F-BBDI Douglas DC-4-1009
(c/n 42941)
Nostalgic shot of a DC-4 taken from under
the wing of another in the line up. Le Bourget, circa
1948. F-BBDI was one of fifteen brand new DC-4s acquired by
the airline in 1946. They were
used almost
exclusively on Air France's African routes. This machine, after a
decade and a half of
service
with the French national carrier served another fifteen years on lease
to various African air-
lines (Air Afrique, Air
Madagascar, Air Mauritanie, et al) and was
finally impounded and stored
in
Lagos, Nigeria, in 1979, whilst in the service of Arax Airlines as
5N-ARC. It probably rotted
away there.