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Photo ID: 1015032
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Model: Douglas C-54D-10-DC Skymaster |
Registration: 0272641 |
| Year: 1945 |
Serial Number: 42-72641, c/n 10746, fuselage #477 |
| Engine(s): P&W R2000-11 |
Owner: USAF |
| Location: Arctic? |
Photographer: From the collection of Ken Stoltzfus |
| Date: Early 1960's ? |
Present Registration: Unknown |
Present Owner (FAA info): |
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Notes: 6/26/04 - Douglas C-54D-10-DC Skymaster, c/n 10746 and s/n 42-72641 was delivered to the USAAF on 11/6/45. The "DC" in the model indicates that it was built in the Douglas Chicago plant.
The aircraft was obviously down on its nose, but it didn't get the props. I don't know where the accident happened, but some of the photos show a lot of snow on the ground. The person who sold these said his father went out and repaired such aircraft sufficiently to ferry them to a major rebuild facility. He thought these were taken in the Arctic.
0272641 went through several owners and registrations, including N6513D, CF-LTI (Canada, Loram Ltd., 1959), CF-PWJ (Pacific & Western Airlines, see photo), and N74182. The final identity that I can find is in 1980 as Zairian 9Q-COO, registered to Amaz, in Kinshasa. |
Photo ID: 1015033
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Notes: The tail number is 0272641. That threw me a curve and took several hours to figure out. Typically the USAF s/n would be something like 42-72641, with the "42" indicating the year. When they put it on the tail they dropped the first number and the dash, making it 272641. I could easily have figured that out. But what about the "0" there? I knew it couldn't be a 1940 or 1950 aircraft, i.e. s/n 40-272641. I finally discovered in Joe Baugher's material that in the 1950's, the USAF put a "0" in front of the tail numbers of aircraft that were ten years old so the numbers didn't conflict with newer aircraft. So, I dropped the "0", put on a 4, put a dash after the 2, and had 42-72641. That was confirmed in the photo of the pilot's instrument panel. |
| Photographer: From the collection of Ken Stoltzfus |
Photo ID: 1015034
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Notes: A shot of the left side of the nose. RE the tail number discussion, something that made identifying the aircraft more difficult is that someone had taken a ballpoint pen and scribbled over the registration. I finally used an eraser and got most of it off. It made me wonder if there was some reason that the aircraft was not to be identified, possibly because of Cold War operations or something. |
| Photographer: From the collection of Ken Stoltzfus |
Photo ID: 1015035
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Notes: It looks fairly serious in there, but some other photos of this area are marked "looks good". It must be that he was satisfied that the critical structure and nose gear mounting points were satisfactory for a ferry flight. |
| Photographer: From the collection of Ken Stoltzfus |
Photo ID: 1015036
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Notes: There's a Grumman Albatross in the distance under the left wing, and a Vertol H-21B, probably s/n 53-4356 off to the right. You can see the C-54's cargo doors here, and the Strategic Air Command insignia. |
| Photographer: From the collection of Ken Stoltzfus |
Photo ID: 1015037
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Notes: The pilot's instrument panel. Each aircraft has a "Call Sign" consisting of the last four digits of the serial number, so the pilot knows how to identify himself in radio communications. When I was struggling to figure out the s/n, I took a magnifying glass and scoured the panel. Sure enough, there it was. The placard "Call Sign 2641" is toward the top left of the photo, just inside the window. Note the snow on the center console. |
| Photographer: From the collection of Ken Stoltzfus |
Photo ID: 1015038
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Notes: Co-pilots panel. |
| Photographer: From the collection of Ken Stoltzfus |
Photo ID: 1015039
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Notes: Not a real plush interior there, but many people would pay for a nice ride in such seats on a DC-4! I don't know who the young man there is. |
| Photographer: From the collection of Ken Stoltzfus |
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