The route initially had two stops: one in Prestwick (Glasgow) and one in Gander, Newfoundland. The total travel time was 25.5 hours, of which 21 flying hours. Originally there were flights twice a week, but this number was soon increased and from 1950 onwards daily flights took off from Schiphol to New York.
The original Douglas DC-4 from the first flight in 1946 no longer exists – it flew for only a short time with KLM and was scrapped in 1975. The aircraft in Aviodrome is a Douglas C-54A, the military version of a Douglas DC-4. The aircraft entered service with the United States Air Force in 1942. After the war, the aircraft flew in the United States, Asia and Africa.
At the end of the nineties it was purchased by the DDA at Schiphol, as a parts source for a still airworthy DC-4 that the historic airline had at the time.
In 2003 the aircraft was moved by Aviodrome from Schiphol to Lelystad (by road) and since then it has been on display at the aviation museum. The aircraft is parked there in the outdoor area, right next to the Boeing 747-200SUD that KLM donated to Aviodrome in 2003.
Polygoon made the following report of the first KLM flight to New York in 1946:
Read an extensive article about 75 years of KLM flights to New York in the May edition of Luchtvaartnieuws Magazine. Order a single copy here today.
-n”}];
var restrictedCookies = [{“script”:”“}]; var optimalCookies = [{“script”:””
+ “”}];
