When John and Vandenberg arrived at Douglas in Santa Monica, California, they found that the Army Air Corps top brass was really overthinking. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Although the Douglas company originally started out as a torpedo bomber for the US Navy. But at the moment, they are not interested in the orders of the army and the navy - not interested.

No way, who told someone else's DC-3 to sell so hot now. Known for its large passenger capacity, stable performance, low operating costs, and easy maintenance, the DC-3 has swept the entire civil aviation market since its introduction in 1935. As the world's first "aircraft that can make money only by carrying passengers", the DC-3 is currently the aircraft of choice for airlines around the world. Nowadays, whether in the United States or Europe, as long as you travel on a commercial airliner, more than 90% of you travel on a DC-3 aircraft.

The manager of Douglas told John that the production orders of the major airlines were now scheduled for 1941. If the Army Air Corps wanted two or three, he could still help coordinate and coordinate, a full 20 C-47s, which would have to wait until the end of 1942 to deliver. The Navy's batch of R4D-1 (in fact, it is the same as the C-47, but the Navy's number is different) will have to wait until that time.

The manager of Douglas didn't say it explicitly, but John understood it, and what he meant was, "We are a big company that talks about business reputation, even if you are the military, please queue up to buy planes." "It was delivered at the end of 1942, so you don't have to wait until that time. As soon as Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941, all the planes on your production line were expropriated by the War Department.

Historically, more than 10,000 C-47 transport planes were produced along with jeeps, bazookas, and atomic bombs, which Eisenhower called the four tools-of-victories that helped the Allies win the war. But the first C-47 was delivered to the military 16 days after Pearl Harbor.

It is not difficult to understand that for Douglas, the current civilian airliner DC-3 is much larger than the military transport aircraft C-47, both in terms of sales and profits. Of course, they will do more profitable business first, and the military's orders will be delayed as long as they can. When it couldn't drag on anymore, they picked a batch of DC-3s from the production line for modification.

Anyway, it was extremely easy to convert the DC-3 to the C-47. The hatch was enlarged, the wing was extended, an observation window was added to the back of the cockpit, all interior trim was removed, canvas folding chairs were added to the bulkheads, the cabin floor was strengthened, fixing cables were installed, belly hooks were installed, and then it was all over the place, and it didn't take more than a few days.

If this batch of C-47 transport planes is really urgently needed by the Army Air Corps, John can think of a way to exert some influence on Douglas. But now, the Army Air Corps itself has not figured out how to use these transport planes. What the top brass of the War Department cares about is not at all the question of when these planes will be delivered, but the question of whether they cannot be later than the Navy.

This problem is so easy to solve. Delivering one is also a delivery. Didn't the manager just say that he could coordinate two or three planes? Not so much, one is enough. Regardless of what they take from that airline's order, let them get as soon as possible. Get a C-47 before the navy, John, and their mission will be completed. As for the remaining planes in the order, after Pearl Harbor, it would be better to have the War Department send someone directly to the factory to collect it.

John told Vandenberg about his idea. After reporting to his boss, he agreed to John's plan. After some negotiations, Douglas selected one of the 15 DC-3s to be delivered to United Airlines in June next year for refitting, and delivered to the Army Air Corps by the end of June at the latest.

Later John learned that the C-47 had not been converted into a transport aircraft at all. By the time it was delivered to the Army Air Corps' 1st Service Squadron in September 1939, it had already been fitted with a military radio and a swivel seat that could be used for meetings, making it a business jet for transporting government and military dignitaries. It is said that it even came close to becoming the first presidential plane of the United States.

The honor of the first "presidential plane" in the United States was snatched by a Douglas C-54 during World War II, which was the famous "Holy Cow". The military's C-47 lost the competition mainly because it could not install an elevator to facilitate Roosevelt's wheelchair getting on and off the plane.

By the way, the call for the presidential plane "Air Force One" dates back to the Eisenhower era. In 1953, the call sign of the aviation radio station of the presidential plane was "Air Force 8610", and as a result, once the presidential plane met a civil airliner with the call sign of "8610" in the same airspace. Later, for the sake of safety, the presidential plane began to use the special call sign "Air Force One", which has been used to this day. Correspondingly, the helicopter in which the president was flying was called "Marine One".

Regardless of what the C-47 ended up with, John and Vandenberg's mission was "successfully completed" anyway. After a trip to Los Angeles, John had to go to Hughes Aircraft Company anyway. By the way, take a look at the new H1 fighter after Remo's improvement. John dragged Vandenberg and his party along, ready to show off.

Hughes Aircraft's new location is located in Inglewood, a small town southwest of Los Angeles, just 8 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean. John: When they arrived at the factory, the construction of the new plant was almost complete and the installation of internal facilities was underway. In a large hangar, they met Remo and the "transformed" H1 fighters.

The biggest change in the shape of the new H1 fighter is that the nose has changed from an oblate shape to a conical shape. The reason is simple, the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 wasp engine originally used in the H1 fighter was an air-cooled piston engine. Its 9 cylinders are arranged in a "star" shape, and the cross-section is relatively large, so the nose of the old H1 is oblate. The nose of this shape is common in single-engine aircraft that use air-cooled engines.

Now the H1 has been replaced by a liquid-cooled Merlin engine, with 12 cylinders arranged in a "V" shape and a much smaller cross-section. In this way, the H1 can switch to a pointed conical nose, which greatly reduces air resistance in flight. The reason why the improved H1 has such a big increase in speed is that in addition to the more powerful engine horsepower, the optimization of the aircraft's aerodynamic structure is also an important reason.

John, with itchy hands, no longer bothered to listen to Remo's detailed report on the improvements, climbed into the cockpit, ready to experience the thrill of flying at high speed for himself. Sitting in the cockpit, John felt the surging power of the Merlin engine rush into his veins, making his blood run high. Although not an extreme flying enthusiast, John couldn't help but do a few stunts. The H1's good maneuverability allowed him to experience unprecedented heartiness. John was convinced that the H1 was the best plane he had ever flown in.