Douglas Through the Years

Illustrated timeline of aircraft designed by Douglas.

This is a fascinating chart by the Douglas Aircraft Company depicting the development of their models from the company’s founding in Santa Monica in 1921 through 1955. In just over 30 years, the humble aircraft had evolved from a single engine biplane (the Cloudster) to supersonic carrier based fighter jets (the F4D). Between the two extremes lie some of the most well known aircraft in the history of aviation. The Douglas World Cruiser (DWC) was the first plane to successfully complete an aerial circumnavigation of the world. WWII attack and light bomber planes like the SBD Dauntless, A-20 Havoc and A-26 Invader provided invaluable support during critical battles like Midway and Kasserine Pass in North Africa. The most famous of Douglas aircraft would likely be the DC-3 (military designation C-47); a dual engine transport plane that revolutionized air travel with a combination of range, reliability, power and adaptability.

The post-war world saw Douglas’s entry into missile development (seen in an inset in the upper right) and eventually contracts with NASA to design particular stages of the Saturn V rocket. Douglas merged with McDonnell in 1967, which then merged with Boeing thirty years later.