100 YEARS OF DELTA AIR LINES
DOUGLAS DC-3 ( 1940-1960 )
The first DC-3 delivered , Ship 40 , the City of Atlanta , went into scheduled service on December 24 , 1940 , flying from Atlanta , Georgia , to Birmingham , Alabama . With nine Delta planes in military service during World War II , a fleet of four DC-3s kept the airline going . A modified version of the DC- 3 , or Douglas C-47 , with reinforced fuselage floors and large cargo doors started flying air freight in 1946 . Four years later , Delta modified the type to carry 25 passengers . The last DC-3 left Delta service on October 29 , 1960 .
PROCTOR-LIVESEY-THOMAS COLLECTION
DOUGLAS DC-4 ( 1946-1953 )
The Douglas DC-4 had double the passenger capacity and four times the range of the Douglas DC-3 . This helped Delta to fly the first nonstop scheduled flight between Chicago and Miami , on November 1 , 1946 . Delta took delivery of eight former military C-54B aircraft modified by Douglas ; the airline kept them in its fleet until 1953 , when it brought in the Convair 340 .
DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT VIA PROCTOR-LIVESEY-THOMAS COLLECTION
DOUGLAS DC-6 ( 1948-1968 )
By 1948 , Delta had received the first of its order for seven new DC-6s . Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II , the type was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation . The DC-6 was Delta ’ s first aircraft with seat tray tables . On earlier planes , the passengers had balanced meal trays on pillows on their laps .
PROCTOR-LIVESEY-THOMAS COLLECTION
www . airwaysmag . com AIRWAYS MAGAZINE APRIL 2025 13