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  • 8/19/2019 Lockheed Constellation

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    ~

    _ _

    _ _

     

    l

      __

     

    The World’s

    Greatest

    Aircraft

    Though it initially suffered from protracted technical problems, the

    ‘Connie’

    became

    the best-loved piston-engine airliner

    of

    all, and, in

    it

    maker’s

    words,

    was ‘Queen of the

    Skies’.

    Finally, while commercial

    Connies

    were

    slowly rotting

    away,

    military

    examples of a dozen

    species

    were

    working

    unnoticed

    around the clock.

    In i t s day

    t h e Lockheed

    Constellat ion

    was

    t h e

    biggest, most power

    -

    ful and most expensive of

    a ll

    airl iners. But i t avoided joining t h e

    l i s t of unsuccessful giants, because at f i r s t  s capacity was no t so

    great as to frighten th e airl ines. The ‘Connie’, as i t was affect ion

    -

    ately

    known, was made possible by t h e development of engines of

    great

    power,

    and t h is power was

    used fo r

    speed,

    and to l i ft f ue l fo r

    long

    range whilst cruising

    in

    pressurized

    comfort at high

    alt itude.

    Once th e basic type was established, Lockheed met t h e demand for

    greater capacity by introducing

    one of t h e

    f i r s t and greatest o f al l

    ‘stretching’ programmes to yield t h e

    ‘Super

    Connie’, seating up to

    100 o r more.

    But in 1938 this could

    not

    be foreseen. On 23

    June

    o f that year the

    McCarran Act had transformed

    U S

    commercial aviation, and the

    manufacturing industry had

    rationalized

    into

    t h e same

    t h r e e names

    that dominate i t today, Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed. T he f i r s t

    two

    had

    already built t h e big four -engine DC

    -

    4 and pressurized

    Model

    307 Stratoliner. but Lockheed was overloaded with small

    twins and t he military Hudson and P

    -

    38, and i t s

    promising Excali -

    bu r remained a succession of

    mock

    -

    ups. This

    was tough, because

    Lockheed had

    a

    strong

    leaning

    towards

    powerful,

    fast aircraft,

    had

    pioneered

    pressure cabins with th e XC

    -

    35

    f lown

    in May 1

    N ot hing much cou ld

    be

    done until suddenly on 9 June 1939

    company

    was visited by t h e famed Howard Hughes,

    who

    secretly

    bought most of t h e stock

    of

    TWA,

    and

    Jack Frye,

    whom

    had

    appointed president.

    Hughes had lately given Lockheed

    a giant

    boost by

    flyin

    Model 14 air l iner around

    t h e

    world in record time. TWA wa

    severe

    trouble with

    money and route competition, and Hug

    urged

    th e

    development of

    a new

    super

    -

    luxury

    t ransport that c

    fly nonstop coast -to

    -

    coast across t h e cont inental USA.

    The

    spe

    cations sounded out

    o f

    t h i s world (empty weight 52,300 1b/24132

    four 2,200-hp/1641 -kW eng ines ,

    cruising

    speed over 300

    m

    483 km/h

    and

    the

    ability t o

    fly

    from

    New

    York to London

    nonst

    Known to Lockheed as the

    Model 749

    -

    7938.

    the

    C

    -

    121A was a

    properly

    designed

    militarytransport, the C - 69 ~having

    mainly

    been converted airliners. USAF no. 48

    -

    6

    seen here

    in

    MATS (Military Air Transport Service) markings,

    flying

    as a PC-121A

    passenger

    aircraft.

    Engines were 2,500

    -

    hp   1864-kW)R-3350-75

    Duplex

    Cyclones.

    The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, ©1983 Aerospace Pu

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    The

    World’s

    Greatest

    Aircraft

    US

    Army

    Air

    Force no. 42

    -

    94553

    was

    Model 049

    -

    3910. ordered

    pre

    -

    war

    b

    TWA

    but built

    as a

    C

    -

    695 .

    It is show

    it

    wa s

    struck o f l the

    Army strength

    sold to

    M I A ,

    with civ i l registration

    N52414. All early models had circula

    porthole

    -

    type

    windows.

    HI-328,

    registered to

    Aerolineas Argo SA

    of the Dominican

    Republic.

    An 1-749A.

    she

    served with several

    operators

    before

    and a ll Lockheed’s r ivals gave Hughes

    a

    thumbs -down. But Lock -

    heed’s Bob Gross called in

    h i s

    top designers, Hall L. Hibbard and

    Clarence L. ‘Kelly’ Johnson, and said

    ‘Come

    up

    with

    something’.

    Long meetings

    took place

    at

    a secret

    Hughes

    place

    on

    Romaine

    Street, Hollywood, and

    before

    the end of th e year a formal meeting

    took

    place

    at which

    Hughes asked

    the

    price and was told

    $425,000.

    H e

    r ocked

    back

    and

    forth

    l i k e

    an Indian at a

    pow -wow

    and said

    ‘Hel l ,

    TWA can’t pay, the damn air l ine’s broke. Go ahead and build

    40,

     ’ll

    have to

    pay for

    them

    myself.’

    C-69 for

    the US Army

    Wartime pressures delayed

    t h e

    Model 49 Constellation, bu t

    eventually Lockheed hired pilot Eddie Allen to take t h e f i r s t one

    a lo ft on

    9 January 1943.

    No

    commercial production

    was

    allowed

    after

    Pearl

    Harbor,

    and

    TWA’s

    idea

    of a commerc ia l lead with a

    super

    dream

    ship

    evaporated

    as PanAm came

    in alongside; and

    in

    t h e event

    a l l production went to t h e U S Army.

    But

    e v e n

    in olive

    drab th e C -69, as i t was

    now

    cal led, was qui te something. I t s wing

    was a

    scaled -up version

    of

    t h e

    wing o f t h e

    P-38, with giant

    area -

    increasing Fowler flaps. The fuselage was curved like t h e

    body

    of a

    f ish

    and ended in a triple

    tail.

    The circular -section cabin seated 64

    passengers,

    though

    Hughes was

    bemused that t h e

    U S

    Army

    could

    take out

    a l l

    the

    luxury and

    s t i l l contr ive

    t o make the (2-69 heavier

    than

    t h e

    Model

    49.

    All

    f l ight -control

    surfaces

    were hydraulical ly

    boosted. N o t least, the height of t h e Constellation of f t h e ground

    was unprecedented.

    In

    two

    respects,

    however, the civi l registered

    NX67900,

    or Lockheed

    ship no.

    1961,

    was conventional:

    i t

    had

    normal cockp it

    windows

    instead of t h e

    once

    -

    planned perfectly

    streamlined

    nose, and

    the e n g i n e s

    were also fairly

    conventional

    instead of being in

    perfect ly

    streamlined nacelles

    with

    reverse - flow

    cooling from i n l e t s

    in

    th e

    leading edges.

    During t h e war

    t h e USAAF receivcd 22

    Constellations. com

    -

    prising

    nine ex

    -

    TWA

    and 13 of a

    contract fo r

    18 0 signed in 1942.

    At VJ -Day t h e military contract was cancelled. Lockheed shut

    down th e Burbank

    plant

    for f i ve days to plan i t s

    future. I t almost

    decided to s t a r t again

    with

    an e v e n

    newer

    Constellation, but finally

    elected

    to

    buy

    back

    surplus

    government

    tooling, parts,

    materials

    and

    unfinished C

    -

    69s. This

    r e s u l t e d in

    t h e commercial Model p49

    having

    an

    18

    -

    month

    lead

    over the

    D C

    -

    6

    and

    Stratocruiser,

    and

    even

    I

    I

    This

    historic photograph

    was

    taken at Burbank on

    9

    January

    1943

    when

    the very

    first

    Constellation,

    painted

    in

    US

    Army ol ive drab, took

    o f l

    for

    the

    first

    time.

    I1

    was

    to

    suffer

    its

    fair share

    of technical

    problems,

    buta l l concerned recognized that

    it opened up

    a

    new plateau

    in

    air

    transport

    range,

    speed

    and comfort.

    fin

    n

    more

    over the Republic Rainbow, and within

    nine days 103 C

    stellations

    valued

    at $75.5

    million had

    b e e n ordered

    by

    eight

    l i nes .

    TWA

    at last got t h e f i r s t of 27 Model 049s in November 1

    CAA cert if icat ion followed

    on

    11

    December.

    Commercial serv

    followed in early February 1946, TWA flylng

    t h e

    New York P

    and PanAm t h e Ne w York Bermuda routes.

    T he

    USAAF sold

    i t s

    surplus

    C

    -

    69s to air l ines in 1946, and

    in

    -

    service record built up

    so

    fast

    t ha t by

    July

    1946

    over

    200

    mil

    passenger

    miles

    had

    been

    flown

    without

    anyone

    suffermg inju

    This

    was despite numerous engine f i res and both engine

    propeller

    failures,

    but on 11

    July 1946

    a TWA training

    fl

    crashed

    at

    Reading,

    Pennsylvania,

    because t h e

    pi lots could no t

    from th e smoke -filled cockpit. A si x -week grounding followed

    which

    95

    modifications were made

    to

    th e

    powerplant and

    syste

    T h e r e was light at the en d o f t h e t u n n e l

    (and

    t h e

    DC

    -

    6

    and

    o

    rivals were

    grounded

    too):

    on

    19

    October

    1946 the f i r s t defini

    post -war

    Model

    649

    took

    the

    air, so luxurious and

    with

    s u c h

    g

    ai r

    -

    conditioning

    and soundproofing it was

    called t h e

    ‘Gold P

    Connie’.

    Eastern

    worked on t h e specification and was f i r s t to u s

    one o f s features being a

    Speedpak

    e x t e r n a l cargo pod

    under

    belly.

    Post-war civil success

    Ten

    air l ines

    t h e n

    bought nearly 100 Model

    749s

    in

    which

    2,700

    (2014

    -

    kW) engines enabled gross weight

    t o

    r i se t o 102,000 lb (46

    kg), with a long

    -

    range tank

    in

    each outer

    wing

    t o give

    an

    extens

    of range of

    1,000

    m i l e s (1609 km) without any reduct ion in paylo

    Payload/range

    was further enhanced

    by

    the Model 749A at 107

    lb (48535

    kg), with Curtiss

    paddle -blade propellers. The

    USAF ag

    adopted th e

    Constellation,

    buying 10 Model

    749s as

    (2

    -

    121s

    various

    sub

    -

    types, two

    of which

    w e r e

    General MacArthur’s Bat

    and General Eisenhower’s Columbine.

    Later

    another

    of

    t h i s

    ba

    (48 -610)

    was

    u s e d

    as Columbine

    I Z

    when Eisenhower bec

    President. The

    U S

    Navy, which in 1945 had used two R70 -1 tra

    ports of f t h e U S Army l i ne ,

    purchased two

    Model 749s as

    i t s

    dedicated radar picket (AEW)

    aircraft, initially designated PO

    and later WV

    -

    1.

    In i t ia l ly flown in June

    1949, these were

    the

    aircraf t

    in

    t h e world bought from

    t h e

    s tar t as high -flymg ra

    stations,

    if

    one

    discounts

    modified

    single

    -

    engine

    Grumman

    TB

    The final variant of

    the

    Super Constellation

    was

    the 1-1049H. which featured a m

    passengerlcargo configuration

    with

    rapid role conversion

    as

    a prime

    feature.

    The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, ©1983 Aerospace Pu

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    _ I_

    Lockheed

    Constellat

    KLM

    Royal

    Dutch

    Airlines was

    one

    of the

    first operators of the Turbo-Compound

    engined

    L - lWC, which

    was placed

    in

    use on the North Atlantic in August 1953.

    Just a yearlater KLM tookdelivery of this

    tip

    -

    tanked 1-1049G.

    PH-ME,

    which

    could

    fl y

    the Amsterdam -New York route much

    better

    with less

    frequent stops

    for

    refuelling.

    With a maximum

    range

    of

    4020

    mile

    (6469

    km), uprated Wright

    TC -1SDA

    Turbo-Compound engines and an

    increased cabin length of

    56ft

    (17.0

    the

    1-1049C

    proved

    the most

    success

    Super Constellation model In sales

    terms. Shown

    here is

    Lufthansa’s

    0-ALUB. The airline

    flew ~ t s

    irst

    intercontinental service from Hambu

    New

    York

    on

    8 June 1955.

     

    Avengers. Their giant radars were served

    by

    aerials (antennae)

    above andbelow, but despi te th e grotesque appearance

    the

    addition

    of extra height

    to

    the

    f ins

    r e s u l t e d in

    a

    v e r y tractable aircraft,

    and

    th e success

    of

    these f i r s t two examples

    l e d to

    massive orders

    of

    no

    fewer than 27 distinct subsequent versions for various

    electronic

    purposes.

    Th e

    unexpected

    USAF and

    USN sales helped c ar ry t he

    com -

    mercial

    l ine

    through

    a

    bad

    patch, and

    spurred Lockheed

    into t h e

    striking ‘stretch’

    which

    turned

    t h e

    Constellation

    into

    t h e

    Model

    1049 Super

    Constellation. By 1950 t h e whole programme,

    under

    Carl

    M.

    Haddon,

    was poised for

    i t s

    second

    generation,

    backed

    by

    Lockheed Aircraft Service which

    had begun at Idlewi ld

    in

    1949

    spurred

    by t h e

    Berlin Airlift, in which C -121s flew almost 6 million

    passenger

    miles from Westover AFB

    to Rhein -Main. But

    t h e

    big

    news was t h e L-1049, in which

    Hibberd

    in jected ra t iona l sense with

    a straight passenger tube of

    constant

    section,

    i t having

    been

    realized

    that an air l iner in which t h e

    hody section

    varied con

    -

    tinuously was

    a

    mistake.

    The

    f i r s t

    L -1049, t h e

    old

    no. 1961 rebuilt, flew on 13 October 1950.

    There were many minor

    changes, but

    th e m os t obv ious one apart

    from

    the

    18 ft 4 in (5.59 m)

    extra

    length was t h e switch from port -

    holes to rounded square windows, remov ing what

    had become

    another outdated feature despite the better fat igue resistance of

    rings

    to

    squares. TWA was

    behind

    th e

    S u p e r Constellation, though

    i t was pipped

    t o

    t h e

    post by

    Eastern which got t he new transport,

    able t o s e a t

    99, on

    t h e Miami run

    on

    15 December 1951.

    The largely

    new engine instal lat ions worked well, as did t h e improved de

    -

    ic ing

    sys tems

    and

    t h e la rger cockp it windows, integrally sti ffened wing

    s k i n s machined in

    th e

    newly

    opened

    ‘Hal l

    of

    Giants’

    at Burbank,

    and

    be t t e r

    environmental

    systems.

    The L-1049B was a cargo

    model

    with integrally s t i f f e n e d f loor and

    two large loading doors. Lockheed was r e q u e s t e d by t h e

    U S

    Navy

    to switch

    to

    t h e complex

    ne w Wright Turbo

    -

    Compound

    engine

    derived from

    the existing R-3360

    used

    in

    all previous

    Constellations,

    and

    t h e

    3,250 hp

    (2425 kW ) available

    from

    each engine no t

    o

    promised

    more speed

    but also a jump in gross weight to 133,00

    (60329

    kg), representing a further great advance in payload/ran

    Though

    th e Turbo -Compound engine

    predictably

    took

    a

    long

    t

    to mature, it

    also

    total ly removed thc slight sluggishness which

    crept i n to t h e

    or iginal

    Model 1049, which cruised at

    barely

    mph (483 km/h). In addition to

    57

    U S

    Navy

    R7V - ls , of

    which

    were transferred to

    the

    USAF as C - l 21Cs , Lockheed sold 33 C -12

    to

    t h e

    USAF.

    The

    C121C

    was

    c l e a r e d

    to

    135,000

    l b

    (61236

    kg),

    t h e others introduced th e uprated 3,500 -hp

    (2611

    -

    kW)

    R -3350

    engine

    and could

    t ak e o ff

    at 145,000

    lb

    (65772

    kg). Subsequently

    USAF and

    U S

    Navy variants

    of t h e Model 1049 far

    outnumbe

    t h e commercial vers ions , as

    t h e variants

    l i s t shows.

    Comfort and capability

    Seaboard

    &

    W e s t e r n bought a commercial

    version

    of t h e Mo

    1049B, but t h e passenger version was

    t h e

    Model 1049C, f i r s t

    into se r v i ce by KLM on t h e

    New

    York Amsterdam route

    in Aug

    1953. Increasingly t h e airliner models were

    fitted

    with weat

    radar, which

    added 3

    ft (0.91 m) to t h e length, as in t h e

    milit

    variants. This helped improve

    passenger

    comfort, especially on

    coast -to -coast trips, and such was

    t h e

    capability of

    t h e Mo

    1049C

    that from 19 October 1953 TW A

    at

    las t

    opened a nons

    service between

    Los

    Angeles and

    New

    York, rivalling

    that

    ope

    by American with t h e similarly powered DC

    -

    7. This

    was

    a time w

    t h e British de Havil land Comet was blazing t h e t r a i l o f t h e air

    j e t .

    The

    Conste lla tjon ’s Mac h 0.58 was less

    impressive,

    but hist

    was to show

    that t h e US

    industry, greatly

    aided

    by t h e

    unfortun

    One

    of the

    last

    European

    airlines to continue

    flying

    the

    Super-G

    was Iberia, the

    national airline of Spain (though it

    withdrew them

    long before it s

    last cargo

    DC4

    ECAMP is shown on

    test

    near Burbank prior to delivery

    in

    1956. O ne can a lmost

    imagine the deep

    rumble

    of those Turbo-Compound

    engines

    andmighty propellers

    The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, ©1983 Aerospace Pu

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    The World's Greatest

    Aircraft

    0

    Pilot Press Llmtted

    Acting

    as relay stations

    for

    signals from

    ground

    sensors

    in

    Project

    'Igloo White',

    30

    ex

    -

    USN

    EC

    -

    121Ks and

    EC-121Ps proved

    invaluable to

    the US Air

    Force's

    intelligence

    operations

    during the

    Vietnam

    war.

    The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, ©1983 Aerospace Pu

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    Lockheed Constella

    Thls Lockheed 1-1049G sewed

    fo r

    10

    years from 1955 with Air India as VT-DJX

    on

    th e

    airline's

    trunk routes. Eioht Suoer-

    I

    were removed.

    Lockheed

    L

    -

    1049C

    Super Constellation

    cutaway

    drawing

    75

    Alrcondltlonlngsystem

    1 17 R ear uncerfloorfrelght

    76 Heatlngsystcm overhead

    118

    Rearcablnemergencyexlr

    77 Cablnraofa~rd~strlbution

    119 Ladderstowaae

    hold

    veiheadductlng

    ducting window

    ey

    1 Nosecone

    2 Landlng and tax llng lamps

    3 Front

    pressure bulkhead

    4 Hydraulic brake

    accumulator

    5 Radlo rnas'

    8 Nosewheel

    legdoor

    7 SteerlnS

    lacks

    8

    Twin

    nosewheels

    9 Nosewheel

    leg

    stru t

    I O Retraction

    lhnkages

    1 1 Pi to t tubEmaSt

    12

    Rudderpedals

    13

    lnstrurrentpanel

    14

    Inst rumentpanel shroud

    15 Wlndscreenwlpers

    16 Wlndscreen pane ls

    17 Cc

    -

    p i lo t 's seat

    18

    Contro

    column

    19 P~lot

    sseat

    20

    Fllghtdeck

    floorlevel

    71

    Radlo operators Stalloil

    7 7 F ll gh t

    englneer

    s

    statlurl

    7 1 StarDoard

    crewdoor

    24 VOR aerial

    25 Ena~nee r' s i ns t r um eri t

    37 rorwardcablnscarlrg

    30

    Forward underfloorfrelaht

    The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, ©1983 Aerospace Pu

  • 8/19/2019 Lockheed Constellation

    6/8

    he World’s Greatest

    Aircraft

    Constellation

    P

    its da y  it

    first

    flew in

    December 1954

     

    the

    L

    -

    lMSG,

    or

    ‘Super G’ was the greatest

    in the world. Structural changes enabled

    it to

    carry large ti p tanks ( tes ted on

    original company

    -

    owned 1-1049

    prototype)

    which combined with

    the

    Turbo

    -

    engines t o give

    the

    greatest range

    of

    any Constellation

    up

    to that time,

    capacity

    fo r 71 first-class

    or95 ‘coach passengers.

    One

    of the

    chief

    operators

    the 99

    examples

    bu il t o f

    this model was MTA,

    which had

    sponsored

    the

    original

    before World

    War

    2. With these fine aircraft the airline pioneered

    and

    other long-haulservices including its luxury Ambassador class,

    chiefly by

    businessmen and

    using special pr ivate

    suites

    a t th e

    airports. In

    plan view the dark apertures above

    the trailing

    edge between the

    engines

    are

    the

    -condit ioning heat exchanger exhausts. Behind the black l ine of the rear spar just

    ard of these can be seen the big doors

    over the l i fe raft bays.

    The black bands on

    leading edges are

    the pulsating

    rubber de

    -

    icers.

    The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, ©1983 Aerospace Pu

  • 8/19/2019 Lockheed Constellation

    7/8

    Lockheed Constella

    Specification

    Lockheed

    L

    -

    1049G

    Type

    :

    long -haul passenger airliner

    Powerplant

    :

    four

    3,250

    -

    hp

    (2423

    -

    kW)

    Wright R

    -

    3350

    -

    DA3

    Turbo -Compound

    18

    -

    cylinder

    turbine

    -

    boosted

    pistnn eng

    Performance: cruising speed 354 mph

    (570

    km/h)

    a t

    22,600 ft

    (6890 m);

    range

    with

    maximum f u e l

    and full reserves 5

    miles (8200 km)

    Weights:

    equipped empty (typical)

    79,700 lb (36152 kg);

    maximum

    take -off

    145,000

    l b (65772 kg )

    Dimensions :

    span (over tanks)

    12 6

    ft

    (38.47 m); length 116 ft

    2

    in

    (35.42

    m);

    height

    24

    ft 9 in (7.54 m); wing area 1,6

    s q

    ft

    (153.66 m’

    Accommodation:

    flight crew,

    usually

    five; variable cabin crew - for maximum

    95

    passengers

    L

    The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, ©1983 Aerospace Pu

  • 8/19/2019 Lockheed Constellation

    8/8

    Navy BuNo.

    141325

    wa s built as one

    of

    e 124 WV-2 airborne

    early

    -

    warning

    picket) platforms, bu t after

    in the l iverv shown with

     

    EC-1210. At one time

    in the late 1960s

    w as an EC

    -

    121P with submarine

    t ion equipment.

     

    I V

    il ,

    .h I

    *f

    f irst modern

    airborne

    early -warning aircraft to

    fly,

    with rotating rotodome -type

    arrays, was

    t h is WV

    -

    2E of

    the

    US Navy

    first

    flown in 1956, with

    the

    new

    APS-82 surveillance radar. In 1962 it w a s

    redesignated

    EC-1211. by

    whlch

    time

    other

    rotodome

    -

    equipped

    C-121s

    were

    flying. They l ed t o

    today's

    B o ei ng E 3 A

    Far

    more important in th e

    post

    -

    1960

    e r a wa s th e

    profusion of

    intriguing

    mil i tary

    v e r s i o n s , packed with

    unusual

    mainly of an el ectroni c

    nature,

    which

    thundered

    faithfully

    l l

    over t h e globe until

    1980

    despi te concerted e f f o r t s made from

    to

    eliminate

    everything

    calling

    fo r 1151145

    gasoline. In t h e

    Super Constellations of t h e USAF and U S

    Navy

    flew more

    600,000 hours,

    though

    by t h i s

    time

    t h e

    basic type

    ceased to

    in books on U S mil i tary

    aircraf t .

    Tota l production of

    a l l

    models was 856 (one XC

    -

    69 , 233 Constel lations, 578

    Constellations

    and

    44

    Starliners).

    O n 15

    April 1969

    a

    U S Navy 'Connie' piloted

    by

    Lieutenant

    mander James

    Overstreet

    was attacked by tw o North

    Korean

    MiG -17

    f ighters over t h e Se a of Japan and

    shot

    down. Th e loss

    EC-12134 no . 135749 from electronics squadron VQ -1, and

    of

    all

    3

    American

    c r e w

    m e m b e r s  

    t h e

    only

    l oss in

    anger

    of

    a U S militar

    Constel lation ~

    highlights

    t h e

    special

    role

    of

    this ai rcraf t

    type

    i

    reconnaissance. intelligence -gathering,

    and

    airborne ear ly warn

    ing (AEW).

    This

    role

    was f i r s t undertaken when the ubiquitous 'old 196

    was

    converted ~

    again

    ~ by

    LockbeediBurbank fo r

    t r ia ls

    as a

    AEW platform. Modif ications to accommodate radar and othe

    gear gave t h e Connie

    a

    tal l , nar row dorsal hump

    and

    a large unde

    f us e l age

    bulge.

    This configuration

    was

    f i r s t seen operationally

    o

    t he U S Navy's PO-1W and

    PO

    -

    2W

    ( l a te r

    designated WV

    -

    1

    an

    WV -2) weather -reconnaissance and AEW machines

    based respe

    t iv el y o n t h e 74 9 and 1049 air l iners.

    Later , o ther du t i es were added

    to

    t h e AEW role, includin

    e l e c t r o n i c

    eavesdropping

    and countermeasures.

    The

    variety

    humps, bumps

    and bulges

    protruding

    from various

    'spook' C,onnie

    in

    the

    C

    -

    121

    series

    became, i t se l f , an encyclopedia - length subjec

    A

    one

    -

    of f

    variant,

    t h e WV

    -

    BE,

    later

    called

    EC

    -

    ElL,

    carried

    i

    antenna in

    a

    saucer

    -

    l ik e d isc evocative of today's Boeing

    E-3

    Sentry.

    In

    t hes e Co n st e ll a ti o ns . l a r ge crews c ou ld jou rney for up to 3

    hours fa r from t h e

    Flee t

    or

    from s ho re , r e l i e f

    c r e w s

    replacing eac

    other

    while

    searching for a ir or

    se a threats.

    Initially, with th

    purpose of

    extending t h e

    range

    o f ground and sh ip radars,

    USA

    C,onste l la t ions were used off American

    coasts by t h e

    Air

    D e f e n s

    Command.

    In Vietnam,

    under

    t h e 'College

    Eye' programme

    USAF Constel lations

    stood

    of f

    t h e e n e m y

    coas t

    and

    reported

    MiG

    activity

    to endangered US combat

    pilots.

    In South Vietnam, t h

    USAF 's EC -l21R, camouflaged and devoid of bulges, copied enem

    radio

    transmissions fo r

    Intel l igence.

    More

    than

    a

    dozen

    designa

    t ions

    were eventually applied to

    'spook'

    Connies   see Variant

    l i s t ) , and today on e of t h e most beaut i fu l of these preserve

    machines

    i s

    th e

    U S

    Navy's

    EC

    -

    121K

    no.

    141292,

    f rom

    squadro

    VAQ -33,

    on

    display

    at

    t h e Ai r and Space M u s e u m

    in F l orence

    South Carol ina.

    Lockheed Constellation variants

    Mode1049 -39-10:

    pra -war

    T h k P a n A m alrcralt

    wlth

    four 2.200

    -

    hp

     1641

    -

    kWi R-3350

    35a l te r

    belngtakenoberby

    U S A A r p r ~ o r t o c o m p l e t ~ o n .

    f l r s t a l r C r a f l i L o c k h ~ ~ ~o 1961

     

    completedas

    XC

    -

    691n

    ollvedrab. cvt l i e q l s t r a t on NX67900.

    la lerNK25600. IaterAAF 43 -1 0309,

    rcmali lng

    alrcraft AAFC -69-1   43-1

    0310/1031 7:

    andC

    -

    69

    -

    5,42~945491945611,tu;al

    22

    C

    -

    69C:

    converslon

    0

    294550 as

    VI P

    transport.

    later ZC

    -

    69C

    XC

    -

    69E:

    converslon

    of

    i l lst prololypcwith

    2

    000

    -

    hp 1492


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