IATA D6FICAO DC6

Douglas DC-6

Douglas

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Reliable postwar piston airliner that defined long-range travel.

First flight

1946

Category

Narrow-body piston airliner

Seating

52–102 passengers

Range

7,410 km

Engines

4× Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial piston engines

Status

Retired (limited cargo/specialty use)

The Douglas DC-6 is a pressurized, piston-engined airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company in the mid-1940s as an improvement over the DC-4. It entered airline service in 1947 and quickly became a workhorse on transcontinental and transatlantic routes, offering greater range, speed, and passenger comfort than its predecessor. Powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engines, the DC-6 could carry up to 102 passengers depending on configuration. Several variants were produced, including the stretched DC-6A freighter and the longer-range DC-6B, which is widely regarded as one of the finest piston airliners ever built. Though largely retired from scheduled passenger service, a small number of DC-6 aircraft continue to operate in cargo, charter, and specialty roles. The type holds an important place in aviation history as a bridge between wartime transport technology and the jet age.

Notable operators

Major operators included United Air Lines, American Airlines, Pan American World Airways, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), and KLM.

Notable facts

›The DC-6B variant is widely considered one of the greatest piston-engine airliners ever built.
›A total of 704 DC-6 aircraft of all variants were produced between 1946 and 1958.
›The DC-6 was used by the United States military as the C-118 Liftmaster.
›Early DC-6 service was suspended in 1947 following two in-flight fires traced to a fuel system defect.
›The aircraft played a key role in establishing reliable transatlantic commercial air travel in the late 1940s and 1950s.