On a gusty day in July 1933 the Grandpappy of all gooneybirds took to the air for the first time. While the event went virtually unnoticed except at the Douglas Aircraft company it was the beginning of an epoch.

Even though the original was not primarily that of a warbird there have been versions of Goons in most every scrap since 1937. She was never the belle-of-the-ball but she danced all the dances. She came early and stayed late. From Koonming China, in 37 to Pearl Harbor; from Bastone to Tokyo; from the Yalou river to Inchou; from the Delta to the DMZ.