Douglas DC-6
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Douglas DC-6 | |
---|---|
Douglas DC-6B of Swiss airline Balair in 1976 | |
Role | Airliner/transport aircraft |
Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
First flight | 15 February 1946 |
Introduced | March 1947 |
Status | 49 fully active |
Primary users | United States Air Force United States Navy |
Produced | 1946-1959 |
Number built | >700 |
Developed from | Douglas DC-4 |
Variants | Douglas DC-7 |
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range transport market. More than 700 were built, and many still fly today in cargo, military, and wildfire control roles.
The DC-6 was known as the C-118 Liftmaster in United States Air Force service, and as the R6D in United States Navy service.
Contents |
[edit] Design and development
The United States Army Air Forces commissioned the DC-6 project as the XC-112 in 1944. The Air Force wanted an expanded, pressurized version of the popular C-54 Skymaster transport with improved engines. By the time the XC-112 flew, the war was over, and the USAAF had rescinded its requirement.
Douglas converted its prototype into a civil transport (redesignated YC-112A, having significant differences from subsequent production DC-6 aircraft) and delivered the first production DC-6 in March 1947. However, a series of mysterious in-flight fires (including the fatal crash of United Airlines Flight 608) grounded the DC-6 fleet later that year. The cause was found to be a fuel vent located adjacent to the cabin cooling turbine intake. All DC-6s in service were modified to correct the problem, and the fleet was flying again after just four months on the ground.
[edit] Operational history
Pan Am used DC-6B aircraft to inaugurate its first trans-Atlantic tourist class flights, starting in 1952.
Douglas designed four basic variants of the DC-6: the "basic DC-6," and the longer fuselage, higher-gross-weight, longer range versions—the "DC-6A" with large cargo doors forward and aft of the wing on the port (left hand side) with a cargo floor, the "DC-6B" designed for passenger work,had passengers doors only and a lighter floor and the "DC-6C" a "convertible" aircraft built with the 2 cargo doors, but fitted with removable passenger seats. The DC-6B, originally powered by Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CB-16 engines with Hamilton Standard 43E60 constant speed reversing propellers, was regarded as the ultimate piston-engine airliner from the standpoint of ruggedness, reliability, economical operation and handling qualities. The military version, essentially similar to the DC-6A, was the USAF C-118 Liftmaster, and the USN R6D which used the more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CB-17 engines. The more powerful engine was later used on the commercial DC-6B to accommodate international flights.[citation needed]
The USAF and USN renewed their interest in the DC-6 during the Korean War, and ordered a total of 167 C-118/R6D aircraft, some of which later found their way into civilian service. Harry Truman's first presidential aircraft was an Air Force VC-118 called The Independence.
Total production of the DC-6 Series was 702 including military versions.
In the 1960s, two DC-6s were used as transmitter platforms for educational television, based at Purdue University, in a program called MPATI (Midwest Program for Airborne Television Instruction).[1]
Many older DC-6 aircraft were replaced in airline passenger service by the Douglas DC-7, but the simpler, more economic engines in the DC-6 has meant that this type has out-lived the more sophisticated DC-7. DC-6/7s surviving into the Jet Age were replaced in front line service by Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 aircraft.
2006 marked the 60th anniversary since the introduction of the DC-6.
[edit] Variants
- XC-112
- United States military designation of an improved version of the C-54 (DC-4); became the prototype DC-6. Eventually designated YC-112A, pressurized, P&W R-2800-83AM3 engines
- DC-6
- Initial production variant.
- DC-6A
- Freighter variant; fuselage slightly lengthened from DC-6 ; fitted with cargo door.
- DC-6B
- All-passenger variant of DC-6A, without cargo door.
- DC-6C
- Convertible cargo/passenger variant.
- VC-118
- One DC-6 bought as a presidential transport with special 25 seat interior and 12 beds.
- C-118A
- Designation of DC-6As for the United States Air Force, 101 built.
- VC-118A
- C-118As converted as staff transports.
- C-118B
- R6D-1s re-designated.
- VC-118B
- R6D-1Zs re-designated.
- R6D-1
- United States Navy designation for the DC-6A, 65 built.
- R6D-1Z
- Four R6D-1s converted as staff transports.
[edit] Operators
- Current operators of the DC-6
- Today, most DC-6s in commercial use are based in Alaska. Several other DC-6s are still in operation for small carriers in South America.
- About 100 DC-6s still fly (or are potentially capable of flight).
- In 2002, 49 were fully active.
- One DC-6A, G-APSA, is in use by Air Atlantique, Coventry, UK. They also own a DC-6B, G-SIXC.[2]
- One is in use by Red Bull in Salzburg, Austria.
- One DC-6 is in use by Namibia Commercial Aviation.
- An unknown number are in use as freighters or waterbombers in Canada and the western US.
[edit] Civil operators
- New Zealand
- United Kingdom
- Air Atlantique, a former cargo carrier based in Coventry, England.
- United States
- Greece
[edit] Military operators
- Argentina
- Belgium
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Denmark
- Republic of China
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- France
- Germany
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Italy
- South Korea
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Portugal
- Republic of China
- United States
- South Vietnam
- Yugoslavia
- Zambia
[edit] Notable incidents and accidents
- On 29 November 1949, American Airlines Flight 157 crashed while attempting a 3 engine landing in Dallas Texas, killing 28 people.
- On 24 August 1951, United Airlines Flight 615 crashed into Tolman Peak and into Dry Gulch Canyon below, 15 miles southeast of Oakland, California, killing all 44 passengers and 6 crew.
- On 14 February 1953, National Airlines Flight 470 crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off Mobile, Alabama. The aircraft broke up in the turbulence of a "frontal wave" storm after failure of the left wing, killing all 41 passengers and 5 crew members.
- On 29 October 1953, British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines flight 304 from Sydney, Nadi (Fiji), Canton Island, and Honolulu crashed upon landing at San Francisco Airport, killing all 19 on board.
- On 12 February 1955, a Sabena DC-6 crashed on mount Terminillo, near Rieti, Italy; 29 people died, including 1953 Miss Italia winner Marcella Mariani.
- On 1 November 1955, a time bomb exploded aboard United Airlines Flight 629, a DC-6, killing 44 people above Longmont, Colorado, USA.
[edit] Survivors
Several DC-6s are preserved in museums.
- The most well-known is President Harry S. Truman's VC-118B Independence (s/n 46-505), which is preserved at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. It was retired to the Museum in 1965.[3] In 1977-1978 museum personnel restored "Independence" to its former presidential markings and eagle-like paint scheme. The aircraft is on display in the Museum's Presidential Hanger.
[edit] Specifications (DC-6B)
Data from Airliners.net[4]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3: captain, copilot, flight engineer, plus attendants appropriate to number of passengers
- Capacity: 54-102 passengers
- Length: 105 ft 7 in (32.18 m)
- Wingspan: 117 ft 6 in (35.81 m)
- Height: 28 ft 5 in (8.66 m)
- Wing area: 1,463 ft (135.9 m)
- Empty weight: 55,357 lb (25,110 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 107,000 lb (48,500 kg)
- Powerplant: 4× Pratt & Whitney R-2800 CB17 "Double Wasp" radial engine, 2,500 hp (1,700 kW) with water injection each
- Propellers: Hamilton Standard 43E60 "Hydromatic" constant speed props with autofeather and reverse thrust
Performance
- Cruise speed: 274 knots (315 mph, 507 km/h)
- Range: 2,610 nm (3,010 mi, 4,840 km)
- Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,070 ft/min (5.44 m/s)
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Purdue University
- ^ The Six
- ^ United States Air Force Museum 1975, p. 43.
- ^ The Douglas DC-6 Retrieved: 20 March 2006.
[edit] Bibliography
- Pearcy, Arthur. Douglas Propliners: DC-1–DC-7. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1-85310-261-X.
- United States Air Force Museum. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio: Air Force Museum Foundation. 1975.
- Whittle, John A. The Douglas DC-6 and DC-7 Series. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1971. No ISBN.
- Yenne, Bill. McDonnell Douglas: A Tale of Two Giants. Greenwich, Connecticut: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-517-44287-6.
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Douglas DC-6 |
|
|
|
|