Aircraft – Martin 202

In the post-World War II era, most major carriers were scrambling to reassemble their fleets of mostly DC-3 and some DC-4 equipment, some of which had been drafted by the US military and others being now-surplus transports from military origin. Northwest was certainly among these but had plans for a technological leap with a new fleet of two-engine mid-range aircraft that would allow them to retire the DC-3 and set new standards of comfort and speed.

Martin had designed and manufactured a number of bombers and transports for the military during the war and were a well-regarded supplier. Like many airframers, they saw the plentiful DC-3 fleet as no longer a “mainline” aircraft as it was in the 1930s due to its slow speed, taildragger landing configuration, and limited capacity – unable to keep up literally and figuratively with the ballooning traffic expected in the 1950s.

Martin had refined its military designs into a civilian airliner they called the 3-0-3, and Northwest was very interested. Its cargo and seat capacity was double the DC-3’s and its speed would be on par with the newer four-engine transports coming onto the trunkline routes. Dual self-contained airstairs and readily accessible cargo holds would make turning the aircraft around easy, and its pressurized construction would keep passengers comfortable while allowing Pilots to fly it above thunderstorms and turbulence. NWA was ready to buy in 1946 – but Martin wasn’t ready to build it yet.

Instead, the manufacturer persuaded NWA to take its less-featured offering, the 2-0-2 (commonly abbreviated to 202). The aircraft was still fast at 225 miles per hour and had one integrated set of stairs at the rear of the cabin. By any comparison it was a step up from the DC-3, and so Northwest inked an initial contract for 15. Shortly after, the order was raised to 40 frames. NWA had big plans for a leap ahead of American, United, and TWA before the end of the 1940s, and the 202 was going to be the ticket to deliver them there.

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Northwest

April 10, 1947: the first 202 for Northwest debuts at Washington National Airport with her sister demonstrator for Martin. After initial service revealed handling issues, the vertical tail was extended and the wings were given upward dihedral.

Martin suggested a new livery for NWA with the forerunner of the 1950s Compass logo. Here, the vertical tail is red and the nose is yellow:

At the Museum, we have a model showing yellow on the vertical tail:

However, initial deliveries to Northwest came in the ‘wartime’ scheme as seen on DC3 and DC4 equipment:

Martins were again given experimental colors as the “red tail” scheme was developed. Here, we see the red only coming partway down the vertical tail (a distant precursor of NWA’s final scheme?) with a red nose and “Northstar Topliner” titling:

Finally, the classic colors were achieved and standardized across the fleet. Martinliners wore it just as well as the Stratocruiser or DC-4. The company started divesting its DC-3 fleet, assured that the 202 would be reliable and a passenger favorite.

Northwest’s faith in the 202, as any student of airline history can tell you, was misplaced. Five crashes of the type in three years led to a public backlash against the design as well as Northwest overall. Only 25 units out of the order of 40 were delivered. By March 1951 the type was grounded and NWA was desperately trying to lease in DC-3 and DC-4 equipment to cover the loss in capacity. The financial impact of the 202 debacle would hobble the carrier well into the mid-1950s.

Outside of the string of fatal Martinliner crashes that resulted in the type’s withdrawal, there were other serious incidents as well. The next two images were from a deviation from taxiway in Wenatchee, Washington, and the bottom image was an overrun in Kalispell/Whitefish, Montana.

In the fall of 1951, Northwest leased out and sold off its remaining Martinliners. Many of them went to Transocean Airlines (TALOA) with some being directed to Japan to restart that country’s civil aviation sector. Northwest provided the pilots and management consulting; TALOA provided maintenance services.

Southwest Airways – Pacific

Looking for an aircraft to supplement, but not replace, its DC3 service, Southwest picked up Martinliner airframes from Transocean as well as supplemental carrier California Central. Yes, these were the same birds that had originally flown for Northwest, but whether it was from modifications to the airframes or better understanding of flying and maintenance procedures, the surviving 202s would go on to lead productive lives. Pacific would eventually exchange these aircraft for newer Martin 404s, with the last 202s exiting in March 1964.

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