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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair: Steve Fitzgerald· GFDL 1.2
- 2. Douglas C-54 Skymaster: USAF· Public domain
- 3. Aerolineas Argentinas DC4 atEZE 1958: Edgardo E. Carbajal· CC BY 3.0
- 4. Douglas DC-4 Pan Am: SDASM· Public domain
- 5. Kabine DC-4: Swissair Archiv· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. Caravan made from a converted DC-4, Kalinga, 1950: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 7. DC-4 SE-ABA 1946 Den är publicerad många gånger: SAS Scandinavian Airlines· Public domain
- 8. DC-4 TWA N45346 "The Acropolis" (4974613764): Bill Larkins· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 9. DC-4 Western Air Lines (8557804237): Bill Larkins· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 10. DC-4s at Oakland Airport at night (4443020861): Bill Larkins· CC BY-SA 2.0
what is it?
The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s. From 1945, many civil airlines operated the DC-4 worldwide.
How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 35.8 m wingspan
base stats
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.
- Top speed is 3.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- 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
- 1946
- retired
- 1991
- status
- retired
- number built
- 1,244
- role
- airliner/transport aircraft
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Douglas
- engines
- 4× Pratt & Whitney R-2000-2SD13-G Twin Wasp
- crew
- 4
- passengers
- 44
- length
- 28.6 m
- wingspan
- 35.8 m
- height
- 8.4 m
- max take-off weight
- 33.1 t
- top speed
- 451 km/h
- cruise speed
- 365 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 6,800 m
- wings
- low wing
- landing gear
- retractable tricycle gear
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q622673, Wikipedia: Douglas DC-4 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.