What plane is this? It's a taildragger, 4 blade prop, twin engine plane. The photo was taken approximately in 1948, maybe in Brazil?
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$\begingroup$ "Flota ... cante" was enough to confirm Argentinian FAMA. So not Brazilian, Argentinian. That at least narrows down what it is and when, even if not all the way to a single type. $\endgroup$– Camille GoudeseuneCommented Oct 26, 2019 at 2:53
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2$\begingroup$ What is the lump on the top? Satellite internet? $\endgroup$– Harper - Reinstate MonicaCommented Oct 26, 2019 at 23:47
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$\begingroup$ @Harper Are you sure it's not a cocktail shaker? $\endgroup$– David RicherbyCommented Oct 27, 2019 at 9:07
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$\begingroup$ @Harper It's a streamlined housing for a loop antenna, almost certainly for radio direction finding. $\endgroup$– John DallmanCommented Oct 27, 2019 at 16:14
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1$\begingroup$ Looks like the prop rotates the "wrong" way. ( ccw as viewed from behind ) $\endgroup$– quiet flyerCommented Oct 28, 2019 at 0:08
1 Answer
The airliner in the picture is a Vickers VC.1 Viking, registration LV-AFI, of the former Argentinian operator Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina.
According to this source, the plane served the Secretaría de Aeronáutica under registration LV-XFJ for less than a month, from 10.9.1947 till 4.10.1947 before transferring to FAMA.
After FAMA, the plane in question served Fuerza Aérea Argentina from 4.5.1949 till 11.11.1951 under registrations T-80 and T-50.
Wikipedia: Vickers VC.1 Viking
Wikipedia: Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina (in Spanish)
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$\begingroup$ How did you determine the registration number from this photograph? $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 27, 2019 at 1:48
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5$\begingroup$ @Jacob Krall under the wing, between the guy in all-whites and the one with white shirt and dark pants, you can see FI. To left of that, between two guys dressed in white, you can see the sharp bottom of a V. LV-AFI is the only VC.1 in FAMA fleet with a reg ending in FI. Registrations of Argentinian VC.1's were painted on the exact location shown in the picture, so there's pretty much zero chance of making a mistake. $\endgroup$– Jpe61Commented Oct 27, 2019 at 6:17