Douglas C-54 Skymaster

what is it?

The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian airliner, the Douglas DC-4. Besides transport of cargo, the C-54 also carried presidents, prime ministers, and military staff.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · 35.8 m wingspan

base stats

• seats 50passengers
• size 33.1 tmax take-off weight
• built 1,165made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 84 years ago, in 1942.
• 🚗Wingspan of 35.8 m: about 8 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 6 African elephants (~6 t each).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1942-02-14

introduced

1942

retired

1975

status

retired

number built

1,165

role

military transport aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Douglas

engines

4× Pratt & Whitney R-2000-9 Twin Wasp

passengers

50

length

28.6 m

wingspan

35.8 m

height

8.4 m

max take-off weight

33.1 t

top speed

—

range

—

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family