History

The Douglas DC-4 was a long range heavy airliner designed in the late 1930s and constructed in large numbers in the 1940s. It was one of the major airliners in the rapid development of intercontinental air transport after World War 2.

Douglas began development of the new long-range DC-4 before the beginning of World War 2 but it was taken over by the US military and redesignated the C-54 when American joined the war.

The first one flew on 14 February 1942 and 1,245 were manufactured between May 1942 and August 1947.

The first 1,116 were manufactured as C-54s and the final 79 as civilian DC-4s.

Many C-54s were later converted to civil DC-4 standard and these airliners played a major role in the development of long range inter-continental air transport in the years immediately following the war.

The first civil DC-4s arrived in Australia in 1946 and a few remained in service here into the 1970s.

This model represents VH-ANC flying for Australian National Airways in 1946.

Minicraft 1/144 kit with Hawkeye decals completed by Leigh Edmonds in November 2017.

Work Bench Notes

Data

MODEL: Douglas DC-4 (ANA, VH-ANC, 1946)

ROLE: AIRLINER

TIME PERIOD: 1942-

ENGINES: four Pratt & Whitney R-2000 radial piston engines of 1,080kW each

WING SPAN: 35.8m

LENGTH: 28.6m

MAXIMUM TAKE OFF WEIGHT: 33,112kg

CRUISING SPEED: 365km/h

RANGE: 5,300km

PAYLOAD: 40 to 80 passengers

CREW: 4

SCALE: 1/144

KIT:

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