Martin 4-0-4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Martin 4-0-4 | |
|---|---|
 An Eastern Airlines Martin 4-0-4 ca. 1955 |
|
| Type | short/medium range airliner |
| Manufacturer | Glenn L. Martin Company |
| Maiden flight | 1950 |
| Introduced | 1951 |
| Primary users | Eastern Air Lines Trans World Airlines |
| Produced | 1947-1953 |
| Number built | 103 |
| Developed from | Martin 2-0-2 |
The Martin 4-0-4 is an American pressurized passenger airliner built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. As well as airline use initially in the United States it was used by the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy as the RM-1G (later as the VC-3A).
Contents |
[edit] Design and development
When production of the earlier Martin 2-0-2 was stopped due to problems with wing structural failure the company decided to re-wing an improved version (which had already flown as the Martin 3-0-3). The new aircraft was the Martin 4-0-4, it had structural changes to the wings, pressurization and lengthened slightly to take 40-passengers. Like the earlier 2-0-2 the 4-0-4 was a cantilever monoplane with a standard tail unit (cantilver tailplane and single vertical stabilizer). It had a retractable tricycle landing gear and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CB16 radial piston engines.
[edit] Operational history
First deliveries in 1951 were made to Eastern Air Lines (who had ordered 60) and Trans World Airlines (who had ordered 40). The only other new aircraft of the production line were delivered to the United States Coast Guard who had ordered two as executive transports with the designation RM-1G later changed to RM-1 and then in 1962 to VC-3A. In 1969 they were transferred to the United States Navy and they had both been withdrawn from use by 1970. A total of 103 aircraft were built at the Glenn L. Martin factory in Baltimore.
[edit] Accidents and incidents
Of the 103 aircraft built there have been 23 hull-loss accidents including nine fatal accidents:
- 19 February 1955: TWA Flight 260 crashed into the Sandia Mountains, killing the three crew and 13 passengers.
- 1 April 1956: TWA Flight 400 crashed on takeoff from Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, 22 of the 36 people aboard the aircraft died.
- 2 July 1963: Mohawk Airlines Flight 121 crashed during takeoff from Rochester-Monroe airport, killing seven people and injuring 36.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Civil
[edit] Military
[edit] Specifications
Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, 1985, p. 2415.
General characteristics
- Crew: 3 or 4
- Capacity: 40
- Length: 74 ft 7 in (22.73 m)
- Wingspan: 93 ft 3 in (28.42 m)
- Height: 28 ft 5 in (8.66 m)
- Wing area: 864 ft² (80.27 m²)
- Empty weight: 29,126 lb (13,211 kg)
- Gross weight: 44,900 lb (20,366 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CB16 radial piston engine, 2,400 hp (1,790 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 312 mph (502 km/h)
- Range: 1,080 miles (1,783 km)
- Service ceiling: 29,000 ft (8,840 m)
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Andrade, John. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979, p. 95 and 217. ISBN 0-904597-22-9,
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
- Smith, M.J. Jr. Passenger Airliners of the United States, 1926-1991. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1986. ISBN 0-933126-72-7.
[edit] External links
- Martin Airliners - Maryland Aviation Museum
- Martin 202/404 Census - oldprops.ukhome.net (photos and history also on site)
- Many detailed close-up photographs of a restored Martin 4-0-4
- Aviation Safety Network
[edit] See also
Related development
Related lists
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||
 |
This article on an aircraft of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
