Martin 4-0-4

what is it?

The Martin 4-0-4 is a pressurized, all-metal, low-wing 40 passenger American airliner built by the Glenn L. Martin Company and introduced in 1951. Derived from the unpressurized Martin 2-0-2, it is 3 feet longer, powered by the same Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp-CB16 18-cylinder radial engine, and slightly slower. In addition to commercial airline use initially in the United States, it was used by the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy as the RM-1G (later as the VC-3A).

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 28.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 502 km/htop speed
• seats 40passengers
• size 20.4 tmax take-off weight
• built 103made 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 76 years ago, in 1950.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 28.4 m: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 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

1950-10-21

introduced

1951

retired

2008

status

retired

number built

103

role

short/medium range airliner

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Glenn L. Martin Company

engines

2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp-CB16

crew

3

passengers

40

length

22.7 m

wingspan

28.4 m

height

8.7 m

max take-off weight

20.4 t

top speed

502 km/h

cruise speed

451 km/h

range

—

ceiling

8,839 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.