Martin 4-0-4

Martin 4-0-4
	The last airworthy Martin 404 in Pacific Air Lines markings in January 2008 just a few weeks before the last flight of the type.
Role	short/medium range airliner
Manufacturer	Glenn L. Martin Company
First flight	1950
Introduction	1951
Primary users	Eastern Air Lines; Trans World Airlines
Produced	1947-1953
Number built	103
Developed from	Martin 2-0-2

The Martin 4-0-4 is an American pressurized passenger airliner built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. As well as 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).

Design and development

When production of the earlier Martin 2-0-2 was stopped due to problems with wing structural failure the company decided to re-wing an improved version (which had already flown as the Martin 3-0-3). The new aircraft was the Martin 4-0-4, it had structural changes to the wings, pressurization and lengthened slightly to take 40 passengers. Like the earlier 2-0-2, the 4-0-4 was a cantilever monoplane with a standard tail unit (cantilever tailplane and single vertical stabilizer). It had an airstair in the lower tail section for passenger loading and unloading, retractable tricycle landing gear and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CB16 radial piston engines.

Operational history

First deliveries in 1951 were made to Eastern Air Lines (EAL) who had ordered 60 and Trans World Airlines (TWA) who had ordered 40. The only other new aircraft from the production line were delivered to the United States Coast Guard who had ordered two as executive transports with the designation RM-1G later changed to RM-1 and then in 1962 to VC-3A. In 1969 they were transferred to the United States Navy and they had both been withdrawn from use by 1970. A total of 103 aircraft was built at the Glenn L. Martin factory in Baltimore.

TWA operated their 40 4-0-4s under the name "Skyliner" on scheduled services in the eastern part of the USA between 1 September 1950 and the last flight on 29 April 1961.^[1]. EAL operated their 4-0-4s in the eastern USA using the class name "Silver Falcon". The first EAL schedule was flown on 5 January 1952 and retirement came in late 1962.^[2]

Later in their airline career, as they became displaced from the EAL and TWA fleets by turbine-powered aircraft, the 4-0-4s became popular with "second level" operators who needed to replace their Douglas DC-3s.^[3] One of the last 'major' US airlines with a large fleet of piston engined airliners was Southern Airways who operated 25 model 4-0-4s on a network of scheduled services from Atlanta in July 1969, mainly ex-Eastern Airlines aircraft.^[4]. Southern Airways' last 4-0-4 service was flown on 30 April 1978.^[5]

In February 2008 the last airworthy 4-0-4, an ex TWA aircraft, was ferried to the Planes of Fame Museum in Valle, AZ. ^[6]

A restored and potentially airworthy 4-0-4 is at the Airline History Museum in Kansas City. The National Airline History Museum is currently working to return their aircraft to operation in 2012-2013.

Operators

♠ original operators

Civil

An Eastern Airlines Martin 404 circa 1955

Bolivia
Colombia

Aero Proveedora Proa Ltda

Dominican Republic

Dominair
Santiago Freighters

Haiti
Mexico
Panama
United States

Air South
Atlantic Southeast Airlines (1972-1979)
Eastern Airlines (1951-1962) ♠
Florida Airlines (1977-1981)
Marco Island Airways (1973-1981)
Mohawk Airlines (1961-1965)
Pacific Air Lines (1959-1968)
Ozark Air Lines (1964-1967)
Pacific Air Lines
Piedmont Airlines (1961-1972)
Provincetown-Boston Airlines (1975-1984)
Southeast Airlines (1971-1976)
Southern Airways (1961-1978)
Trans World Airlines (1950-1961) ♠

Venezuela

Rentavion

Military

United States

Notable accidents and incidents

19 February, 1955: TWA Flight 260 crashed into the Sandia Mountains, killing the three crew and 13 passengers.
1 April, 1956: TWA Flight 400 crashed on takeoff from Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, 22 of the 36 people aboard the aircraft died.
2 July 1963: Mohawk Airlines Flight 121 crashed during takeoff from Rochester-Monroe airport, killing seven people and injuring 36.
2 October, 1970: In the Wichita State University Crash, a charter flight crashed near Silver Plume, Colorado killing 31 of the 40 people onboard.

Specifications

Data from ^[7]

General characteristics

Crew: 3 or 4
Capacity: 40

Performance

References

Notes

^ Killion 1997, pp. 148–149.
^ Killion 1997, pp. 133–134.
^ Killion 1997, p. 67.
^ Sievers 1969, p. 25.
^ Killion 1997. p. 147.
^ Airliner World, July 2008, p. 80
^ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 1985, p. 2415.

Bibliography

Andrade, John. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979, pp. 95, 217. ISBN 0-904597-22-9.
Breslau, Alan Jeffry The Time Of My Death: Story of Miraculous Survival (E. P. Dutton, New York 1977} The July 2, 1963 crash of Mowhawk Airlines in Rochester, New York.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
Killion, Gary L. The Martinliners. Sandpoint ID: Airways International Inc., 1997. ISBN 0-9653993-2-X.
Sievers, Harry. North American Airline Fleets. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1969. ISBN 0-85130-005-7.
Smith, M.J. Jr. Passenger Airliners of the United States, 1926–1991. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1986. ISBN 0-933126-72-7.

External links

Martin Airliners - Maryland Aviation Museum
Martin 202/404 Census - oldprops.ukhome.net (photos and history also on site)
Many detailed close-up photographs of a restored Martin 4-0-4
Aviation Safety Network
Federal Aviation Authority Type Certificate for the Martin 404

[1] Killion 1997, pp. 148–149.

[2] Killion 1997, pp. 133–134.

[3] Killion 1997, p. 67.

[4] Sievers 1969, p. 25.

[5] Killion 1997. p. 147.

[6] Airliner World, July 2008, p. 80

[7] The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 1985, p. 2415.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e Martin and Martin Marietta aircraft
Model numbers	57 60 63 66 67 70 71 73 74 75 77 83 85 117 118 119 120 122 123 125 127 129 130 133 139 145 146 156 158 162 166 167 170 179 182 187 189 190 193 202 205 210 219 223 234 237 247 259 270 271 272 274 275 290 303 307 313 316 317 321 327
Airliners	M-130 Clipper M-156 Russian Clipper 2-0-2 3-0-3 4-0-4
Attack aircraft	A-15 A-22 A-23 A-30 A-45 AM
Bombers	B-10 B-12 XB-13 XB-14 XB-16 B-26 XB-27 B-33 B-48 XB-51 B-57 XB-68 BM MB-1 NBS-1
Maritime patrol	PBM XP2M P3M P4M P5M P6M P7M
Military transports	C-3 JRM RM
Military trainers	T/TT N2M
Scout/Torpedo bombers	S TM T2M T3M T4M T5M T6M
Reconnaissance aircraft	MO-1 M2O-1 MS-1 RB-57D RB-57F
Observation aircraft	XO-4
Martin Marietta	845 SV-5J X-23 X-24A/B

v t e United States military transport aircraft designations, Army/Air Force and Tri-Service systems
Army/Air Force sequence (1925-1962)	C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7 C-8 C-9 C-10 C-11 C-12 C-13¹ C-14 C-15 C-16 C-17 C-18 C-19 C-20 C-21 C-22 C-23 C-24 C-25 C-26 C-27 C-28 C-29 C-30 C-31 C-32 C-33 C-34 C-35 C-36 C-37 C-38 C-39 C-40 C-41 C-41A C-42 C-43 C-44 C-45 C-46 C-47 C-47F C-47T AC-47 C-48 C-49 C-50 C-51 C-52 C-53 C-54 C-55 C-56 C-57 C-58 C-59 C-60 C-61 C-62 C-63 C-64 C-65 C-66 C-67 C-68 C-69 C-70 C-70B C-71 C-72 C-73 C-74 C-75 C-76 C-77 C-77B–D C-78 C-79 C-80 C-81 C-82 C-83 C-83A C-83B C-84 C-85 C-86 C-87 C-88 C-89 C-90 C-91 C-92 C-93 C-94 C-95 C-96 C-97 KC-97 C-98 C-99 C-100 C-101 C-102 C-103 C-104 C-105 C-106 C-107 C-108 C-109 C-110 C-111 C-112 C-113 C-114 C-115 C-116 C-117 C-117D C-118 C-119 AC-119 C-120 C-121 C-121F EC-121 C-122 C-123 C-123A C-124 C-125 C-126 C-127² C-127 (I) C-127 (II) C-128 C-129 C-130 C-130J AC-130 DC-130 EC-130/H HC-130 KC-130 LC-130 MC-130 WC-130 C-131 NC-131H C-132 C-133 C-134 C-135 KC-135 C-136 C-137² YC-137 (I) YC-137 (II) C-137 C-138¹ C-139¹ C-140 C-141 C-142
Tri-service sequence (1962-present)	C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7² C-7 RC-7 C-8 C-9 C-10² C-10 KC-10 C-11 C-12 RC-12 C-13¹ C-14 C-15 C-16¹ C-17 C-18 C-19 C-20² C-20A–D C-20F–J C-21 C-22 C-23 C-24 C-25 C-26 C-27 C-27J C-28 C-29 C-30¹ C-31 C-32 C-33 C-34¹ C-35 C-36³ C-37 C-37B C-38 C-39¹ C-40 C-41 C-42¹ C-43¹ C-44¹ C-45 C-46
Revived original sequence (2005-present)	C-143 C-144 C-145 C-146 C-147
Non-sequential designations	C-767 C-767B C-880
Related designations	CT-39 CT-43 CV-2 CV-7
¹ Not assigned • ² Assigned to multiple types • ³ Unconfirmed

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