A successful series of airliners produced in the 1950s was the Convair CV-240, CV-340 and CV-440 series, a number of which saw service with airlines in Australia, and two were operated by the RAAF VIP flight.

In 1939 the Douglas Aircraft Company decided to design and build a new four-engine airliner with an un-pressurised fuselage, providing accommodation for 42 passengers, and a range which was sufficient to permit US transcontinental performance, powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-2000 radial engine.

Designed initially as a military freighter capable of operating from hot, semi-prepared landing areas with a payload of between four and five tonnes, and the ability to load and unload freight quickly through clam-shell doors in the nose, the Bristol Freighter proved to be reasonably popular with some 214 examples