Douglas DC - 5 The Douglas DC - 5 , the least known of the famous DC airliner series , was a 16 - 22 seat , twin - propeller aircraft intended for shorter routes than the DC - 3 or DC - 4 . However , by the time it entered commercial service in 1940 , many airlines were canceling orders ; consequently , only five civilian DC - 5s were ever built . With the Douglas Aircraft Company already converting to war production , the DC - 5 was soon overtaken by events , although a limited number of military variants were produced . Design and development . The Douglas Commercial Model 5 was developed in 1938 as a 18 / 24 passenger civilian airliner , designed to use either Pratt & Whitney R - 1690 or Wright Cyclone engines . Innovative features for the time included a high wing and tricycle landing gear , the relatively unique configuration providing for ease of passenger entry , loading and engine servicing . A very early change in design was changing the horizontal tail group from straight to a 15 - degree dihedral to improve stability while another significant modification was in altering the nacelles to have exhaust stacks , retroactively incorporated after the series entered production . An unusual " optical trick " applied to the profile of the prototype was painting the top of the vertical stabilizer and outline of the engine nacelles a darker color , the shapes curving to follow the aircraft ' s contour , thus making the tail and engines appear somewhat smaller and the aircraft sleeker . Prior to the US entry into World War II , one prototype and four production aircraft were constructed . Operational history . The prototype DC - 5 , Douglas serial 411 , built at El Segundo with Wright Cyclone 1 , 000 hp R - 1820 - 44 engines , made its first flight on February 20 , 1939 with Carl A . Cover at the controls . The sole prototype ( originally configured with just eight seats ) became the personal aircraft of William E . Boeing which he named " Rover " . It was later impressed into the US Navy and converted for military use as an R3D variant in February 1942 . The first customer for the DC - 5 was KLM ( " Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij " ) of The Netherlands . A US domestic carrier , Pennsylvania Central ( later renamed Capital , then incorporated into United Air Lines ) , ordered six and SCADTA , ( " Sociedad Colomba - Alemana de Transportes Aéreos " ) ancestor of today ' s Avianca in Colombia , another two . The other four aircraft were sold to KLM and used by their colonial subsidiaries , Indonesia in particular . When Douglas went on a war footing , DC - 5 production was curtailed to build additional Dauntless dive bombers for the Navy and Marines with only KLM receiving the high - winged airliner . A dozen DC - 5s were completed but the SBD contracts prevailed . The first two airliners initially flew the Paramaribo - Curaçao route , and the other two operated from Batavia ( now Jakarta , Indonesia ) . All four were used for the 1942 evacuation of civilians from Java to Australia , during which " PK - ADA " at " Batavia Kemajoran " airport was damaged in an air strike by the JAAF on February 9 , 1942 and abandoned . Japanese forces captured " PK - ADA " , subsequently repaired and tested it in " Tachikawa " and Haneda , later during 1943 , operating the DC - 5 in camouflage with Japanese Imperial Army Air Force markings as a transport from bases back in the Home Islands . The three remaining aircraft , " ADB " , " ADC " and " ADD " made their way safely to Australia where the aircraft were interned by the Allied Directorate of Air Transport there and operated by the USAAF as the C - 110 . The wartime history of " PK - ADC " was brief , however , for it was destroyed in a landing accident shortly after its arrival " down under " . " ADD " flew for the balance of the war under the aegis of Australian National Airways , on support missions inside the country with the temporary license " VH - CXC " . In 1939 , the US Navy ordered seven aircraft ; three of the R3D - 1 version ( the first of which crashed before delivery ) , and four R3D - 2s . The latter were used by the US Marine Corps because of the 1 , 015 HP R - 1820 - 44 engines , the large cargo holds and the 22 seats for paratroops . After World War II , production of the DC - 5 was not resumed because of the abundance of surplus DC - 3 / C - 47 aircraft released into civil service . In 1948 , the last surviving DC - 5 ( c / n 426 ) " VH - ARD " of Australian National Airways was sold and smuggled to Israel for military use . The aircraft arrived at Haifa in May 1948 , and from there went to Sde Dov , where its markings were removed and the name " " Yankee Pasha - The Bagel Lancer " " was crudely painted on the nose by hand . The aircraft joined 103 transport squadron at Ramat David , but as Israel was in the midst of the 1948 Arab - Israeli War , it was occasionally used as a bomber as well . This was achieved by removing the aft loading door and rolling the bombs out of the opening " by a judicious shove from a crewman ' s foot . " The operational record of the aircraft is in dispute as authoritative sources do not verify its combat service . Nonetheless , when the war ended and the 103rd squadron moved , the DC - 5 was left behind . It eventually found its way to the Airline Technical School where it was used extensively as a ground instruction airframe at Haifa Airport . When it was no longer serviceable due to a lack of spares , the airframe was stripped of its engines and instruments and the last DC - 5 was reduced to scrap in Israel sometime after 1955 .