The Cessna Model DC-6 was a 1920s American high-wing four-seat tourer built by the

Cessna Aircraft Company Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...

. It was used by the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

as the UC-77/UC-77A.

Design and development

The DC-6 was a scaled-down four-seat version of the six-seat CW-6. It was rolled out in February

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and went into production in two versions, the DC-6A and DC-6B. Both versions were

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

d on October 29, 1929. The Wall Street crash that day and subsequent depression reduced demand for the aircraft and only about 20 of each model were produced.

Operational history

In addition to use as private touring aircraft, DC-6As and DC-6Bs saw use as newspaper delivery aircraft and were impressed as liaison aircraft with the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) in 1942.

Variants

;DC-6 :The original aircraft, powered by a

Curtiss Challenger The Curtiss R-600 Challenger was a six-cylinder, double-row, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in the United States in the late 1920s. It developed . Design and development Curtiss started work on a small six-cylinder engine in Ma ...

, developed as a scaled-down

Cessna CW-6 The Cessna Model CW-6 was a 1920s United States, American six-seat touring aircraft built by the Cessna, Cessna Aircraft Company. Design and development Following development of the four-seat Cessna A, Model A the company designed a six-seat airc ...

. ;Model DC-6A Chief :Fitted with a

Wright R-975 Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright i ...

(J-6-9) Whirlwind engine; 20 built. ;Model DC-6B Scout :Fitted with a

Wright J-6-7 The Wright R-760 Whirlwind was a series of seven-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by the Wright Aeronautical division of Curtiss-Wright. These engines had a displacement of 756 in³ (12.4 L) and power ratings of 225-35 ...

(R-760) engine; 24 built. ;UC-77 :Military designation of four DC-6As impressed into service by the USAAF. ;UC-77A :Military designation of four DC-6Bs impressed into service by the USAAF. *Note that the designations UC-77B, UC-77C and UC-77D were not DC-6s, they were used for the

Cessna Airmaster The Cessna Airmaster, is a family of single-engined aircraft manufactured by the Cessna Aircraft Company. The Airmaster played an important role in the revitalization of Cessna in the 1930s after the crash of the aviation industry during the Gre ...

Operators

; *

Specifications (DC-6A Chief)

References

External links

{{USAF transports DC-06 1920s United States civil utility aircraft

Cessna DC-6 The Cessna Model DC-6 was a 1920s American high-wing four-seat tourer built by the Cessna Aircraft Company. It was used by the United States Army Air Corps as the UC-77/UC-77A. Design and development The DC-6 was a scaled-down four-seat version ...

Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929