Canadair North Star

Discover the challenges of flying one

of the lesser-known yet successful airliners of the 1950’s and 1960’s,

a Canadian-designed derivative of the Douglas DC-4,

powered by four of the famous Merlin engines.

History

Towards the end of WWII, Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA)

and the Canadian government began looking for an airliner

to meet Canada’s post-war air transportation needs.

It was decided that the tried and tested Douglas DC-4

would fit the requirement, and a licence was obtained

from Douglas to build the aircraft. It was also decided

to incorporate some components from the newer DC-6, just

then becomming available. Under the licence terms TCA would

be allowed to decide the power plants to be used on this

hybrid aircraft, and after much deliberation the

Rolls-Royce Merlin 620 was chosen. License requirements

from Douglas, who did not want the North Star to compete

with their new DC-6, stipulated that the North Star be sold

only to Commonwealth countries.

Design development began at Canadair in 1944,

and was designated the DC-4M (M for Merlin).

First flight was on July 15, 1946, in Montreal.

Fundamentally, the North Star had

the Douglas DC-6 nose, landing gear and

fuselage (shortened by 80 inches), DC-4 empennage,

rear fuselage, flaps and wing tips, C-54 middle

fuselage sections, wing centre- and outer-wing panels,

cabin pressurization (where used), a standardized cockpit

layout and a different electrical system.

71 North Stars were built, in three basic variations.

Trans-Canada Airlines flew the DC-4M2, in several layouts

and with different engine (Merlin 622, 722 and 724) and

prop combinations. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) used

the C-54GM variant which retained the C-54 fuselage

and cargo doors, and later fitted with radar. BOAC,

using their C-4 type specifications, ordered 22 aircraft,

which they renamed the Argonaut, and which flew with

the airline in locations around the world from 1949 to 1960.

Trans-Canada Air Lines used the North Star until 1961, and the RCAF kept theirs until 1965.

One side-effect of using Merlins was that both TCA

and BOAC received passenger complaints about engine noise,

and as a result both companies developed ‘crossover’

exhaust systems to have the exhaust pipes exit on the side

of the engine away from the passengers, which reduced

noise to only 93-102 decibels. Still loud, if you consider

that the level at which sustained exposure may result

in hearing loss is 90 – 95 decibels!

In later service, the fast and reliable North Stars

were used by other airlines, such as British Midland

and Overseas Airways, and several other smaller private

and military operators for passenger and cargo services.

Final flights of the type overall were by private

cargo companies in the early 1970’s.

Only one complete North Star still exists,

an RCAF C-54GM, residing at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Canada.