Lockheed Constellation: Books - History and Models

Queen of the Skies - The Lockheed Constellation

A revolutionary commercial propeller transport, the Lockheed Constellation burst on the aviation scene in the early 1940s. Unheralded for the most part, due to wartime secrecy, it finally entered commercial service in 1946, and promptly set new standards for speed, range, reliability, and passenger comfort. The Connie, as it was affectionately known, pioneered new flight paths in many parts of the globe.

Connies ultimately flew commercially for more than thirty years, and underwent countless modifications and upgrades during that time. They continued to be utilized by the military as well; in fact, Connies were involved in a number of endeavors that remain shrouded in secrecy to this day.

This, then, is the story of a remarkable and distinctive airplane. It is also the story of the people who made the Constellation great, including aviation legends like Howard Hughes and Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. Most importantly, however, it is a story that sheds light on the dynamics of technology, politics, and society in the years 1940 to 1980.
This revised edition contains an additional chapter on Constellations that are still flying today, as well as an additional appendix of the Constellation's operations manual.

Information

Author:	Claude G. Luisada
Details:	424 pages, 26.5 x 18 x 4 cm / 10.4 x 7.1 x 1.57 in, hardback
Illustrations:	51 b&w photos and drawings
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2014)
ISBN:	9780764346392

Lockheed Constellation : A History

Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson's design for the Lockheed Constellation, known affectionately as the 'Connie', produced one of the world's most iconic airliners. Lockheed had been working on the L-044 Excalibur, a four-engine, pressurised airliner, since 1937. In 1939, Trans World Airlines, at the instigation of major stockholder Howard Hughes, requested a 40-passenger transcontinental aircraft with a range of 3,500 miles, well beyond the capabilities of the Excalibur design. TWA's requirements led to the L-049 Constellation, designed by Lockheed engineers including Kelly Johnson and Hall Hibbard.

Between 1943 and 1958, Lockheed built 856 Constellations in numerous models at its Burbank, California, factory - all with the same distinctive and immediately recognisable triple-tail design and dolphin-shaped fuselage. The Constellation was used as a civil airliner and as a military and civilian air transport, seeing service in the Berlin and the Biafran airlifts.
Three of them served as the presidential aircraft for Dwight D. Eisenhower. After the Second World War, TWA's trans-Atlantic service began on 6 February 1946 with a New York-Paris flight in a Constellation.
Then, on 17 June 1947, Pan Am opened the first-ever scheduled round-the-world service with their L-749 Clipper America.

In this revealing insight into the Lockheed Constellation, the renowned aviation historian Graham M. Simons examines its design, development and service, both military and civil.
In doing so, he reveals the story of a design which, as the first pressurised airliner in widespread use, helped to usher in affordable and comfortable air travel around the world.

Information

Author:	Graham M. Simons
Details:	320 pages, 25 x 17.5 x 2.8 cm / 9.8 x 6.9 x 1.1 in, hardback
Illustrations:	175 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Air World (GB, 2021)
ISBN:	9781526758866

Lockheed C-121 Constellation (Naval Fighters)

In 1943 the Lockheed Model 49 Constellation was the fastest and most modern airliner in the world. They were purchased by the USAAC as C-69s and in 1948 the larger more capable Model 749 was purchased as the C-121A.

This early Naval Fighters Series volume first published in 1983 covers the USAAC / USAF C-121A, the Navy PO-1W/WV-1 AEW version of the Model 749 from 1949, the stretched Model 1049 Navy transport R7O-1/R7V-1 from 1952, the Air Force Model 1049 versions C-121C/EC-121S/C-121G/AC-121/EC-121R, Navy WV-2/EC-121K AEW and Air Force EC-121C/EC-121D AEW platforms, and the experimental WV-2E/EC-121L AEW aircraft and the turbo-prop R7V-2/YC-121F transport.

The book includes brief Navy squadron histories, detail drawings, and essays on flying the Connie, Vietnam, College Eye / Big Eye, 552nd AEW, Bat Cat and AEWBARRONPAC.

Information

Author:	Steve Ginter
Details:	78 pages, 28 x 22 x 0.5 cm / 11 x 8.7 x 0.2 in, paperback
Illustrations:	b&w photos
Publisher:	Specialty Press (USA, 1983)
Series:	Naval Fighters (8)
ISBN:	9780942612080

Lockheed Constellation - Königin der Löfte

The Lockheed "Constellation" is considered by many to be the embodiment of the classic propliner. The aerodynamically optimized, curved shape of the fuselage led to it being considered one of the most beautifully designed and elegant commercial aircraft ever built.
Only a handful of these majestic propliners are still flying worldwide and wherever they appear they attract thousands of enthusiastic spectators.

Wolfgang Borgmann makes this book, with wonderful contemporary images, technical data and current material, the standard illustrated book on the Constellation in German.

Information

Author:	Wolfgang Borgmann
Details:	176 pages, 24 x 30.5 cm / 9 x 12 in, hardback
Illustrations:	160 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2018)
ISBN:	9783613040359