The Lockheed Constellation — last of the great propeller airliners
By: Suren Ratwatte
Tags: Aviation History, Pan American Airways, Airliner, Ceylon, Lockheed

The last airworthy Connie in flight — photo courtesy Roger Thiedeman

Lockheed’s Super Constellation, officially designated the Model 1049, is aviation’s equivalent of the clipper ship. Like one of those magnificent vessels in full sail, the triple-finned ‘Super Connie’ was a beautiful, high-performing craft — unbelievably graceful in flight and adored by its crew. But like the Cutty Sark, the Constellation too was ultimately doomed to obsolescence by advances in technology.

The ‘Connie’ as it was generically known universally, would come to epitomize the word ‘airliner’. At a time when passenger aviation was still in its adolescence, the Connie flew, literally, all over the world. Pan American Airways flight ‘Pan Am 001’ was the first scheduled round-the world flight — operated by a Lockheed Model 049 Constellation, earliest fore-runner of the Model 749 and 1049 Super Constellations and derivatives thereof.

The unforgettable sight and sound of a Lockheed Constellation on takeoff — the shattering roar of four turbo-compound Wright Cyclone 18-cylinder radial engines, trailing flames at night which spectacularly illuminated the curved fuselage and lanky insect-like landing gear — were familiar, stirring sights at many airports around the world in the 1950s.

An inspired specification to a brilliant team

The origins of the Connie date from 1939, when entrepreneurial aviator Howard Hughes had just secured a majority stake in TWA (Trans World Airlines). Hughes, a pilot himself and obsessive about detail, wanted to commission an airplane with the range to fly coast-to-coast across the USA with a profitable payload. He challenged Lockheed’s engineering team, which included a young Kelly Johnson (who would become a legend in his own right), to produce such a machine, provided TWA had exclusive access to the first 35 built. Or perhaps the first 40, with exclusivity for two years — accounts differ; but Hughes’s promise to buy the aircraft was the impetus that Lockheed needed.

At the time Lockheed, a smaller player in a crowded aircraft manufacturing market dominated by Boeing and Douglas, enthusiastically accepted the challenge. They set out, in Johnson’s own words “…. to build an aircraft that would carry more people farther and faster than ever before, and economically enough to broaden the acceptance of flying as an alternative to train, ship and automobile.”

The Connie on approach — note the landing gear and flaps. Picture credit Breitling

Led by Lockheed’s chief engineer Hal Hibbard, Johnson and his team did just that. The design they produced featured a large pressurized cabin (using technology invented by Lockheed) and the world’s first hydraulically-boosted flight controls. The characteristic curving fuselage, its good looks aside, was strictly functional. The aft section was curved upward to get the triple-tail out of the ‘prop-wash’, or slipstream, generated by the huge propellers. The long landing gear legs were also needed to keep the propellers from striking the ground. The front section curved downward so that the nose-gear did not have to be even longer than it was. But all the pieces came together, on a huge wing fitted with triple-slotted Fowler flaps, to make a stunningly elegant package.

The war intervenes

The aircraft that Lockheed built was astonishingly good. So good in fact that the first test flight in 1943 led to four more the same day. The Connie was obviously a winner, as Hughes demonstrated when he set a speed record in April 1944, flying from Burbank, California to Washington, DC in 6 hours, 57 minutes — a feat that was amazing for its time. On the return flight to California, Hughes stopped in Dayton, Ohio, where Orville Wright, the world’s first pilot of a powered airplane, got to fly the aircraft.

Columbine II at the USAF Museum in Dayton Ohio — photo credit Warbirdsnews

So good was the Constellation that the US military took over production, designating it the C-69 and intending to use it as a military transport for the ongoing war effort. This was the start of the Connie’s long and distinguished career as a military aircraft, with almost half of all Constellations built serving in defence force capacities. A US Presidential C-121 Constellation, ‘christened’ Columbine II, was the first airplane to receive the official designation ‘Air Force One’.

Post-war

When the war ended, TWA bought all the surplus C-69s the military could spare, and put them into commercial service. TWA’s New York-to-Paris service was launched in February 1946. Pan Am, which had already acquired a 22-strong fleet of Model 049 Constellations, inaugurated its legendary ‘Clipper One’ service in June 1947 using one of its four later-model Constellation 749s.

The Connie quickly established itself as the airliner of choice, both in terms of speed, passenger comfort and safety. Airlines the world over clamored to acquire them, and the 856 Connies that were built would go on to be flown by over 100 airline operators during a relatively short career. Practically every international carrier of any significance operated one or more variants of the Connie as it offered the first affordable and comfortable passenger experience.

TWA timetable showing Colombo as a destination- Pintrest

Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was then known) was no stranger to the Constellation. In the 1950s and through to the early 1960s, TWA Model 1049G Super Constellations and the later Model 1649A Starliners called at Colombo-Ratmalana airport on scheduled services as part of what later became the airline’s fabled ‘Round the World’ route. In fact, one of TWA’s ‘Super-G’ Constellations, registered N7106C, was given the fleet name Star of Ceylon.

Even more significant, in terms of Sri Lanka’s civil aviation history, were the two Constellations operated by Air Ceylon on long-distance international services. First of those airplanes was a Model 749 Constellation, introduced in 1956 and named Mahadevi. It was leased from KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines and flown by KLM pilots under the terms of Air Ceylon’s then-existing commercial and ‘technical’ partnership with the Dutch flag-carrier. In 1958 the 749 Connie was replaced by a Super Constellation, dubbed Somadevi, also operated in collaboration with KLM. The KLM-Air Ceylon ‘marriage’ continued in 1960 when the Super Constellation was in turn supplanted by a Lockheed Model 188 Electra turboprop, also from KLM’s fleet, which served Air Ceylon until the partnership was terminated in 1962.

Air Ceylon L-1049 at Schiphol -photo credit Pintrest

A gradual fade into obscurity

The iconic Model 1049 Super Constellation launched in 1950 is the variant most associated with the type. It had many innovations, including air-conditioning, reclining seats and extra lavatories. The upgraded version of the Wright Cyclone R-3350 turbo-compound engine that powered it was one of the most potent piston powerplants ever produced.

But the writing was on the wall. The British de Havilland Comet jetliner entered service in 1952, ushering in the jet age, soon followed by jet aircraft from Boeing and Douglas. The Constellation was soon relegated to secondary airline duties as the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 began dominating the market.

Lockheed built an improved version of the Constellation, the Model 1649A Starliner, but it was a failure. The military continued using the Super Connie, or C-121 in military parlance, with many different models including the first AWACS aircraft fitted with airborne radar. The US Navy operated the C-121WV until 1982.

Lockheed maintained its faith in the straight-wing, propeller-driven ‘formula’, designing the Model 188 Electra four-engined turboprop as a rival to the new jets. But the jet-propelled airliners’ superior speed, plus a fatal design flaw in the Electra (subsequently rectified), ensured that the latter type had limited appeal. Military and cargo applications led to Electras flying well into the 21st century, but Lockheed was never able to replicate the success of the Connie in the commercial market.

Today, many Constellations delight enthusiasts as static displays all over the world. In recent times there were two beautifully restored flying examples. The Breitling example in Switzerland (picture above) that flew until 2019, is currently grounded for restoration work. VH-EAG in Qantas colors (a former US military C-121C) and based south of Sydney, Australia with the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, is the only known example still believed to be airworthy.

This is part of a series on the propliners of the 1950s and the slow transition to the jet age. It all began with the DC-3 of course, and my columns move through the other Douglas propliners, the Boeing 377, Lockheed’s Electras and the elegant Constellation. The Brabazon Committee which sparked such a wave of innovation in the UK with the Vickers Viscount, the Bristol Britannia and the ill-fated de Havilland Comet. Many other significant aircraft, such as Avro Canada’s innovative but aborted C-102 passenger jet and the Sud-Aviation Caravelle, which led us into the start of the Jet Age have columns too.

A few quirky segues I couldn’t resist: the ‘Double Sunrise’ flights between my two homelands Ceylon and Australia; the wonderful Carvairs and that very British habit of taking your car on holiday. I also had to write a paean to my beloved A380 and all my pilot friends in the Gulf as COVID ended that little dream.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the series as much as I have relished writing them. My special thanks to my old friend, mentor, editor and repository of knowledge Roger Thiedeman, for all the encouragement and support throughout this project.