Douglas DC-4
| DC-4 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Douglas DC-4 of Pacific Western Airlines in 1959 | |
| Role | Airliner/transport aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| First flight | 14 February 1942 (production series) |
| Status | Active |
| Produced | 1942 – August 1947 |
| Number built | 80 DC-4 and 1,163 C-54/R5D |
| Developed from | Douglas DC-4E |
| Variants |
C-54 Skymaster Canadair North Star Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair |
| Developed into | Douglas DC-6 |
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engine (piston) propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s. From 1945, many civil airlines operated the DC-4 worldwide.
After the DC-4E proved to be complicated to maintain and uneconomical to operate, Douglas responded to requests by Eastern Air Lines and United Air Lines for a smaller and simpler replacement. Before the definitive DC-4 could enter service, the entry of the United States into World War II caused production to be channeled to its military, with United States Army Air Forces aircraft designated C-54 Skymaster and United States Navy aircraft designated R5D. The first, a C-54, flew from Clover Field in Santa Monica, California on 14 February 1942.
A total of 1,163 C-54/R5Ds were built for the United States military between 1942 and January 1946; another 79 DC-4s were built postwar. A variant was also built in Canada postwar as the Canadair North Star.
The DC-4/C-54 proved a popular and reliable type, 1245 being built between May 1942 and August 1947, including 79 postwar DC-4s. Several remain in service as of 2014. One current operator is Buffalo Airways of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
Douglas continued to develop the type during the war in preparation for a return to airline use when peace returned. The type's sales prospects were affected when 500 wartime ex military C-54s and R5Ds came onto the civil market, many being converted to DC-4 standard by Douglas. DC-4s were a favorite of charter airlines such as Great Lakes Airlines, North American Airlines, Universal Airlines and Transocean Airlines. In the 1950s Transocean (Oakland, California) was the largest civil C-54/DC-4 operator.
...
Wikipedia