What is the difference between a M 202 & a M 404?
You can click on these photos a couple of times to supersize them.
I was wondering what the difference was between the M202’s and M404’s. They didn’t come into ACV very often when I was stationed there so I really don’t know. They look the same to me.
April 1st, 2012 at 11:32 am
A while back you had asked me how to tell the difference between an M202 and the later M404. It’s taken me until now to find that prized booklet I got in 1976 with some detailing of the planes history. At that time they were still flying for Southern so still in the publics eye. It mentions the 404 had a 39″ fuselage stretch, different cargo door (?) and most apparent, the elimination of the cockpit “skylight” window an example of which is shown from the 202 photo from our site on the left. The 404 is on the right. Other changes were the engines, wing strengthening (the 202’s Achilles heel) and the added weight which made the taller main gears. I’ve no idea what the stretch was for since, as far as I’ve found so far, the cabin capacity remained the same. I’m still trying to figure out why our ship 22 had that different and harrowing external plug layout. I thought we may have had two with this arrangement but now I’m wondering. I did find that #22 had come from TWA so I’ll start from that end. Anyway, it’s the eyebrow or skylight that remains the easiest difference to check.
April 7th, 2012 at 11:52 am
What is the difference between a M202 & M404? Well, the main difference, of course, was that the Martin 404 was pressurized – the 202 wasn’t. Plus the wings tended to fall off the 202 !!! NWA lost no less than five of them to various crashes including a couple of in flight structuiral failures. So, the wing roots were beefed up and the fuselaged stretched by 3′ 3″, R-2800-34 engines were fitted and the 404 was born. Externally very similar to the Martin 202A. 103 were built. EAL had 60, TWA had 41 and the USCG had 2. After EAL and TWA got rid of them they wound up with several regional lines such as Pacific, Ozark and Southern.
April 7th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Yes, Jim is correct. The 202 had the small windows above the cockpit, but quite ofter they were tough to spot. Most 404s, toward the end of their life had radar and that’s generally another give-away. Usually a black radome, but I’ve also seen white, and EAL, I think, painted over theirs.
Cheers, Eddie
April 14th, 2012 at 10:32 am
Do any of you recall icing problems in the Stromberg carburetor on the Martin? Bleed Ice?
April 14th, 2012 at 10:32 am
Do any of you recall icing problems in the Stromberg carburetor on the Martin? Bleed Ice?
April 16th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
Concerning the information of Eddie Coates, the engines fitted to the Martin 4-0-4’s were not R-2800’s but they were CB16’s. I was management at Pacific Maintenance in SFO.
April 30th, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Eddie brought up the radomes. I’ve often wondered about the differences in what seemed like the two M404 (the 202’s were gone before I hired)radome profiles. One looked almost identical wit the Convair 240/340 dome and the other had an uplift shape, possibly called or made by Chamberlain. Some photo’s referred to the later as having been after weather radar was added. Does this mean some of ours did NOT have “weather” radar?
June 1st, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Martin 202 vs. 404. Someone asked the difference between the two. 202 was not pressurized and shorter in length. The 404 was,and longer. Did anyone ever get pictures of Pacific’s PBY Flying boat. Ricks hanger 1959?