Based on the earlier DC-1 (Douglas Commercial Model One), the DC-2 was introduced less than a year after the DC-1's first flight and supplanted DC-1 production after only one -1 model was built. The DC-2 was similar in shape to the DC-1 but had more powerful engines, was faster and capable of longer flights. More importantly, it was two feet longer and could carry two additional  passengers.

The DC-2 was the first Douglas airliner to enter service with an airline outside the United States. In October 1934, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines entered one of its DC-2s in the London-Melbourne air race. It made every scheduled passenger stop on KLM's regular 9,000-mile route (1,000 miles longer than the official race route), carried mail, and even turned back once to pick up a stranded passenger. Yet the DC-2 finished in second place behind a racing plane built especially for the competition. After that, the DC-2's reputation was assured and it became the airplane of choice for many of the world's largest airlines.

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