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The Star-Crossed Martin Airliners 9 / 17
By 1946 the race was on for a DC-3 replacement. Convair and Martin both had twin engine proposals on the table. Martin promised an earlier delivery, albeit an unpressurised airliner. The pressurized 240 offering was approximately a year behind. Pennsylvania Central had ordered 50 of the proposed Martin 202 "Executives" and Colonial added 20 to the order book. Northwest, TWA and even LAN Chile added to an order book totaling 270 Martin aircraft. But by 1947, certification delays and an economic downturn dissolved the order book. Only Northwest, and later TWA among American Trunk airlines took delivery of 202s.
Adding to the collapse in confidence were numerous operational issues including structural failures and unexplained loss of control of several Northwest aircraft. Ultimately Northwest pilots refused to fly the aircraft, resulting in its removal from service in 1951. Only 46 202s were delivered.
Nevertheless Martin aggressively marketed the improved 404 version, even claiming that the model would be suitable for conversion to jets. Only Eastern and TWA took the bait, along with two for the Coast Guard. A total of 103 404s were built as Convair's rugged, reliable 240s and340s racked up over 1000 orders.
The Martin production quietly died, but second hand Martins fared reasonably well, operating into the 1970s.
Only a few airline issued Martin cards were produced, but following are all of the postcard views of Martins I have acquired. |
Album by John Schmidt. 1 - 46 of 46 Total. 0 Visits. |
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