Manufacturer: Martin

Model: unknown

Name: 6-O-4 ("Six-O-Four")

Type: Jet airliner

Date:

Status: Demonstrator

Country: United States of America

Service: Commercial

Designation: none

When the Martin company set out to find a replacement for the 4-0-4, it was decided that the new aircraft, which would be in competition with Convair's 440, had to be more than an enlarged 4-O-4. As Martin was also providing Canberra bombers to the U.S. Air Force, the idea to match elements from the jet bomber into the new airliner became evident for Martin's deciders, and thus was born the Martin 6-O-4, which became for a short while the TWA's Jet Mainliner while in parallel, the airline was working with Convair on the N-2 "Southern Comfort" concept or Convair Model 18, which would take a while to be ready.

Basically, the Martin 6-O-4 had the wings of the Canberra but extended to accomodate four instead of two engines. The fuselage was very much that of an elongated 4-O-4 but the horizontal tail was an enlarged version of the Canberra's.

The 6-O-4 could accomodate 40 passengers, but it proved extremely costly to operate and so TWA stuck to Convair's Model 18, the forerunner of the Model 22 Skylark, soon to be known as the Convair 880 Golden Arrow. With Boeing and Douglas taking the lead, and now Convair in third position, there was no show left for Martin on the civil airliner market, and the 6-O-4 was the last heir of the 2-O-2 lineage.

• That would be a neat model  (Roddy1990)
• The 6-O-4 is an amazingly good concept!   (sideshowbob9)
• The 6-0-4 is good! (redstar72)
• Wow!! Pity I don't have any canberra kits in my stash. Great concept. (McColm)