Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.

Douglas DC-7 BF

DC7-45397Scrapped

RegistrationUSN187W

UNOperatorUniversal Airlines

3operators

0incidents

0accidents

0logbook years

0photos

Douglas DC-7 BF. Operated for American Airlines, Zantop Air Transport and Universal Airlines. Scrapped.

Vuelopedia is a work in progress: it currently holds about 30% of the information we expect to have by the third quarter of 2027. Although we use only official, highly reliable sources, some aircraft data and history may still contain errors or inaccuracies. We work hard to clear every anomaly from the records using specialized verification tools.

Technical data

ManufacturerDouglas

Country of registrationEstados Unidos

MSN45397

Hex / ICAO 24-bitA3CC2B

VerificationPending check against the official civil register

The model · Douglas DC-7

Figures for the DC-7C variant, the most representative of the family

Length34.2 m112 ft

Wingspan38.9 m127 ft

Height9.7 m32 ft

Range9,070 km4,897 NMWith a typical passenger load

Cruise speed557 km/h301 ktMach 0.52

Service ceiling6,614 m21,699 ft

Maximum take-off weight64,864 kg143,000 lb

Maximum payload31,859 kg70,237 lbIts 99 passengers with baggage would weigh about 9.9 t; the rest is fuel and cargo

Typical capacity99 passengersUp to 105 in a high-density layout

Endurance16 h 17 minAt cruise speed, non-stop

The type first flew in 1953 (73 years ago) · About 338 units built · Production ended in 1958

Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.

The full story of the Douglas DC-7 Compare this aircraft

Flight logbook

Under research

Aircraft chronology

Jul 1, 1957

Delivered to American Airlines

Delivered to American Airlines as N344AA.

Jun 1, 1965

Transferred to Zantop Air Transport

Transferred to Zantop Air Transport.

Sep 1, 1966

Transferred to Universal Airlines

Transferred to Universal Airlines.

Operators

1957-07-01

American Airlines

Registration N344AA

1965-06-01

Zantop Air Transport

Registration N754Z

1966-09-01

Universal Airlines

Registration N754Z

Memories coming soon

The register of memories is not open on this aircraft yet. We are enabling it gradually, record by record, as we consolidate each aircraft's information.

Before opening it we check the aircraft identity — its registration, its serial number and its model — against the civil register of the authority that registered it, so that every memory belongs to the exact aircraft that lived it. When that work reaches this record, the register will open here.

Cite

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This page was last updated on October 10, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 10). Douglas DC-7 BF · N187W · Universal Airlines. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC7-45397

MLA

“Douglas DC-7 BF · N187W · Universal Airlines.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 10 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC7-45397. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Douglas DC-7 BF · N187W · Universal Airlines.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 10, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC7-45397.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Douglas DC-7 BF · N187W · Universal Airlines. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC7-45397 (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_aircraft_dc7_45397,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Douglas DC-7 BF · N187W · Universal Airlines}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-10},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC7-45397},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC7-45397}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/aircraft/DC7-45397 |title=Douglas DC-7 BF · N187W · Universal Airlines |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-10 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}