sandiego89 wrote:
Yes Douglas sure had a good start on airliner numbers.
To further the conversation, comparing the "heavy" numbers, things get closer. I would consider the DC-4/C-54 a different class, especially to the DC-7 and Constellation, being quite a bit lighter, installed horsepower, etc. Perhaps not quite apples to oranges, but at least apples to big apples.....
When comparing "heavies" things get closer on DC-6/7 and Constellation numbers with perhaps just over 1,000 DC-6/7 and 856 Constellations.
The evolution of the Constellation into increasingly larger, heavier, powerful and more capable versions is quite impressive. Almost new aircraft sharing a common name, shape and triple tail, but hugely different capability wise.
I'm not sure I'd separate the DC-4/C-54 from the rest of the Douglas 4-engine family.
Two reasons:
-When it appeared, it was a huge step ahead of any other airliner. As the history of MacArthur's C-69 posted here shows, the Lockheeds weren't online, and in limited numbers, until 1945, by then a.C-54s were common. So much so, that the USAAF could afford to expend one in ditching trials.
-And more to the point, the DC-4 was the direct predecessor of the DC-6. The XC-112 was a USAAF program to improve and pressurized the C-54...(which was originally designed for pressurized ion which was omitted for the sake of simplicity and wartime production). The prototype first flew after the war and was bought by Douglas as the prototype DC-6.
On this topic, I'd strongly recommend The books by the late Rene Francillon,
his
Lockheed Aircraft since 1913,
McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920,and his later, less readily available book
Douglas Propliners.
The competition between Douglas and Lockheed spurred a lot of innovations.
I'd love to see someone take up Francillon's work and come out with a new, comprehensive book on both families and the topic in general
And there is some great stories told in the
Propliner book...how Douglas alienated a key longtime customer, American Airlines (father of the DC-3) with its DC-7 pricing, and how Douglas got the USAAF to fund the DC-6 development.
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