Douglas DC-5

The Douglas DC-5 was a 16-to-22-seat, twin-engine propeller airliner intended for shorter routes than the Douglas DC-3 or DC-4. The prototype, built at El Segundo, California, with Wright Cyclone engines, first flew on February 20, 1939, and the type was the first airliner to combine shoulder wings with tricycle landing gear, a layout still common in turboprop airliners and military transports. By the time it entered commercial service in 1940 many airlines were cancelling orders and Douglas was already converting to wartime military production, so only five civilian DC-5s were built, although a limited number of military variants followed, including personnel carriers for the Navy.