byJake Hardiman | Simply Flying

When it comes to US postwar airliners, Douglas’s piston-engined designs like the DC-4 spring to mind. However, originally based in California, a now largely forgotten manufacturer called the Glenn L. Martin Company also threw its hat into the ring.

In the beginning

While The Martin Company’s best-known airliners flew in the post-war era, the group dates back somewhat further. Formed in August 1912 by Glenn Luther Martin, much of the company’s early work involved producing military training aircraft. Martin also indirectly catalyzed the formation of Boeing, as he is said to have taught William Boeing how to fly. [Read on]