Remember the Days When Aircraft Had Names? I Quiz

Answer: Skymaster

C 54 Skymasters along with a motley collection of other types provided a lifeline to blockaded West Berlin in a round the clock operation to provide food and supplies to the beleaguered population. Some 300 Skymasters were employed during Operation Vittles. During the early post war years civilianised Skymasters designated DC-4's became the workhorses of most international airlines until the advent of newer types. The DC-4 Skymaster was used as the basis for the development of the DC-6 and DC-7 and is easily distinguished from these later types by its round cabin windows and shorter fuselage. The Skymaster was unpressurised which meant it to have to fly around adverse weather systems. The C 54 Skymaster used by President Truman was called 'Sacred Cow' and General MacArthur had one called 'Bataan'.
The Douglas C 133 Cargomaster was a turboprop transport used to shift outsized loads
The Douglas C 118 Liftmaster was the military version of the DC-6

Answer: Stratocruiser

The double deck of the Stratocruiser allowed for the provision of an in-flight lounge and sleeper berths which were especially appreciated by passengers on long haul flights over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Boeing based the design of the Stratocruiser on the highly successful B 29 Superfortress from WW II substituting a new fuselage with a distinctive double-bubble cross section and more powerful 3500 hp radial piston engines. Only 55 civilian Stratocruisers were produced but they set a standard of comfort and style during the 1950s which was not to be bettered until the advent of the wide-body jets of the 1970s. One of the peculiar handling features of the Stratocruiser was that when landing the nose wheel had to touch down first because of the tail down attitude it adopted when on the ground. This was necessary so that the aircraft wing was tilted at the correct attitude for take-off and to provide ground clearance for the large diameter four blade props. Military versions of the Stratocruiser were known ac KC 97 Stratofreighters and over 800 were produced for the US Air Force.
The Boeing 307 Stratoliner represented the pinnacle of 30s airliner development but was a victim of unfortunate timing as the outbreak of WW II terminated its career.
The B 29 Superfortress was the well known bomber from WWII.
The B 47 Stratojet was the first all jet strategic bomber used by the Strategic Air Command.

Answer: Constellation

The resulting Lockheed model 069 Constellation or 'Connie' became a true thoroughbred as it was continuously developed from 1939-57. When Hughes met with Lockheed to review their design he was so impressed he asked for the price and was told $425,000. He replied "Hell TWA can't pay, the damm airline's broke. Go ahead and build 40. I'll have to pay for them myself." The war intervened and the first 'Connies' went to the Air Force where they were used as C-69 transports. After the war many airlines equipped themselves with 'Connies' where they pioneered the world's major air routes. The true classic was probably the Super Constellation or Super G which had a long sinuous body sporting the characteristic triple tail and was powered by four powerful Wright Turbo-Compound 3400 hp engines driving massive 3 bladed props. This was the first airliner capable of flying the Atlantic non-stop (eastward) and carried 95 passengers. The final development of the 'Connie' was the Starliner introduced in 1957 to match the DC-7C and was marketed as 'The Queen of the Skies.' This was the ultimate development of the piston engine airliner. The Starliner did not gain the fame of the earlier 'Connies', only 43 of them were produced as it was soon overtaken by the advent of the new 707 and DC-8 jets. A total of 850 Constellations were produced.
The Lockheed Constitution was a double deck transport which proved to be under powered and only two were built.
The Lockheed L 18 Lodestar was a twin engine transport used during WWII.

Answer: Viscount

The Vickers Viscount was the outstanding success story of the post war British commercial aviation industry. Originally called the Viceroy its name was changed to Viscount shortly before its first test flight in 1947 reflecting the events that had happened with the partition of India that year. Vickers publicity people had to produce a special sticker educating the public how to pronounce 'ViCount'.

It was one of the types recommended by the committee chaired by Lord Brabazon studying the post-war requirements of British civil aviation and was designed as a replacement for the Viking serving short haul European routes.

The success of the Viscount was the result some intelligent decisions that were made during its development - not the least of which was the decision to power this short haul airliner with four of the new Rolls Royce Dart turboprops rather than the usual pistons.

The Dart engines installed in pencil thin nacelles were superior to contemporary pistons in load carrying and economy and the performance of the Viscount was described as 'silky smooth.' The Viscount had a distinctive cockpit section and a circular cross section fuselage with large oval windows which were especially popular with passengers.

As it was improved seating capacity went from 32 to 70 in the final 800 series Viscount. Convair whose '404' series of airliners served the same sector of the market in the US tried to offer a Dart powered version to compete with the Viscount but with no success. The Viscount continued to serve with airlines for 50 years and they were so well regarded that every one of them was quickly snapped up when they appeared on the second hand market. 444 Viscounts of all models were produced.

Answer: Brabazon

The Bristol Type 167 Brabazon was the result of an attempt to build a 100 seat trans-Atlantic airliner that pushed the limits of contemporary technology. It was another of the types studied by the wartime Brabazon committee but it was never seriously expected to be built.

After the war the Ministry of Aviation gave the go ahead for it to be built anyway in an attempt to restore British prestige without asking who wanted it or would use it. Bristol went ahead and built the one and only prototype which first flew in 1949 at a specially constructed facility at Filton.

The Mk I Brabazon was a giant for its time. It was powered by an incredible eight Centaurus piston engines buried in a wing with a very thick cross section and driving huge contra-rotating props via a complicated drive chain. Test pilot 'Bill' Pegg was sent to the Convair plant in the USA to fly the B-36, the only other aircraft with similar dimensions to familiarise with the handling characteristics that he would encounter with the new giant aircraft.

The Brabazon made a few test flights and an appearance at the 1951 Farnborough Air Show but the airlines showed no interest in ordering it. BOAC, the supposed natural customer, never placed and order because by this time it had already committed to the Stratocruiser and Constellation. The whole project was quietly dropped and the belief remains that Brabazon was an aircraft ahead of its time.

Answer: Britannia

The Bristol Britannia benefited from the lessons learned after the Brabazon flop. For power plants it employed the advanced 4400 hp Proteus turboprop engine, was a well designed economical aircraft and was described by commentators as the 'Whispering Giant'. BOAC the launch customer wasted a lot of time on 'route proving' with the new type so that by the time it was in regular service in 1957 the jet age was just around the corner. The Britannia achieved greater success with foreign operators and as a military transport with the RAF (Royal Air Force). An advanced version operated by El AL set a new long distance record when it flew non-stop 9800 km from Tel Aviv to New York at an average speed of 645 kph - much better than contemporary piston engine types. The Britannia had more success when Canadair bought the licence and used the design as the basis for its Argus maritime patrol aircraft. This was further developed into the CC-106 Yukon military transport and the CL-44 Freighter which had the then unique feature of swinging the entire tail section to one side to enable the straight in loading of bulky items. With the advent of the jet age Britannia's and their Canadair derivatives found a new life as freighters and were the backbone of the fleets like Flying Tiger and Seaboard World Airlines during the 60's and 70's.
The Belfast was a military transport similar to the Hercules.
The Blackburn Beverly was a box-like military transport with a fixed undercarriage.
The Belvedere was a twin rotor helicopter similar to the CH-47 Chinook.

Answer: Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST)

When the DST appeared on the American commercial aviation scene in December 1935 it had a made a big impact, however it was the standard DC-3 that the major airlines across the nation were more interested in. Within 2 years 90% of commercial traffic in the US was being carried DC-3's or its immediate predecessor the DC-2. Overseas customers also realised its virtues and Douglas's order books were soon full. With the outbreak of WW II thousands of military versions known as C-47's and called Skytrains in the US Army Air Force (USAAF) and Dakota's in the Royal Air Force (RAF) were pouring off the production lines. Nearly 11,000 were produced by Douglas and various contractors and 2,000 were produced in the USSR as Lisunov Li-2's. Japan had also acquired a production licence before the war and produced 250 L2D2's.

After the war thousands of surplus aircraft appeared on the civil market and were put to work as airliners and freighters by private companies and governments. Over the years numerous versions of the DC-3 appeared and it built up its reputation for strength and rugged reliability and was especially valued for its ability to operate from the most primitive airstrips in many Third World countries.

In the late 2000s, after over 70 years of service, it is estimated there are still several hundred flying world wide. Gooney Bird was the name given to a DC-3 Gunship conversion used during the Vietnam War.

Answer: Friendship

When the Fokker Friendship first flew in 1955 it quickly impressed airlines with its performance and economics. It was aimed at the short haul market which at this time was dominated by piston engine types. Fokker had noted the success of the Viscount and adopted Rolls Royce Dart turboprops as power plants using two which were mounted on a high wing. This and the same large elliptical windows of the Viscount offered passengers unprecedented views from an aircraft in this configuration. Fokker signed a deal with Fairchild which manufactured the type as the F 27/227 and sold 173 on the North American market. Initially they wanted to sell it with piston engines, but in view of airline experience with Viscounts and the advice of Fokker they went with turbos. The Friendship was re-launched in the 80s with a new power plant and was called the F 50. A total of 786 Friendships were built by the time Fokker went into receivership in 1986.
The Fokker Fellowship was very successful short haul twinjet introduced as a successor to the Friendship in the 60s.
The Handley Page Dart Herald was a similar type to the Friendship but never achieved the success of the latter because it was initially marketed with piston engines and by the time HP realised their error and switched to turbo's they had missed the boat.
The Vickers Viking was a DC-3 contemporary based on the wartime Wellington bomber used mainly in the European market.

Answer: Electra

The Lockheed L 188 Electra entered service in 1959 just as the Boeing 707 came on the airline scene and it was promoted as a Jet-Prop to the public. It offered more range and capacity than the Viscount being able to carry 90 passengers 4000 km at an average speed of 560 kph and was powered by four efficient Allison turboprops. When it entered service it was the most advanced prop driven aircraft of the day. The slipstream from the massive paddle blade props flowed over the entire span of the short stubby wings giving unprecedented field performance for a plane of this size. The props also made superb brakes. Shortly after its introduction to service the Electra suffered a series of fatal crashes which caused restrictions to be placed on its operation. The fault was eventually traced to a whirl mode vibration in the engine nacelle which was transmitted down the wing eventually causing it to snap off at the root. This was soon rectified and operational restrictions were lifted however Electra sales never recovered as new medium haul jets like the 727 were all the rage with airlines. The Electra like the Britannia was an excellent design and went on to serve with second tier airlines and as pure freighters for many years. Lockheed used the Electra as the basis for the Orion anti-submarine patrol aircraft which serves the US Navy and numerous foreign air forces to this day. A total of 170 Electra's were built.
The Hercules C-130 is a military transport and in its early versions used the same paddle blade props as the Electra.
The Vickers Vanguard was a similar class of aircraft to the Electra but only saw limited use with BEA (British European Airways) and TCA (Trans Canada Airlines).
The TriStar was a three engine wide-body jet introduced in the 70's in a belated attempt by Lockheed to regain its place in the airliner market.

Answer: Heron

Despite having four engines the early versions of the De Havilland DH 114 Heron were still chronically underpowered as the Gipsy Queen power plants produced only a modest 250 hp and weighed 400 Kg each. In addition the early models had a fixed undercarriage which further reduced performance. These shortcomings were rectified in later versions the last one being powered by two turboprops delivering nearly twice the power of the original arrangement. The first customer was NAC (New Zealand National Airways Corporation) which received its first examples in 1953. The Heron was basically a scaled up version of De Havilland's earlier successful Dove with a tricycle undercarriage and seating capacity for 17. Its simplicity and rugged reliability was much appreciated by regional airlines operating in remote areas. One quirk of the Heron was an unfortunate propensity to slowly sink onto its tail skid if the rearmost passengers were seated first! The Heron was given a new lease of life in the 60s when most of them were retrofitted with more reliable and powerful horizontally opposed Lycoming engines.
A total of 150 Herons were built
The De Havilland Dragon Rapide was a twin engine biplane and Britain's most successful airliner of the 30s.
The De Havilland Australia Drover was a three engine derivative of the Dove and made famous when adopted by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.