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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists Inter War Period Aircraft  DC3 |
[UP] - Airspeed Courier - Ant-20 - Avro 504N - B-10 - Boeing 314 - Bulldog - Condor - Coronado - Curtiss CR-3 - Curtiss MB-2 - Curtiss NC - Curtiss R3C-2 - DC3 - Dragon Rapide - DT-2 - Electra - F3F - Fairey IIID - Fairey IIIF - FB5 - Fury - Gipsy Moth - Hart - Hind - Horsley - HP42 - Iris - Jenny - M-130 - Mailwing - Mew Gull - Norseman - Peashooter - Ryan M-1 - S-42 - S6B - SM55X - SNJ - Sparrowhawk - Tigermoth - Trimotor - Vega - Wallace - Walrus |
| DC3 Aviation Prints |
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| Text for the above items : |
Flagship Over Manhattan by Robert Watts. An American Airlines DC-3, one of the 29 in service by 1936 with right hand doors, outbound from La Guardia Airport. |
Air Ulster DC3 Dakota, 1960s by David Pentland. Ulster Airways Dakota landing at Aldergrove airport. |
Staggerwing and Gooney Bird by Stan Stokes. Although it has been more than sixty years since they first flew, the DC-3 and C-47 Gooney Birds are legendary, with more than 1,000 still utilized throughout the world. In the early 1930s Boeing was working on its all metal Model 247, and the first 60 aircraft were promised to United Air Lines. Douglas Aircraft made a bold proposal to TWA, and in combination they attempted to develop an all metal passenger airliner which would out perform Boeings 247. This new prototype airliner was the DC-1, and the first aircraft was delivered in less than nine months. TWA liked what it saw and ordered twenty DC-2s, the first production variant, and the first production model flew in May 1934. The DC-2 was a money maker for the airlines and nearly two hundred were produced. In 1934 American Airlines approached Douglas Aircraft about developing an aircraft with the performance and reliability of the DC-2, but with the passenger comforts of the Curtis Condor bi-plane. Douglas Aircraft moved slowly and reluctantly, fearing that American Airlines might fail during the depression. However, finally an agreement was reached for Douglas to produce ten new DC-3s for American at a price of $79,500 each. The DC-3, although similar in general appearance to the DC-2, was in fact largely an entirely new aircraft. Utilizing new 1,000 HP Wright radial engines, the DC-3 had a cabin more similar to Pullman railway cars. Passenger lavatories were installed and increased insulation was utilized to reduce cabin noise. American Airlines formally accepted delivery of its first DC-3 in April 1936, and by 1937 production of the DC-2 had ceased. Seating was 28 on the DC-3, twice that of the DC-2. Despite a recession induced reduction in the number of passenger aircraft in service in the United States during the second half of the decade, by 1940 more than half of the passenger aircraft in service in America were Douglas DC-3s. With the outbreak of WW II Douglas was flooded with orders for a military transport version of the DC-3, the C-47. Initially called the Skytrain, the C-47 was capable of carrying 28 troops or 6,000 pounds of cargo. With more than 10,000 aircraft produced between 1935 and 1947, the DC-3 and C-47 greatly exceeded any expectations Douglas ever had for the aircraft. With the end of the war many C-47s were converted back to DC-3s, and this aircraft became the backbone of the civilian airliner fleet in almost every nation in the world. During the 1950s the Gooney Birds were slowly shifted to secondary routes as newer high performance aircraft were introduced. In Stan Stokes marvelous painting entitled Staggerwing and Gooney Bird, a United Airlines DC-3 is depicted at Santa Barbara Airport in the early 1950s. Another classic aircraft, the Beech Staggerwing is parked near the Gooney Bird. |
| DC3 Pilot and aircrew signature details |
Clifford Barraclouth Our estimated value of this signature : £35 Died : 2010 | Clifford Barraclouth Clifford R Barraclough received his pilots license in 1940, and a commerical rating a year later at Bettis Field in Pittsburgh. In 1943 Clifford was hired by All American Aviation - later to become Allegheny Airlines - as an instrument instructor based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Shortly thereafter Barraclough joined the US Army Air Corps, and was stationed at New Castle Army Air Base as a service pilot for the Ferry Command. Initially stationed in Nashville and later Reno, Barraclough was reassigned to Misamar, India in early 1945. For the balance of the war Clifford flew the Hump in the C-46 from India to Kunming, China. In 1946 Barraclough was recalled by All American Aviation, and flew SR-10s and Beech D18-Cs for air mail pick-up. All American then entered the passenger business flying DC-3s, and changed its name to Allegheny - later to become part of US Air. Barraclough remained with the airline until his retirement in 1977. He captained a number of aircraft including Convair 340s, 440s, 540s and 580s. Also, on September 1st 1966, Clifford piloted Alleghenys first scheduled jet flight in a DC-9. He passed away on the 22nd of September 2010. |
Capt Larry Girard TWA Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2003 | Capt Larry Girard TWA Larry Girard was born in 1922. He had a interest in aviation from an early age. He built aircraft models, and spent as much time as possible around airplanes and airports. By doing oddjobs around a local airport, Larry earned his first flight in a Curtis Junior (a three-cylinder lightweight pusher aircraft) at the Somerset Hills Airport in New Jersey. While attending Newark College of Engineering, he enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. He completed all phases of this training, earning both Commercial and Flight Instructor Ratings. He also obtained a Ground School Instructor Certificate, which resulted in Larry landing his first job with Roscoe Turner Aviation in Indianapolis. Earning $200 per month, Larry instructed neophyte pilot students from Central and South America. During this time Girard met Alton Parker of TWA. This helped him land a job at TWA as a Second Officer in the newly formed Intercontinental Division. This unit flew government and military 'W1Ps during WW II. Modified, 4-engine, Boeing 307-B aircraft were utilized, which were given the military designation C-75. These tail draggers kept their peacetime names of Commanche, Cherokee, etc. Larry made many Atlantic crossings in these aircraft, including one flight which lasted nearly twenty hours. He flew Generals Arnold, Clark, Simpson, and Bradley, as well as F.D.R. on these trips, which were often kept highly secretive. In 1945, at the young age of twenty-three, Girard was promoted to Captain. He then flew C-54s until the end of the War. Following the War Larry flew DC-3s and Martin 404s on domestic routes for TWA. He was later made the Regional Test Pilot for TWA's operations at the three major New York airports. Girard flew all the variants of the Lockheed Constellation. The 1049-G model, which is depicted in Stan Stokes painting, remains one of Larry's sentimental favorites. On one flight where Girard was checking out a fellow pilot, the pilot collapsed at the controls during a thunderstorm over Nebraska. Girard made an emergency landing at Grand Island, but unfortunately the pilot being checked out did not survive. As jets began to displace the older piston-powered aircraft, Girard became an instructor on the Boeing 727, and also served as a Cheek Airman for the Boeing 707 and the 747. Captain Girard served a four year stint as Director of Flight Crew Administration and Labor Relations, before returning to line flying with TWA's operations in California. He flew Pacific Routes with TWA until they were phased out. He then flew the great polar route from Los Angeles to London until he retired in 1982. Larry resides with his wife Phyllis in Pebble Beach, California where he enjoys golf, tennis, and some occasional recreational flying. Sadly, he died on 25th July 2003. |
Captain Sture V Sigfred Our estimated value of this signature : £25 Died : 1998 | Captain Sture V Sigfred Captain Sture V. Sigfred was born to Swedish immigrant parents John August and Sophia Sigfred on August 29, 1900. Beside the shores of Lake Adley in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota, Sture spent his youth working the family farm and exploring the forests of northern Minnesota. Faced with his father's illness in 1914, Sture quit school in the ninth grade to assume his father's postal route and help support his family. In December of 1918, only fifteen years following the Wright brothers' first flight, and with only $5.00 to his name, Sture boarded a train to Minneapolis. In early 1919 he joined the United States Navy. Sture was assigned to the Navy's 3rd Squadron in Pensacola following his Aviation Machinist Mate training in Great Lakes, Illinois. At Pensacola he was assigned to the Navy's infant fleet of flying boats as a flight engineer. Although he was disappointed that disarmament would prevent him from attending Navy flight school, Sture learned to fly on his own time. He gained the reputation of being a pilot who understood an airplane like a trusted friend. Following his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1923, Sture bought a half interest in a Standard J1 aircraft, and served as a pilot and partner in a barnstorming venture. In 1925, as a founding member of the Chicago Flying Club, Sture helped select the group's first flying strip, which is the current site of Chicago's O'Hare Field. In 1926 he began work with the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics and participated in the development of an engine cowling which allowed the nation's fledgling air fleet to attain greater fuel economy, higher power, and longer flight duration. While working with the NACA, Sture was hired by Ralph O'Neill to serve the pioneering New York, Rio & Buenos Aires Line. He remained with the small airline as a Chief Mechanic and Airport Manager until it was acquired by Pan American Airways in 1930. As an expert on the workings of the Sikorsky S-38, Sture was personally selected by Andre Priester (Pan Am's wizard of operations) to remain with the company. Rising quickly through the company's ranks, Sture was assigned to Pan Am's Pacific operations based in Alameda, California. Flying the famous Pan Am Clippers, Sture would fly a total of 48 round trips over the Pacific, and was made full Captain. In 1942 he transferred to Pan Am's Eastern operations in Miami flying DC-3s. When WW II broke out, Sture served with the Air Transport Command. He piloted one of the fifteen aircraft which flew the American delegation to the famous Cairo Conferences in late 1943. At these conferences the Allies plotted strategy for victory in the Pacific theater. Following the War Sture returned to Pan Am's passenger service operations in Miami. When he retired from Pan Am in 1951, he was number nineteen on Pan Am's seniority list for its three thousand pilots. Sture Sigfred lived in Norfolk, Virginia with Mildred, his wife of fifty-five years. Sadly, Sture Sigfred passed away on 8th August 1998, aged 98. |
| DC3 Squadron details |
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