The "City of Salinas" ...

[Mark Allen M]

... or somewhat better known as the Consolidated R2Y "Liberator Liner" ...

Per Wiki, The Consolidated R2Y "Liberator Liner" (Consolidated Model 39) was an airliner derivative of the B-24 Liberator built for the United States Navy by Consolidated Aircraft. The XR2Y-1, as the single prototype was known in Navy service, used the high-aspect wing and tricycle landing gear of the Liberator. The fuselage was an entirely new design, and the vertical stabilizer was taken from the PB4Y Privateer. The final design looked much like a smaller, high-wing Boeing B-29 Superfortress, but with windows for passengers. Meant to carry passengers or cargo to distant Navy bases, but after a brief evaluation the prototype was demilitarized in the mid-1940s, returned to Convair, and leased to American Airlines as a freighter with the name "City of Salinas".

General characteristics:

Crew: unknown
Capacity:
48 passengers
Their baggage
1,200 lb (550 kg) of mail
Payload: 12,000 lb (5,500 kg) of cargo (after refit)
Length: 90 ft 0 in (27.45 m)
Wingspan: 110 ft 0 in (33.55 m)
Height: ft in (m)
Airfoil: Davis (22% at root to 9.3% at wingtip)
Loaded weight: 56,000 lb (25,000 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 64,000 lb (29,000 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-94 radial engines, 1,200 hp (900 kW) each

Performance:

Cruise speed: 240 mph (210 knots, 380 km/h)
Range: 4,000 mi (3,500 nm, 6,400 km) at 200 mph (322 km/h)

[wendovertom]

Wow - that is interesting - and not particularly attractive !

Tom P.

[raconnel]

Oh, I wish I were an Oscar-Meyer wiener...

[JohnB]

Love the Boeing 307-ish cockpit glazing.

Also, re: the interior...note how the extreme curvature prohibits the seats from being mounted close to the sidewall? Perhaps in a production configuration with sidewalls and insulation it would have been somewhat less pronounced, but it doesn't seem very efficient for a freighter or airliner. Compared to the DC-4 or Constallation, it seems extreme.
Why the curvature, were they planning on pressuring it at some point?

The American equivalent of the Avro York....

[Cubs2jets]

[/URL]

C2j

[maxum96]

Thanks for sharing Mark. I'd never heard of it. All I can say is, fugly.

[4RG.I.'S]

Interesting to say the least! (yuck.. )
It doesn't seem to have a door for the nose wheel. Not abnormal with a surface parallel to airflow such as the main wheel, but right up front seems like it would act more like a scoop.

[Mark Allen M]

Yep! it's ugly for sure.

[Pooner]

Great photos, Mark!

Interesting to note that of all of the Privateer commonalities incorporated into this airplane ( wing, main landing gear, engines and cowlings, vertical stab, etc. ) the engineers deviated with some heavy departures from the norm up there on the flight deck. I was surprised to see completely redesigned rudder pedals and hangers and standing control columns in this ship. Looks like the throttle controls got a little re-work too as observed by the large knobs.

Thanks for sharing!

- Robert in PHX

[Chris Brame]

Thanks as always, Mark! And as so often happens, something cool shows up in the background:

Hello little B-23!

[Nathan]

Thanks as always, Mark! And as so often happens, something cool shows up in the background:

Hello little B-23!

Wow, I have Never heard of this plane before.

And the B-23 looks like maybe a C-67? Looks like double cargo doors?