A Super Constellation

The Constellation and its derivative Super Constellation were the most advanced commercial airliners of their respective times. These aircraft, and especially the latter—called the “Super Connie”—were also important military aircraft, serving as military transports for the U.S. Air Force and the Navy, but more important, in several electronic roles for those services.¹

The aircraft’s origin dates to 1937, when the Lockheed Company began design work on the L-044 Excalibur, a four-engine pressurized airliner. In 1939, Trans World Airlines, at the encouragement of major stockholder Howard Hughes, requested a 40-passenger airliner that could fly nonstop across the United States, which was beyond the capability of the Excalibur design. This request led to the L-049 Constellation developed by a design team that included Kelly Johnson, who later designed the first U.S. jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star, and the U-2 spyplane, among several extraordinary aircraft.

Some aviation authorities contend that the Excalibur program was only a cover for the Constellation. Regardless, the “Connie” emerged as a highly streamlined, graceful airliner, with four radial piston engines. The aircraft had a beautifully curved fuselage and a distinctive triple tail, a feature that kept its overall height low enough to fit in existing hangars. It stood high on a tricycle landing gear.

Aviation historians Thomas Wildenberg and R. E. G. Davies wrote, “Without Howard Hughes, there would never have been a Lockheed Constellation, and without the Constellation, the post-war generation of trans-ocean pressurized airliners would have taken a less ambitious course towards the future.”²

The first Constellation prototype— with civil registration NX25600—flew from Lockheed’s plant at Burbank, California, to Muroc Army Airfield on 9 January 1943, for flight test. The Army Air Forces (AAF) took over the program and, designated C-69, all production aircraft were delivered to the military with an initial contract for 202 planes. But only 22 were delivered before the end of World War II; the remainder were cancelled. The C-69 was the largest (82,000 pounds maximum) and fastest (330 m.p.h.) transport built to date for the AAF. It was credited with a range of 2,400 miles. The standard C-69 carried 60 troops; the single C-69C had a VIP configuration for 43 passengers.

Aircraft still in production when the war ended were completed as civilian airliners with deliveries beginning in November 1945. The Connie was an immediate success in the civilian role.

At the time, the Navy was seeking an aircraft to serve as an Airborne Early Warning (AEW) platform. The world’s first true AEW aircraft were converted TBM Avengers. A larger, land-based aircraft was sought and, after experiments with the B-17G Flying Fortress in the AEW role (Navy PB-1W), the Navy looked to the Lockheed Constellation.

Two aircraft were ordered as PO-1W, the designation indicating the first patrol aircraft produced by Lockheed (letter “O”), with the suffix indicating special search (and later warning). The two aircraft were delivered in 1949 with the designation WV-1, for AEW aircraft with the Lockheed letter having been changed to “V.”

The WV-1 was fitted with the ubiquitous AN/APS-20 search radar antenna in the ventral position, and the AN/APS-45 height-finding radar in the dorsal position.

Inside, the aircraft was fitted with a crew rest position and an airborne operations center. The latter had 12 AEW-related monitor and plotting positions. With a flight crew of five plus relief crewmen, the PO-1 W normally carried 24 men.

Meanwhile, Lockheed was developing an enlarged Constellation, the Model 1049. The original Model L-049/C-69 aircraft served as prototype for this Super Connie with more powerful engines and the fuselage lengthened by 18 feet, 4 inches. Again a driving force behind the project was Howard Hughes, who wanted a transatlantic aircraft that did not have to land for fuel if winds were unfavorable.

Impressed with the capabilities of the Super Constellation, the Navy ordered the R7V-1 transport (briefly designated R70-1) with a normal capacity of 72 passengers. Fifty aircraft went to the Navy with others delivered to the Air Force as C-121s.³ Four additional Navy planes were completed as R7V-2s, an experimental turboprop variant. One of these became a Lockheed test bed for the Allison 501 turboprop engines of the Electra and, subsequently, Navy P-3 Orion. (These planes later went to the Air Force as C-134 and then C-121F.) All Super Constellations as built were configured to accept turboprop engines.

One of the R7Vs was fitted with cameras and, as the lone R7V-1P, was assigned to Air Development Squadron (VXE) 6 for Project Birdseye—aerial photo missions over the Antarctic. And one Super Connie, a modified C-121J, was the support aircraft for the Blue Angels flight demonstration team from 1968 to 1970.

At the same time, impressed with the PO-l/WV-1 radar-laden aircraft, the Navy ordered the WV-2—named Warning Star—based on the L-1049. These would serve the AEW role in the warning barrier of radar ships and aircraft being established over the Atlantic and Pacific to supplement land-based radars to warn of approaching Soviet bombers.

The basic WV-2 (ordered as PO-2W) carried AN/APS-20 and AN/APS-45 radars. It was normally manned by a crew of 28 with 5 flight crew stations, 11 AEW-related positions, and up to 12 relief crewmen. With 600-gallon wingtip tanks and 7,570 gallons of internal fuel, the WV-2 had an endurance of up to 24 hours and a range of some 6,500 miles.

The Navy took delivery of 142 WV-2 aircraft and 8 similar WV-3 weather reconnaissance aircraft—hurricane hunters. One WV-2 was converted to a test bed (WV-2E) with the world’s first rotating radome (for the AN/APS-70) surveillance radar. This was to be the radar configuration for a planned W2V-1.

Another 72 WV-2s ordered by the Navy were delivered to the Air Force as RC-121D radar warning aircraft.

From the mid-1950s the WV-2s were flown by nine AEW squadrons (VW) that were assigned to Airborne Early Warning Wings Atlantic and Pacific. These squadrons maintained continuous airborne barriers for a decade. During that period the aircrafts’ electronics and crew accommodations were continually upgraded.

In February 1965, when Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced plans to terminate the ocean barriers, the Navy had 42 warning aircraft (redesignated EC-121 in 1962) and 3 similar training aircraft plus 32 radar picket ships.

The last Navy barrier flight was flown by an EC-121 from VW-11 over the North Atlantic on 26 August 1965. Meanwhile, the Air Force was operating large numbers of EC-121s over Southeast Asia to control air operations in the Vietnam War, and both services were flying the EC-121 in the electronic reconnaissance role. One of the latter, a Navy EC-121M (former WV-2Q) on an electronic intelligence (ELINT) mission off the coast of North Korea was shot down over international waters by MiG fighters. All 31 crewmen on board were killed (with two bodies recovered by U.S. ships).

With the demise of the ocean barriers the Navy’s EC-121s were rapidly discarded. A few were kept for ELINT missions and other special purposes. Several EC-121Ks became NC-121Ks for a variety of tests and for Project Magnet— the mapping of the earth’s magnetic field by Air Development Squadron (VXN) 8.

In all, Lockheed had produced 856 Connies flown in military and civil markings. Finally, the very last military Super Connie, a Navy NC-121K, was formally retired on 25 June 1982, at Key West, Florida. Thus ended the star- studded 39-year military career of the Constellation.