South African Airways Douglas DC-4 (1:200) by Hobby Master Diecast Airplanes
Item Number: HL2007
WWII in Europe had only ended a few months earlier when Overseas Airlines introduced the first commercial North Atlantic DC-4 service. Another first took place on March 7, 1946 when American Airlines introduced U.S. DC-4 domestic service between New York and Los Angeles. During the late 1940s and early 1950s the DC-4 and converted C-54s carried more passengers than any other four-engine transport. Amazingly many of these aircraft are still operating more than 60 years after they were first manufactured.
South African Airways operated a total of 7 DC-4s with the first aircraft flying between Johannesburg and Cape Town on May 1, 1946. Later in 1946 SAA took delivery of the second and third aircraft. These two aircraft were added to the Springbok Route operating between Johannesburg and London. In 1947 SAA took delivery of the remaining 4 DC-4s and began using them on there regional and domestic routes. In 1950 the DC-4s on the Springbok Route were replaced by Constellations. In March, 1959 SAA introduced a domestic budget service called 'Skycoach'. The last scheduled SAA DC-4 flight took place on September 30, 1965.
In January 1966 four DC-4s were sold to the SAAF. One of the aircraft was ZS-BMG (AKA ' Magaliesberg) that first flew June 24, 1947. It was a DC-4-1009 with a c/n 43156. When the SAAF took delivery of ZS-BMG it became 6902. In 1992 SAA bought the DC-4s back from the SAAF and restored them in the 'Skycoach' service scheme.
During their time with SAA and the SAAF the DC-4s flew more than 41 million miles.
The last known location of ZS-BMG is a static display in South Africa.
Specifications for the Douglas Aircraft Company DC-4-1009
Crew ' 4
Passengers ' up to 86
Dimensions
Length ' 93 ft 10 in (28.6 m)
Wingspan ' 117 ft 6 in (35.8 m)
Height ' 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
Weight
Empty ' 43,300 lb (19,640 kg)
Normal Load Weight ' 63,500 lb (28,800 kg)
Maximum Take-Off ' 73,000 lb (33,100 kg)
Performance
Engines ' (4) Pratt & Whitney R-2000 radial / 1,450 hp each
Maximum Speed ' 280 mph (450 km/h)
Cruise Speed ' 227 mph (365 km/h)
Range ' 4,250 miles (6,839 km)
Service Ceiling ' 22,300 ft (6,800 m)