Douglas DC-4

For the original aircraft designated "DC-4", see Douglas DC-4E.

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	1938
Produced	1938 - 1942
Number built	79
Developed from	Douglas DC-4E
Variants	C-54 Skymaster
Developed into	Canadair North Star Douglas DC-6 Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair

The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role. From 1945, many civil airlines operated it worldwide.

Design and development

The designation DC-4 was first used by Douglas Aircraft Company when developing a large, four-engined type to complement its very successful DC-3, already in widespread operation. It was intended to fulfil United Airlines' requirement for a long-range passenger airliner. Retrospectively this aircraft became known as the DC-4E (E for experimental). Only one was built, a 42-passenger airliner with a fuselage of unusually wide cross-section for its day and a triple fin tail unit, similar to that later used by Lockheed on its Constellation. Despite its designation, the later C-54/DC-4 airliner was a smaller aircraft with little connection to the DC-4E.

The DC-4's tricycle landing gear allowed its fuselage to be constant cross-section for most of its length, so it could be easily stretched into the later DC-6 and DC-7. A total of 1,163 C-54/R5Ds were built for the United States military services between 1942 and January 1946.

C54E-DC VH-PAF, Archerfield, 2007.

Operational history

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 2011. An example is Buffalo Airways of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.^[1]

The DC-4E first flew on June 7, 1938, piloted by Benny Howard and was used by United Air Lines for test flights. The type proved to be ahead of its time: it was complicated to maintain and uneconomical to operate. The sponsoring airlines, Eastern and United, decided to ask instead for a smaller and simpler derivative, but before the definitive DC-4 could enter service the outbreak of World War II meant production was channeled to the United States Army Air Forces and the type was given the military designation C-54 Skymaster. Additional versions used by the US Navy were designated R5D. The first aircraft, a C-54, flew from Clover Field in Santa Monica, California on February 14, 1942.

Douglas continued to develop the type during the war in preparation for a return to airline services when peace returned. However, the type's sales prospects withered when 500 wartime C-54s and R5Ds came onto the civil market, many of which were converted into civilian versions 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 Airlines (Oakland, California) was the largest civil operator of the C-54/DC-4.

Aerolíneas Argentinas DC-4 preparing for take-off at Buenos Aires international airport, ca. 1958.

Douglas produced 79 new-build DC-4s between January 1946 and cessation of production on August 9, 1947. Pressurization was available as an option, but all civilian DC-4s (and C-54s) were built unpressurized. Purchasers of the new build aircraft included National Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Western Airlines in the USA and KLM Royal Dutch Air Lines, Scandinavian Airlines System, Sabena Belgian World Airlines, Avianca and South African Airways in overseas markets.^[2]

Variants

• DC-4-1009 Postwar passenger model. This civil model could carry up to 86 passengers.
• DC-4-1037 Postwar freight model.

Derivatives

• DC4M North Star - 71 DC-4s were built by Canadair under the designations North Star, DC-4M, C-4, and C-5. With the exception of the single C-5, these were all powered by Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and 51 of them were pressurized. The Royal Canadian Air Force, Trans-Canada Air Lines, Canadian Pacific Air Lines and BOAC operated these aircraft, the latter under the type name "Argonaut".

• Aviation Traders Carvair - Starting in 1959, 21 DC-4s and C-54s found new life as ATL-98 Carvairs. The Carvair was designed to carry 22 passengers and five automobiles. This was accomplished by extending the fuselage, moving the cockpit above the fuselage, adding a side-opening nose, and enlarging the vertical stabilizer to offset the larger forward fuselage. These aircraft served as flying ferries well into the 1970s, and two are still airworthy as of March 2008 - one each in Texas and South Africa.^[3]

Notable appearances in media

The DC-4 featured extensively in the 1954 John Wayne motion picture The High and the Mighty (film).

For a 2011 UK Channel 4 TV reconstruction of the Dambusters' "bouncing bomb", a Buffalo Airways DC-4 was used (successfully) to drop a bouncing bomb to strike a specially-constructed dam. It aired as Dambusters: Building the Bouncing Bomb in the UK and Dambusters Fly Again in Canada.^[4][5]

Operators

The Douglas DC-4 aircraft, is portrayed in one of the first stamps of independent India in 1947. This stamp was meant for foreign airmail.

Civil

The DC-4 has been popular with air charter companies and small feeder airlines, and has been operated by companies. Major fleet operators have included:

 Argentina

• Aerolineas Argentinas

 Canada

• Canadian Pacific Air Lines
• Pacific Western Airlines
• Buffalo Airways
• Trans Canada Airlines

 Colombia

• Avianca

 Brazil

• Aerovias Brasil
• Cruzeiro do Sul
• Lóide Aéreo Nacional
• Paraense Transportes Aéreos

 Iceland

• Icelandair

 India

• Indian Airlines

 Mexico

• Mexicana

 The Netherlands

• KLM

 South Africa

• South African Airways
• Trek Airways^[6]

 South Korea

• Korean Air

 Spain

• Iberia

 Sweden

• Scandinavian Airlines

 Switzerland

• Swissair
• Balair

 United Kingdom

• Channel Airways
• Starways

 United States

• American Airlines
• Braniff International Airlines
• Capital Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Eastern Airlines
• Northwest Airlines
• Pacific Northern Airlines
• Pacific Southwest Airlines
• Pan American World Airways
• Transocean Air Lines
• Trans World Airlines
• United Airlines
• Western Airlines

Military

 Colombia

• Colombian Air Force

Accidents and incidents

Main article: Eastern Air Lines Flight 537

On November 1, 1949, an Eastern Air Lines DC-4 was struck and cut in half by a Lockheed P-38 Lightning while approaching Washington National Airport, falling into and around the Potomac River, killing all 51 passengers and the four crew. At the time it was the deadliest airliner incident in United States history.

Main article: Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501

On June 23, 1950, a Northwest Orient Airlines DC-4 disappeared over Lake Michigan en route from New York City to Seattle. Light debris, upholstery, and human body fragments were found floating in the lake, but the airframe and identifiable remains of the 55 passengers and three crew have never been located, and the cause of the accident is still unknown.

Main article: ANA Skymaster Amana crash

On June 26, 1950 a DC-4 operated by Australian National Airways departed Perth, Western Australia and crashed 19 minutes later near York, Western Australia. 28 occupants were killed in the impact but one passenger survived the crash. The survivor died five days later in a Perth hospital. The cause of the crash remains unclear. The aircraft was registered VH-ANA and named Amana.

Main article: 1951 Canadian Pacific Douglas DC-4 disappearance

On July 21, 1951, a Canadian Pacific Air Lines (registration CF-CPC) disappeared (probably while flying over Alaska on a flight from Tokyo, Japan to Vancouver, Canada. No trace of the aircraft or of its 31 passengers and six crew has ever been found. The cause of the accident remains undetermined.

On February 1, 1958: a Lóide Aéreo Nacional Douglas DC-4 registration PP-LEM, experienced a failure of engine no. 4 during a night takeoff from Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont. The takeoff was aborted and 100 m before the end of the runway, a tire from the landing gear burst, causing the aircraft to run off the side of the runway and burst into flames. Of the 72 passengers and crew aboard, five died.^[7]

On March 9, 1969 N3821 a DC-4 operated by Continental Air Transport disappeared on a cargo flight over the North Atlantic from Halifax International Airport to Santa Maria Airport (Azores); three crew were lost in the accident.^[8]

On January 10, 1974, TAM-52 a DC-4 operated by Transporte Aéreo Militar (the civil air service of the Bolivian Air Force) went missing on a non-scheduled passenger flight from Santa Rosa de Yacuma Airport (IATA: SRB, ICAO: SLSR) (14°3′58″S 66°47′12″W / 14.06611°S 66.78667°W / -14.06611; -66.78667) to El Alto International Airport, La Paz. No trace was found of the aircraft, its 3 crew and twenty-one passengers.^[9]

Survivors

C-54 painted as a DC-4 "Flying Dutchman" (KLM) of the Dutch Dakota Association, Lelystad, Holland

Very few DC-4s remain in service today.^[10] The last three passenger DC-4s believed to be operating worldwide are all based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Two fly old South African Airways (SAA) colors. They are ZS-AUB "Outeniqua" and ZS-BMH "Lebombo" and are owned by the South African Airways Museum Society^[6] and operated by Skyclass Aviation,^[11] a company specializing in classic airliner charters to exotic destinations in Africa. The other Skymaster is ZS-AUA "Tafelberg" which is also operated by Skyclass Aviation but is leased from the Dutch Dakota Association. A further C-54 at Rand Airport is owned by Phoebus Apollo Aviation, ZS-PAI, Between 1998 and 2002, Phoebus Apollo operated a successful African cargo operation with three DC-4s and a single Carvair. AVGAS availability and cost saw the company expand into jets. ZS-PAK was cut up, ZS-PAJ was donated to the South African Airways Museum Society and ZS-PAI is used for airshows.

The only operator of DC-4/C-54s in Canada is Buffalo Airways of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. They operate two in the cargo role, C-GPSH "Arctic Distributor" and C-GCTF, two as water bombers and another 10 registered with Transport Canada, all 14 are C-54s.^[12][13][14]

C-54E/R5D 44-9144/90410 "Spirit of Freedom" has been and is still operating in the US as a flying museum to the Berlin Airlift by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation. The Foundation has been displaying this aircraft at events around the world since 1994.^[15][16]

A 1944 built DC4 is currently being restored in NSW, Australia.^[17]

Specifications (DC-4-1009)

General characteristics

• Crew: 4
• Capacity: Up to 86 passengers
• Length: 93 ft 10 in (28.6 m)
• Wingspan: 117 ft 6 in (35.8 m)
• Height: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
• Wing area: 1,460ft² (135.6 m²)
• Empty weight: 43,300 lb (19,640 kg)
• Loaded weight: 63,500 lb (28,800 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 73,000 lb (33,100 kg)
• Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-2000 radial engine, 1,450 hp (1,081 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 280 mph (450 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 227 mph (365 km/h)
• Range: 4,250 mi (6,839 km)
• Service ceiling: 22,300 ft (6,800 m)
• Wing loading: 43.5 lb/ft² (212.4 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 10.9 lb/hp (6.6 kg/kW)

See also

Related development

• Aviation Traders Carvair
• Canadair North Star
• Douglas DC-4E
• Douglas C-54 Skymaster
• Douglas DC-6
• Douglas DC-7
  

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Boeing 307
• Lockheed Constellation
• Lockheed L-049 Constellation
  

Related lists

• List of airliners
• List of aircraft
  

References

Notes

1. ^ Stapleton, Rob. "Brooks Fuel keeps Alaska supplied using legacy aircraft." Alaska Journal of Commerce, August 15, 2009. Retrieved: August 26, 2009.
2. ^ Berry 1967, pp. 70–73.
3. ^ "Aviation Traders Carvair." aviationtraderscarvair.com. Retrieved: December 21, 2010.
4. ^ "Dambusters: Building the Bouncing Bomb." Channel 4. Retrieved: June 10, 2011.
5. ^ , "Dambusters Fly Again." History Television. Retrieved: September 21, 2011.
6. ^ ^{a b} "DC-4." South African Airways Museum Society. Retrieved: December 13, 2010.
7. ^ "Accident description PP-LEM." Aviation Safety Network, 2003. Retrieved: Septembe10, 2011,
8. ^ Ranter, Harro and Fabian I. Lujan. "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-4 N3821 Atlantic Ocean." Aviation Safety Network, 2003. Retrieved: June 28, 2011.
9. ^ Ranter, Harro and Fabian I. Lujan. "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-4 TAM-52?" Aviation Safety Network, 2004. Retrieved: June 28, 2011.
10. ^ Blewett 2007, p. 101.
11. ^ "Skyclass Aviation." flyskyclass.com. Retrieved: December 21, 2010.
12. ^ "C-54." buffaloairways.com. Retrieved: December 13, 2010.
13. ^ "Douglas DC-4 Retardant Tankers." buffaloairways.com. Retrieved: December 13, 2010.
14. ^ Enter "C54." tc.gc.ca. Retrieved: December 13, 2010.
15. ^ "Spirit of Freedom C-54." spiritoffreedom.org. Retrieved: September 10, 2011.
16. ^ "Spirit of Berlin." Globe Master. Retrieved: September 10, 2011.
17. ^ Morgan, Ben. "Engineering Underway on the Douglas DC4." hars.org.au. Retrieved: September 21, 2011.

Bibliography

• Berry, Peter et al. The Douglas DC-4. Tunbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, 1967.
• Blewett, R. Survivors. Coulsden UK: Aviation Classics, 2007. ISBN 978-09530413-4-3.
• Francillon, René. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume I. London: Putnam, 1979. ISBN 0-87021-428-4.
• Pearcy, Arthur. Douglas Propliners: DC-1–DC-7. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1-85310-261-X.
• Yenne, Bill. McDonnell Douglas: A Tale of Two Giants. Greenwich, Conecticut: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-517-44287-6.

External links

• Boeing McDonnell Douglas page on DC-4
• The last passenger certified & built DC-4's in the world
• Vintage Wings of Canada Canadair North Star showing RR Merlin installation