Douglas DC-4: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Four-engine propeller-driven airliner, USA 1942}}

{|{{Infobox aircraft begin

|national originnational_origin= [[United States]]

|first flightfirst_flight=14 February 1942 (production series)<ref name="Boeing history">{{cite web|url=http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/dc-4.htm |title=History: Products: DC-4/C-54 Skymaster Transport |publisher=[[Boeing]] |access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref>

|introducedintroduction= 1942 with [[United Airlines]]

|primary userprimary_user=<!--please list only one--> [[South African Airways Museum Society]]

|more usersmore_users=<!--please separate with <br/>.--> [[United Airlines]] (historical)<br/> [[American Airlines]] (historical)<br/> [[Trans World Airlines]] (historical)<br/> [[Buffalo Airways]] (historical) <br/>

|number builtnumber_built=80<ref>Piston Engine Airliner Production List 1996</ref> DC-4 and 1,163 C-54/R5D

The '''Douglas DC-4''' is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven [[airliner]] developed by the [[Douglas Aircraft Company]]. Military versions of the plane, the [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster|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.

Following proving flights by [[United Airlines]] of the [[Douglas DC-4E|DC-4E]], it became obvious that the 52-seat airliner was too largeinefficient and unreliable to operate economically and the partner airlines{{efn|The partners in the project were, American Airlines, Eastern, Pan American, Trans World and United}}, recommended a longlengthy list of changes required to the design. Douglas took the new requirementrequirements and produced aan entirely new, much smaller design, the DC-4A, with a simpler, unpressurisedstill unpressurized fuselage, [[Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasp]] engines, and a single fin and rudder. Both designs includedA [[tricycle landing gear]], unlikewas the predecessor two-engined [[DC-3]]retained.

With the entry of the United States into World War II, in December 1941, the WarUnited DepartmentStates Army Air Forces took over the provisionprovisional orders for the airlines and allocated them to the United States Army Air Forces with the designation [[C-54 Skymaster]]. The first C-54 flew from [[Clover Field]] in [[Santa Monica, California]], on 14 February 1942.

[[File:Pan Am DC4 Cipper.jpg|thumb|[[Pan Am]] DC-4 at [[Piarco]] Airport,in [[Trinidad]] in the 1950s]]

To meet military requirements, the first production aircraft had four additional auxiliary fuel tanks in the main cabin, which reduced the passenger seats to 26. The following batch of aircraft was the first built to military specifications, and was designated C-54A and built with a stronger floor and a cargo door with a hoist and winch. The first C-54A was delivered in February 1943. With the introduction of the C-54B in March 1944, the outer wings were changed to hold integral fuel tanks, allowing two of the cabin tanks to be removed; this allowed 49 seats (or 16 stretchers) to be fitted. The C-54C was a hybrid for Presidential use,; it had a C-54A fuselage with four cabin fuel tanks and the C-54B wings with built-in tanks to achieve maximum range.

The most common variant was the C-54D, which entered service in August 1944, essentially a C-54B with more powerful R-2000-11 engines. With the C-54E the last two cabin fuel tanks were moved to the wings, which allowed more freight or 44 passenger seats.

In total, 1,163 C-54/R5Ds54s (or R5D in US Navy service) were built for the United States military between 1942 and January 1946; and another 79 DC-4s were built after the war. A later variant, equippedwith more powerful [[Rolls-Royce Merlin|Merlin]] engines allowing it to fly over 40% faster, was built in Canada as the [[Canadair North Star]].

The DC-4/C-54 proved to be a popular and reliable type, with 1,245 being built between May 1942 and August 1947, including 79 postwar DC-4s. Several remainedremain in service as of 20142022. One current operator is [[Buffalo Airways]] of [[Yellowknife, Northwest Territories]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Stapleton |first=Rob |url=http://www.alaskajournal.com/community/2009-08-14/brooks-fuel-keeps-alaska-supplied-using-legacy-aircraft |title=Brooks Fuel keeps Alaska supplied using legacy aircraft |newspaper=Alaska Journal of Commerce |date=15 August 2009 |access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>

Douglas continued to develop the type during the war in preparation for a return to airline use when peace returned. TheSales type'sof salesnew prospectsaircraft werehad to affectedcompete whenagainst 500 wartime ex-military C-54s and R5Ds which came onto the civilian market, many beingof which were converted to DC-4 standard by Douglas. DC-4s were a favorite of [[charter airline]]s such as [[Great Lakes Airlines]], [[North American Airlines]], [[Universal Airlines (United States)|Universal Airlines]], and [[Transocean Airlines]]. In the 1950s, Transocean ([[Oakland]], [[California]]) was the largest civilian C-54/DC-4 operator.

[[File:Aerolineas Argentinas DC4 atEZE 1958.jpg|right|thumb|[[Aerolíneas Argentinas]] DC-4 starting engines at Buenos Aires international airport, ''circa''in 1958]]

A total of 330 DC-4s and C-54s waswere used in the Berlin Airlift, which made them one of the most usednumerous types involved.

Purchasers of new-build DC-4s included [[Pan American Airways]], [[National Airlines (NA)|National Airlines]], [[Northwest Airlines]], and [[Western Airlines]] in the US, and [[KLM]] Royal Dutch Air Lines, [[Scandinavian Airlines System]], [[Iberia (airline)|Iberia]] Airlines of Spain, [[Swissair]], [[Air France]], [[Sabena]] Belgian World Airlines, [[Cubana de Aviación]], [[Avianca]], [[Aerolíneas Argentinas]], [[Aeropostal]] of [[Venezuela]] (1946), and [[South African Airways]] overseas.<ref>Berry 1967, pp. 70–73.</ref> Several airlines used new-build DC-4s to start scheduled transatlantic flights between Latin America and Europe. Among the earliest were Aerolíneas Argentinas (1946), [[Aeropostal]] of [[Venezuela]] (1946), [[Iberia (airline)|Iberia]] Airlines of Spain (1946), and [[Cubana de Aviación]] (1948).

Basic prices for a new DC-4 in 1946–47 waswere around £140,000-£{{Inflation|UK|160,000|1946|fmt=eq|orig=yes|cursign=£}}. In 1960, used DC-4s were available for around £{{Inflation|UK|80,000|1960|fmt=eq|orig=yes|cursign=£}}.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%202687.html |title=de havilland {{!}} 1960 {{!}} 2687 {{!}} Flight Archive |journal=Flight |date=18 November 1960 |access-date=28 February 2017}}</ref>

{{As of|2020|June}}, two DC-4s were operationalused for charters in [[South Africa]]. Owned by the [[South African Airways Museum Society]], theywith are used by [[SkyClass Aviation]] for charters. Bothboth aircraft (ZS-BMH and ZS-AUB) are incarrying historical [[South African Airways]] livery.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://flyskyclass.com/portfolio/skyclassic/#tab-1396342235-2-97 |title=SkyClassic |website=SkyClass Aviation |location=South Africa |access-date=7 June 2020 |archive-date=7 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607015148/http://flyskyclass.com/portfolio/skyclassic/#tab-1396342235-2-97 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saamuseum.co.za/our-aircraft.html |title=Our Aircraft |website=[[South African Airways Museum Society]] |location=South Africa |access-date=7 June 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Airmail 5c 1946 issue.JPG|right|thumb|240px|The Douglas DC-4 ''Skymaster'' is depicted on this 1946 U.S. Airmail stamp. The DC-4 was used extensively for airmail service.]]

[[File:Douglas DC-4 Flying Dutchman.jpg|thumb|right|240px|A DC-4 painted in the KLM "Flying Dutchman" scheme of the Dutch Dakota Association, Lelystad, Holland]]

*The last two passenger DC-4s operating worldwide are based in Johannesburg, South Africa. They fly with old South African Airways (SAA) livery. They are ZS-AUB ''Outeniqua'' and ZS-BMH ''Lebombo'' and are owned by the South African Airways Museum Society<ref name="Outeniqua">{{cite web |url=http://www.saamuseum.co.za/our-aircraft/70.html |title="Outeniqua" Douglas DC-4 1009 ZS-AUB c/n 42984 |publisher=South African Airways Museum Society |access-date=21 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="Lebombo">{{cite web |url=http://www.saamuseum.co.za/our-aircraft/73.html |title="Lebombo" Douglas DC-4 1009 ZS-BMH c/n 43157 |publisher=South African Airways Museum Society |access-date=21 January 2015}}</ref> and operated by Skyclass Aviation,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://flyskyclass.com/portfolio/skyclassic/ |title=Portfolios: SkyClassic |publisher=SkyClass Aviation |date=31 March 2014 |access-date=20 January 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> a company specialising in classic and VIP charters to exotic destinations in Africa.

*As of 2011, aA 1944-built DC-4/C-54 is beingon restoreddisplay at the [[Historical Aircraft Restoration Society]] in [[New South Wales]], Australia, with a planned restoration to airworthiness.<ref>{{cite web |url=httphttps://www.harsthesenior.orgcom.au/2010story/108009136/1455world-war-ii-era-aeroplanes-to-fly-high-again/?cs=6744 |title=EngineeringDC4, Vampire Underwayplanes on thedisplay Douglasat DC4HARS |first=BenAviation |last=MorganMuseum Tarmac Days in December 2022 |website=harsthesenior.orgcom.au |access-date=215 SeptemberJanuary 20112023 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131054645/http://hars.org.au/2010/10/1455/ |archive-date=317 JanuaryDecember 20122022 }}</ref>

|capacity= dayDay transport: 44 pax with baggage and freight; sleeperSleeper transport : 22 pax with baggage and freight; — later, up to 86 in high density seating

* {{cite journal |last=Aro, |first=Chuck. "|title=Talkback". ''|journal=[[Air Enthusiast]]'', No. |number=18, April – July|date=April–July 1982. p.&nbsp;|page=80. {{ISSN|issn=0143-5450}}.

* {{cite book |last1=Berry, |first1=Peter et al.|display-authors=etal ''|title=The Douglas DC-4.'' |location=Tonbridge, Kent, UK: |publisher=Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, |year=1967.}}

* {{cite book |last=Blewett, |first=R. ''|title=Survivors.'' |location=Coulsden, UK: |publisher=Aviation Classics, |year=2007. {{ISBN|isbn=978-0-9530413-4-3}}.

* {{cite book |last=Francillon, |first=René. ''|title=McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume |volume=I.'' |location=London: |publisher=Putnam, |year=1979. {{ISBN|isbn=0-87021-428-4}}.

* {{cite book |last=Pearcy, |first=Arthur. ''|title=Douglas Propliners: DC-1–DC-7.'' |location=Shrewsbury, UK: |publisher=Airlife Publishing, |year=1995. {{ISBN|isbn=1-85310-261-X}}.

* {{cite book |last=Yenne, |first=Bill. ''|title=McDonnell Douglas: A Tale of Two Giants.'' |location=Greenwich, Connecticut:, US |publisher=Bison Books, |year=1985. {{ISBN|isbn=0-517-44287-6}}.

* [https://books.google.com/books?id=f9sDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA99&pg=PA210#v=onepage&q&f=false Popular Mechanics Article about testing prototype DC-4. Incl photo of triple-tail prototype]