LOGAIR-Zantop Air Transport Douglas DC-6A

Additional Information:

The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-engine airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range commercial transport market. Douglas built over 700 aircraft and many of them still fly in cargo, military, and wildfire control activities.

Douglas designed four variants of the DC-6 from the basic DC-6 to the longer-fuselage higher-gross-weight capable longer-range versions such as the DC-6A. The DC-6A also had cargo doors forward and aft of the wing on the left side along with a cargo floor. The DC-6B was the passenger version with passenger doors only and a lighter floor. The DC-6C convertible model had two cargo doors and removable passenger seats. The DC-6A was the freighter variant with the fuselage slightly lengthened from the DC-6 and fitted with a cargo door while retaining some cabin windows.

Zantop traces its origins to 1946 when the Zantop family set up the Zantop Flying Service. In 1952 Zantop was granted a license for commercial flying and the name was changed to Zantop Air Transport. The Company operated as a freight airline for the auto industry and the Curtiss C-46 was the backbone of Zantop’s fleet. Later, in the 1960s, the Armstrong Whitworth Argosy and Douglas DC-6 aircraft were added. Zantop Air Transport acquired the DC-6A, N34955 from Nortwest Orient Airlines in 1953 and used the aircraft until 1961.

The LOGAIR contract for the United States Air Force was operated by ZANTOP Air Transport to provide air freight services for the military and frequently serving Kirtland Air Force Base in 1955. The DC-6A used by ZANTOP at Kirtland AFB was tail number N34955.

GALLERY: