The Martin 4-0-4 was a short to medium range twin aircraft powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engines. The 4-0-4 was designed by the Glenn L. Martin Company, who were also responsible for the Martin M-130 flying boat in the 1930s, and the first flight took place on 21 October 1950.
Just two airlines ordered the pressurised aircraft, a derivative of the earlier Martin 2-0-2, and these were Eastern Air Lines and Trans World Airlines. Scheduled services began at Eastern on 5 January 1952.
Martin 4-0-4 Video
Following on from the last video about the Sikorsky S-42 flying boat, this time we stay in the United States for a look at the Martin 4-0-4. First up is a short black and white clip lasting just over a minute of a TWA aircraft arriving at the gate in Indianapolis in 1960.
https://youtu.be/SXpAGKlp0Y0
I think the most fascinating part of that for me was the get-ups the kids are in! Next up is a longer 13 minute presentation of a Martin 4-0-4 in 1994 at an air show. There is plenty of flying in this one.
From about 6:30 to 8 minutes, they are inside the cabin doing a walk through, so you get to check out the interior quite well. Looks like it would have been a grand day out.
Overall Thoughts
Just 103 Martin 4-0-4s were produced from 1951 to 1953, with Eastern taking 60 and TWA taking 40. Apart from the prototype, the remaining two went to the US Coast Guard. The mainline carriers retired their aircraft by 1962 and they went on to fly for second tier operators in the USA.
These included Ozark Air Lines, Pacific Air Lines, Piedmont Airlines, Provincetown-Boston Airlines, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, and of course Southern Airways which had a large fleet of 25 in service. The final aircraft took flight to a museum in February 2008, meaning there are none flying today.
Have you ever been on board a Martin 4-0-4 before? What was that like? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by RuthAS via Wikimedia Commons.
My first ride in an airplane was in a TWA Martin 404. My Dad was station manager in Harrisburg PA and he, my mom, sis and I flew from Harrisburg to LaGuardia for a day in NYC that included the 1956 GM Motorama, the Empire State Building and an automat. I’ll never forget flying home in the dark low over NYC with all of the lights and sights below. It was truly magical. That 404 opened a window on the world that has never closed for that little boy. Since then my wife and I have traveled the world extensively on both business and pleasure but that initial AHA moment will never leave me.
That’s awesome, I can only imagine how that experience was. It sounds like something else. Thanks for sharing that!
I was employed by Eastern Airlines January 7, 1957 and the first airplane I flew was the Martin 404. It wasn’t long before Eastern bought 20 Convair 440s and I liked the Convair better than the Martin; possibly because I had flow an earlier model of the Convair for over 2000 hours in the Air Force. Later I flew in Eastern’s test department and flew 11 different makes and models of Eastern airplanes. I took early retirement in 1988 after 311/2 years and over 25,000 hours of flying time. During the time with Eastern I was also an instructor and check captain on several airplanes.
Wow, you really had a very interesting career. It must have been something to work in Eastern’s test department. From what I hear, EA was a really good operation, despite how it all ended. You certainly must have seen it all! Did you have a favourite aircraft after all that testing and flying? I’d be curious to know. Thanks for the comment!
I flew on a Piedmont Airlines Martin 404 from CLT to AVL in the summer of 1967. There were about 20 passengers on board and it was a bumpy flight (over mountains) and it took about 30 minutes. Nothing remarkable as this was a typical airliner at that time. Nostalgia rules!
A flight is just a flight at the end of the day – and ones over mountains are bumpy. I know what you mean. Great you’ve been on one though, that is just great. Thanks for sharing that!
I almost flew on once but we got re-booked because we were non-revs. We were trying to fly from MIA to Naples (Florida) and was supposed to be on Naples Airways (I think, so long ago) but we got sent to Fort Myers and had to drive to Naples. I think I was 10-12 years old or so.
Makes sense, non-rev’s always have last priority. Shame you didn’t make it that time, especially as you had to drive!