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Timeline |
In 1939, Lockheed responded to an order by TWA for the design of a modern pressurized transport aircraft with transatlantic capabilities. In early 1940, the Howard Hughes company confirmed an order for 9 machines, soon followed by Pan American and KLM. But it is finally the USAAF that would receive the first Constellations from July 1943, as in the meantime, WW2 had started.
The prototype flew for the first time under designation C-69 on the 9th of January, 1943, with Eddie Allen and Milo Burcham at the controls. It was powered by four 2,200 hp Wright Cyclone engines.
It is only in February 1946 that TWA could fly the Constellation on the New-York-Paris route, after a massive order cancellation by the USAAF.
By the end of 1946 came an improved version, the L.049, that started its career at Eastern Air Lines. It was followed by the L.749 in 1947, that benefited more powerful engines, a reinforced structure and increased fuel capacity.
Military versions, the C-121A and C-121B (only one of this VIP version was built) saw life after the war, as well as the PO-1W early warning aircraft used by the NAVY.
A total of 233 "Constellation were built, the last one being delivered to Air France in 1951.
To respond the ever increasing capacity demand on long haul flights, a stretched version was designed in 1949. It is the very first prototype that was used and highly modified for this purpose. Stretched by more than five metres, the L.1049 first flew on October 13, 1950.
A military version - the L.1049B - was used in many variants by the NAVY and the USAAF. A total of 320 machines were built.
The first L.1049C flew in February 1953, equipped with the new Wright R-3350-TC-18 Turbo Compound engines. Those same engines, that equipped the rival airplane of Douglas, the DC-7, revealed highly unreliable and caused the same worries for both competitors.
Four exemplars of the L.1049D convertible were built and the L.1049E had an increased capacity.
The biggest success came with the L.1049G, built at 102 exemplars, recognisable to its wing tip tanks. It has been operated by 16 major companies around the world. From this version derived the convertible L.1049H, of which 59 were built.
Developed from 1955, this version had a totally new wing (wingspan 150 ft - 45,72 m) that doubled the fuel capacity of previous models. The power of the R-3350 engines reached 3,400 hp and the maximum take-off weight 156,000 lb (70,762 kg).
Coming too late to rival the Douglas DC-7C, the Starliner was built to 43 exemplars, its production ending with the appearance of the first jets.
First flight was on 10 October 1956 and aircraft was first operated by TWA in May 1947.
Again, it is Air France that was delivered the last Starliner, in 1958.
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