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Propeller Powered Passenger Plane
Aircraft identification chart used during the early years of the Cold War. This chart was produced by the U.K. Ministry of Supply in 1948 to aid British aviators and mechanically inclined soldiers in the proper identification of enemy and friendly aircraft .
The poster features a number of technical diagrams that illustrate the dimensions and inner workings of the Glenn L. Martin Company's Martin 2-0-2. These include illustrations of the fuselage section, how the plane looks from port and head-on views, and the mechanical details of the propeller and landing gears. The chart itself is illustrated to be a 1/72 scale model of the aircraft. There are also mechanical details regarding the datum planes of the aircraft and how these interact with the construction of the aircraft.
Two images are featured in the diagram. One is a photo of the Martin 2-0-2 in flight, shot at such an angle that one can see a full view of the aircraft and how it may look in the sky. The second image appears to be a model of the plane, perhaps to indicate how the aircraft's silhouette may appear to an observer on the ground or looking at the plane at night. The inclusion of these photographs further helps with identification while also creating a more visually interesting poster.
The Martin 2-0-2 was a shortlived commercial passenger plane largely due to the safety concerns after the 1948 crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 421. While this was addressed with later models, the rise of jet technology in the subsequent decades would ultimately spell the end for the Martin propeller plane.
