boeing aircraft. You have probably flown on a Boeing 747 if you have ever flown a commercial airline, and Boeing had early success with their 247 aircraft beginning in 1933. The Boeing 247 was a direct competitor for the DC-3, although Boeing would come into their own with the 307 Stratoliner.
Pictured below in the image carousel is a Boeing 307 Stratoliner. This four-engine aircraft was first flown in 1938 and was the first commercial airliner with a pressurized fuselage. That means that it was sealed completely from the outside environment and air was pumped into the cabin to keep it more comfortable for passengers. The plane was capable of carrying 33 passengers and flew at 20,000 feet while maintaining a cabin pressure similar to 8,000 feet. It could fly above most bad weather, giving a more comfortable and smoother ride to the public. This aircraft was flown by Pan American Airlines and was called the Clipper Flying Cloud, which you can see painted on the fuselage. This aircraft, and its interior cabin design, are similar to what you expect or have experienced flying on commercial aircraft today. The engines, wings, and tail designs of the Boeing 307 were repurposed by Boeing a few years later for the B-17 bomber they built during World War II. Photo credits: Jessica Cannon, 2017.
We've talked a little about the aircraft that helped revolutionize the early commercial aviation industry, and from our reading we know the role played by individuals like Charles Lindbergh in helping to popularize the notion of air travel in the American mind in the 1920s and 1930s. But what was flying really like? How did the average person experience flight?
Below is a 21 minute video from American Airlines that was used for promoting commercial flight in 1933. It's a really interesting look at the experience of flying in the early age of commercial aviation. They walk you through purchasing tickets, getting to the airport and your airport experience, and finally the flight experience. Some elements will be familiar to us today, and some will seem totally foreign. This is a great 'period' piece that captures life in the 1930s, although it is important to note this only depicts the experience of a small portion of white Americans that could afford to travel on commercial aircraft.
In this lesson we looked at the DC-3 specifically, one of the leading aircraft of commercial aviation in the pre-war era, and studied some of the factors that helped lead to the emergence of American aviation as a global leader by the 1930s. These factors included: a competitive market spurring innovation, access to education and jobs for engineers, research and development by the military and commercial sectors that drove new designs and materials, new structural designs for the wings and fuselage as well as new engine and propeller features that increased the power and speed of aircraft, and a general interest among civilians and political leaders to develop and expand new uses for aircraft. We also talked about Boeing and the first commercial aircraft with a pressurized cabin, the 307 Stratoliner. As we move into Unit 3, we will see how many of these same designers--and even the aircraft themselves in the case of the DC-3 and C-47 transport variant--were critical to innovation that helped win the Second World War.