Douglas DC-2 Bomber

Very very interesting!!!!

What time-frame aka year(s) are we looking at for this Douglas/Fokker DC-2 bomber development??

Regards
Pioneer

Hi,

Some more can be read here: http://www.nederlandseluchtvaart.nl/forums/f13-fokker/dc-3-bomber-fokker-9155/

Best regards,

Mathieu.

Looks like Fokker intended to build a ‘DC-2 Spooky’ before the USAF thought of the concept! 😀

I like the original drawings in that topic!

Also, it seems Finland modified an ex-airline ship with a 7.7mm machine gun and in a dorsal turret and unnderwing racks for 24 12kg bombs for use against the USSR.

Only one bombing mission was completed on 1 March 1940 against Soviet aerodrome on Pyhäjärvi; von Rosen as a pilot and Winqvist as an observer. The plane carried 4×100 + 22×12,5 kg. Finnish readers can read more about the mission from the link.

Kansallisarkisto – Digitaaliarkisto – Lentorykmentti 4:n SPK

There is another DC-2 fuselage on display in the Finnish Aviation Museum at Helsinki-Vantaa airport.

Finnish Aviation Museum – Douglas DC-2-115

jdk is the Blenheim the one restored recently or another survivor ?

The Blenheim now displayed at Aviation Museum of Central Finland (so called “Finnish Air Force Museum) is the same, BL-200, as in the virtualpilots.fi photos. See this thread for more information.

Key Publishing – Blenheim Mk. IV “BL-200”

Finnish Aviation Museum also has a back end of a Blenheim Mk. I in their collection.

Finnish Aviation Museum – Bristol Blenheim Mk I

The Spanish also adapted one as a bomber with various guns sticking out of windows and the bombs being kicked down a ramp out of the open door with a walking stick jammed in the fins as a shackle. Illustration in The Miranda/ mercado book on the A/c of the Civil War.

John

Two derivatives of the Douglas concept for a bomber are the B23 Dragon and the B.18 Bolo….

John

Nice link to a great webpage JDK, and not something I would ordinarily find that interesting.
The Finnish air Force Museum looks fantastic in layout, and presentation, not to mention the superb quality of the exhibits, the IL-28 ‘Beagle’ looks great.
To see the Blenheim, its alternative cockpits, BF-109s and DC-2 in storage like that is incredible.

jdk is the Blenheim the one restored recently or another survivor ?

I dunno. Over to our Finnish friends, to whom also thanks for the extra details.

Hi,

Some more can be read here: http://www.nederlandseluchtvaart.nl/forums/f13-fokker/dc-3-bomber-fokker-9155/

Best regards,

Mathieu.

Actually the whole DC-2 still exists, not just the fuselage. My understanding is that restoration of this DC-2 is about to start, by the same group which made a wonderful job with the Blenheim (which indeed is the same one which is shown in the photos on the link above).
There is another DC-2 fuselage on display in the Finnish Aviation Museum at Helsinki-Vantaa airport.

jdk is the Blenheim the one restored recently or another survivor ?
and i think the mob restoring the flying one would have loved one of those mk1 noses beautiful condition

Also, it seems Finland modified an ex-airline ship with a 7.7mm machine gun and in a dorsal turret and unnderwing racks for 24 12kg bombs for use against the USSR.

Count Rosen’s DC-2, the fuselage of which still exists in Finland.

http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/swedish_aviators/sweden_rosen.htm

See halfway down this page:
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/en/feature/photoreports/blenheim2001/

If you don’t get distracted first! 😉

We forget how groundbreaking the DC-2 was when it was new, it would have made a fine bomber, at least compared to the huge biplanes of the day. An early concept on the way to the B-18.

Regarding this drawing, was it a Douglas proposal (or Fokker, their European agent) or something someone else came up with? I believe in the 30s there was a pretty good market for transport/bombers from Chinese warlords.
Also, it seems Finland modified an ex-airline ship with a 7.7mm machine gun and in a dorsal turret and unnderwing racks for 24 12kg bombs for use against the USSR. Other DC-2s were used as makshift bombers in Spain by the Republicans.

Very interesting. I’ll pm you my email, and i’ll have a go, I was good at french once…