Secret Weapon

Performance Goals

When the United States entered the Second World War in December 1941, the venerable twin-engined Douglas DC-3 was standard equipment. On the domestic front, only T. W.A. had a better airliner, the four-engined Boeing 307. It was faster than the DC-3 (220 v. 160 mph) and far more comfortable, flying as it did ‘above the weather’ (20,000 v. 8,000 feet). But its range was not outstanding.

Dramatic Debut

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh’s solo trans-Atlantic flight changed the air-mindedness of an entire nation: the press, the public, the politicians, and the industrialists. In 1944, the air­line world was unexpectedly confronted with another record flight, with almost comparable consequences. With one dra­matic gesture, Howard Hughes electrified the political scene in Washington, and changed the course of progress in com­mercial aviation technology.

The Lockheed Constellation had been built at Burbank under the direction of designer Hal Hibbard to the precise specifications of Hughes, whose experience as an aviator and industrialist, with instinctive intuition, combined with his extensive financial resources, were injected into the design and construction of an historic prototype.

Moment of Triumph

On 17 April 1944, Howard Hughes and Jack Frye flew the prototype Model 49, soon to be called the Constellation, from Burbank to Washington’s National Airport in the transcon­tinental record time of 6 hours, 57 minutes. The effect on a skeptical administration and military hierarchy was startling. After flying some congressmen and top military brass on sight­seeing flights, Hughes turned the new airplane over to Air Transport Command. T. W.A.’s owner and Lockheed’s design team had ushered in a new era in air transport.

America’s Secret Weapon

The Constellation reinforced the supremacy of United States aeronautics. Peter W. Brooks, distinguished British airline historian, described the aircraft as “the secret weapon of American air transport.” He pointed out that in 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War, the British aircraft indus­try, whose technical talent was possibly on a par with the American, in quality if not in quantity of production, had regarded the DC-4 as the competitive standard. But when the War was over, the Constellation swept all before it.

44-64 seats • 298 mph

 

Secret Weapon

Secret WeaponПодпись: 95 feet 123 feet 24 feetПодпись:

The 049 Constellation was similar in appearance to the later 749 model, differing only in window configuration and engine cowling detail.

Initial Snags

T. W.A. acquired 88 of the standard Constellations. Six were ex-military C-69s; 41 were Model 49s (later amended to 049s); and the remaining 41, with more powerful engines, Model 749s. The inauguration of Atlantic services, on 5 February 1946, is described on page 50. Domestic services with the Connie began ten days later, and after preliminary trial services on shorter routes, coast-to-coast service from New York to Los Angeles began on 1 March. But the satisfaction was short-lived. During the early life of the airplane, several problems had had to be overcome. The substantially increased performance carried with it increased complexity, and the Constellation was not immune from the technical ‘teething troubles.’ Then, from 12 July to 20 September 1946, the fleet was grounded because of a leaking fuel system. No sooner was this fixed when the pilots went on strike, from 21 October to 15 November.

Ambition Fulfilled

By this time, however, T. W.A. was staking its claim to be a fully-fledged international airline. The European routes were extended to Cairo on 1 April 1946, to Lisbon and Madrid on 1 May, and to Bombay on 5 January 1947. All these were inaugurated with the Constellations. This fine airliner, in spite of an initial reputation of unreliability, soon got into its stride. It was 70 mph faster than the DC-4, had 60 seats against 44 at the same seat pitch, and could fly across the Atlantic with only one stop instead of two. It sent the Douglas designers and engineers back to their drawing boards in a hurry, to produce pressurized variants of the old Skymaster.

Many airlines purchased the Constellation, and although the DC-4 filled the bill for a post­war year or two, most of the trans-Atlantic airlines had the Lockheed airliner in service by the late 1940s. The British airline, B. O.A. C., had to have them too, as the home industry’s com­mercial airliner projects had been cancelled at the outbreak of the War in 1939.

But until the advent of the Jet Age in 1958, the world of airlines watched T. W.A. as it suc­cessively introduced newer and faster versions of the classic Constellation series.

Engines Wright R-3350 (2,200 hp) x 4 Length

MGT0W 86,250 lb. Span

Max. Range 3,000 miles Height

Подпись: Date into Disposal and Remarks No. Regn. MSN Service Name Model C-69 (All Model 4946-10) operated for USAAF — 42-94551 1972 Jul 45 Written off, 18 Sept 45 — 43-10310 1962 Apr 44 Returned to USAAF, May 44 * — 43-10312 1964 Feb 45 Returned to USAAF, Aug 45 — 43-10313 1965 Jan 45 (Disposition not known) — 43-10314 1966 Aug 45 Returned to USAAF, Nov 45 43-10317 1969 May 45 Returned to USAAF, Jan 46. Converted to Model 40 — see Fleet No. 516 Model 49 (49-51 25, converted to 49-46-25 in 1946) 500 NC86500 2021 11 Feb 46 Star of the Mediter- Later Fleet No. 524. NA ranean 501 NC86501 2022 4 Apr 46 Star of the NA** Persian Gulf 502 NC86502 2023 29 Apr 46 Star of the Pyramids Leased to Eastern Air Lines, 17 Nov. 57-26 Apr 58. NA. Star of California, Star of the Nile, NA 503 NC86503 2024 31 Jan 46 Navajo Skychief 504 NC86504 2025 12 Feb 46 Star of France NA 505 NC86509 2030 21 Feb 46 Star of Africa NA 506 NC86514 2041 1 Mar 46 Star of India Leased to Eastern Air Lines, 25 Nov 57-23 Apr 58. 507 NC86515 2042 6 Mar 46 Star of Arabia NA 508 NC86516 2043 10 Mar 46 Star of Ireland Leased to Eastern Air Lines, 15 Dec 56-17 May 57. NA Sold to Las Vegas Hacienda, 15 May 61 509 NC86517 2044 18 Mar 46 Star of Tripoli (Model 49-46-25) 510 NC90817 2079 2 Oct 46 Star of the Adriatic NA 511 NC90818 2080 7 Oct 46 Star of the Red Sea Leased to Eastern Air Lines, 30 Nov 57-24 Apr 58. NA NA 512 NC90823 2085 28 May 47 Star of the Yellow Sea 513 NC90824 2086 21 May 47 Written off—destroyed by fire after hard landing, Los Angeles, 25 Nov 48 514 NC90825 2087 17 May 47 Star of China Leased to Eastern Air Lines, 25 Dec 56-18 May 57. NA NA (This was the last Series 49 built) 515 NC90826 2088 19 May 47 Star of the Chino Sea 516 NC90830 1969 3 Dec 48 Star of Zurich Sold to Aero Transport (OE-IFA) 23 Jun 61 517 NC90831 1970 7 Oct 48 Star of Switzerland Sold to Los Vegas Hacienda, 13 Apr 61. Then to Pima Air Museum, Tucson. (Model 4946-25/149) 518 N86526 2084 22 Mar 50 Star of Greece Ex-KLM (РН-ТЕ0). Leased to Eastern Air Lines, 15 Dec 56-15 May 57. NA (Model 49-46-26) 519 N6000C 2070 14 Apr 50 Star of Newfound- Ex-KLM (PH-TAW). Sold to Las Vegas Hacienda, 15 land May 61 520 N9412H 2072 3Jun 50 Star of the Azores Ex-Air France (F-BAZA). Sold to California Airmotive Corp., 26 Aug 59. Used as restaurant, Greenv/ood Lake, NJ1976 521 N9409H 2074 31 May 50 Star of Egypt Ex-Air France (F-BAZC). Leased to Lockheed, 13 Apr-17 May 51. Sold to Las Vegas Hacienda Hotel, 15 May 61 522 N941 OH 2073 18 May 50 Star of London Ex-Air France (F-BAZB). Leased to Eastern Air Lines, 28 Nov 57-18 Apr 58. NA 523 N9414H 2075 26 May 50 Star of Lebanon Ex-Air France (F-BAZD). Leased to Eastern Air Lines, 25 Dec 56-18 May 57. NA * This was the aircraft in which Howard Hughes and Jack Frye made their dramatic and historic flights (in just under 7 hours) from Burbank to Washington on 19 April 1944. **NA: Sold to Nevada Airmotive, 31 March 1962

Подпись: Fleet Date into No. Regn. MSN Service Name Disposal and Remarks (Model 49-46-10) 525 N54214 1974 18 Oil 52 Star of Piccadilly Ex-USAF (42-94553). Leased for pilot training. (Model 49-46-27) 526 N90926 2064 3 Oct 52 Star of Tunis Ex-Pan American Airwasy. NA 527 N90924 2054 7 Dec 52 Star of Algeria Ex-Pan American Airways. NA. Before entering service, used for pilot training, 3 Jun.—21 Sep. 52 (Model 49-46-19(0-690) 548 NX54212 1971 10 Jun 46 Ex-USAAF. Leased for pilot training until 30 Jul 46. 549 NX54214 1974 15 May 46 Leased from USAAF as pilot trainer; returned 27 Jun 46. (42 flight hrs only); Redelivered to T.W.A. as Fleet No. 525 (see above) (Model 49-51- 26) 550 NC86505 2026 3 Dec 45 Paris Skychief, later Crashed on island in River Fergus, near Shan- Navajo Skychief, Cairo Skychief non, Ireland, 28 Dec 46 551 NC86506 2027 7 Feb 46 Star of Dublin NA 552 NC86507 2028 18 Mar 46 Star of Madrid Crashed during training flight, New Castle, Skychief Delaware, 18 Nov 47 553 NC86508 2029 Jan 46 Star of Athens Crashed during training flight near Cape May, NJ, 11 May 47 554 NC86510 2034 Jan 46 Star of Rome Crashed while landing, Washington, D.C., 29 Mar 46 555 NC86511 2035 5 Feb 46 Star of Paris, later Crashed near Hinsdale, after take-off from Star of Dublin Chicago (Midway) 1 Sep 6Г 556 NC86512 2039 Mar 46 Star of India Crashed during training flight near New Castle, Delaware, 12 Oct 46 557 NC86513 2040 Mar 46 Star of Lisbon Crashed during training flight, 3 miles north of Reading, Pennsylvania, 11 Jul 46 All 49-51-26 Models, except 554 and 557, converted to 49-46-26 Models in 1946

Подпись:Подпись: 558 NC90814 2076 8 Oct 46 Star of Cairo Sold to Nevada Airmotive, 31 Mar 62 559 NC90815 2077 24 Sep 46 Star of Lisbon, later Leased to Eastern Air Lines, 15 Dec 56-16 May Star of Detroit 57. NA 560 NC90816 2078 26 Sep 46 Star of Geneva NA 561 NC86536 1979 3 Apr 47 Star of Rome Ex-USAAF 42-94558. Used by Lockheed for tests with "speed-pak." Leased to Eastern Air Lines, 4 Dec 57—20 Apr 58. Model 749 (749-79-22) (Dates are delivery dates) 701 N91201 2577 25 Mar 48 Star of New York Renamed Star of Portugal, AT 702 N91202 2578 2 Apr 48 Star of Pennsylvania Renamed Star of Madrid, AT 703 N91203 2579 21 Apr 48 Star of Ohio Renamed Star of the Riviera, AT 704 N91204 2580 7 May 48 Star of Indiana Renamed Star of the Matterhorn, AT 705 N91205 2581 19 May 48 Star of Michigan Renamed Star of Italy, AT 706 N91206 2582 28 May 48 Star of Illinois Renamed Star of Venice, AT 707 N91207 2583 10 Jun 48 Star of Missouri Renamed Star of Milan, AT 708 N91208 2584 24 Jun 48 Star of Massachusetts Renamed Star of Athens, AT 709 N91209 2585 19 Jul 48 Star of New Mexico Renamed Star of Israel, AT 710 N91210 2586 22 Jul 48 Star of Delaware Renamed Star of Bombay. Sold to Federal Avia tion Administration (for spare ports) 1 Apr 63 711 N91211 2587 29 Jul 48 Star of Arizona Renamed Star of the Suez, AT 712 N91212 2588 21 Jun 48 Star of California Renomed Star of Baghdad, AT

Подпись: Fleet No. Regn. MSN Delivery Date Name Disposal and Remarks Model 749A (Delivery 749A-79-52) 801 N6001C 2633 24 Mar 50 Star of New Jersey AT 802 N6002C 2634 11 Apr 50 Star of Kansas Renamed Star of Crete. Sold to C.E.Bush Aviation, 10 Dec 65 803 N6003C 2635 24 Apr 50 Star of Texas Renamed Star of America, AT 804 N6004C 2636 2 May 50 Star of Maryland Crashed and destroyed by fire near Wadi Natrun (50 miles north of Cairo, Egypt), 31 Aug 50 805 N6005C 2637 19 May 50 Star of New York AT 806 N6006C 2639 29 Jun 50 Star of Pennsylvania AT 807 N6007C 2643 18 Aug 50 Star of Ohio AT 808 N6008C 2644 7 Sep 50 Star of Indiana AT 809 N6009C 2645 11 Sep 50 Star of Michigan Sold lo AVIANCA, 10 Осі 59 810 N6010C 2646 20 Sep 50 Star of Illinois Renamed Star of Germany, AT 811 N6011C 2647 10 0(150 Star of Missouri AT 812 N6012C 2648 13 Oct 50 Star of Massachusetts Renamed Star of Spain, Sold to Federal Administration, 20 Jul 62 813 N6013C 2649 24 Oct 50 Star of New Mexico Renamed Star of Majorca, AT 814 N6014C 2650 3 Nov 50 Star of Delaware Sold to Central American Airways, 5 Oct 67 815 N6015C 2651 17 Nov 50 Star of Arizona Sold to C.E.Bush, 23 Mar 66. Repossessed 1967. AT [6 May 63] 816 N6016C 2654 12 Dec 50 Star of California Sold to Federal Aviation Administration 817 N6017C 2655 21 Dec 50 Star of the District of Columbia Leased to Pacific Northern Airlines, 17 Aug 61. Sold to Connie Air Leasing, 24 Nov 61 818 N6018C 2656 29 Dec 50 Star of Nevada AT 819 N6019C 2657 17 Jan 51 Star of Minnesota AT 820 N6020C 2658 25 Jan 51 Star of Kentucky AT* 821 N6021C 2667 17 Apr 51 Star of West Virginia AT 822 N6022C 2668 30 Apr 51 Star of Virginia Sold to Pacific Northern Airlines, 30 Jun 66 823 N6023C 2669 8 May 51 Star of Iowa AT 824 N6024C 2670 29 May 51 Star of Nebraska AT 825 N6025C 2671 Star of Colorado Fleet number and name allocated, but aircraft delivered to Hughes Tool Company. Sold to B.O.A.C, U.K.,23 Sep 54 826 N6026C 2672 29 Jun 51 Star of Connecticut AT 827 N86521 2642 1 Apr 54 Star of Oregon Delivered 12 Aug 50 to Chicago & Southern Airlines as City of Houston, then Cindad Trujillo. To Delta Air Lines, 1 May 53, with merger. Converted from Model 649A to 749A. Name later changed to Star of Colombo. AT 828 N86535 2673 20 Apr 54 Star of Wisconsin Delivered 18 May 51 to Chicago & Southern Airlines. To Della Air Lines, 1 May 53, with merger. Converted from Model 649A to 749A. Renamed Star of Corsica, then Star of Basra. AT 829 N86552 2653 1 Jun 54 Star of Washington Delivered 27 Sep 50 to Chicago & Southern Airlines. To Delta Air Lines, 1 May 53, with merger. Converted from Model 649A to 749A. Renamed Star of Madeira, then Star of Dhahran. AT

‘This aircraft made T. WA.’s inaugural trans-Atlantic flight, New York-Gander-Shannon-Paris (Le Bourget) on 5 Feb 46, in a block-to-block time of 19 hr 46m. NA: Sold to Nevada Airmotive, 31 March 1962

*This aircraft made TWA’s last scheduled commercial Constellation flight, Flight 249, on 6 April 1967. AT: These aircraft sold to Aero-Tech Inc. in May, June, and August 1968.

This is a listing of all the 87 Constellations in T. W.A.’s fleet. From the first famous delivery flight to Washington on 17 April 1944 to the last one by T. W.A. on 6 April 1967, 23 years had elapsed. This was, in the period of the piston- engined airliners, an impressive record. The list does not include the Super Constellations and Starliners, reviewed in the following pages.

53-88 seats • 335 mph

 

Although the 600-gallon tip tanks gave the ‘Super G’a distinctive appearance, not all ofTWA’s 1049Gs were so equipped. Tip tanks were used primarily for international routes.

 

Fleet

No.

Regn.

MSN

Date into Service

Name

Disposal and Remarks

Series 1

901

902

903

904

905

906

907

908

909

910

049 (Mode

N6901C N6902C N6903C N6904C N6905C N6906C N6907C N6908C N6909C N6910C

1049-54-£

4015

4016

4017

4018

4019

4020

4021

4022

4023

4024

0)

9 Oct. 52 16 Aug. 52 16 Aug. 52 27 Aug. 52

2 Oct. 52 27 Sep. 52 18 Oct. 52 27 Sep. 52 26 Oct. 52

3 Nov. 52

Star of the Thames Star of the Seine Star of the Tiber Star of the Ganges Star of the Rhone Star of the Rhine Star of Sicily Star of Britain Star of Tipperary Star of Frankfurt

Sold to California Hawaiian, 28 Oct. 60 Crashed in the Grand Canyon, 30 Jun. 56 Sold to South Pacific Airlines, 1 Jun. 62

| Sold to Florida State Tours, 7 Aug. 64

Sold to California Airmotive, 15 Feb. 60 Crashed, New York City, 16 Dec. 60

| Sold to Florida State Tours, 7 Aug. 64

Series 1

049G (Mot

el 1049G-82-110)

101

N7101C

4582

21 Sep. 55

Star of Balmoral

Crashed at Chicago (Midway), 29 Feb. 60

102

N7102C

4583

17 Mar. 55

Star of Windsor

Temporarily named The United States. Flew inaugural Super

G service, 30 March 1955. Scrapped, 4 Feb. 64

103

N7103C

4584

14 Mar. 55

Star of Buckingham

Sold to Aaron Ferer & Sons, 3 May 65

104

N7104C

4585

17 Mar. 55

Star of Blarney Castle

Sold to Aaron Ferer & Sons, 1 Sep. 65

105

N7105C

4586

14 Mar. 55

Star of Chambord

Sold to California Airmotive, 12 Dec. 66

106

N7106C

4587

23 Apr. 55

Star of Ceylon

Sold to California Airmotive, 4 Jan. 67

107

N7107C

4588

1 Apr. 55

Star of Carcassome

Scrapped 7 Nov. 63

108

N7108C

4589

31 Mar. 55

Star of Segovia

Sold to Aaron Ferer & Sons, 25 Jun. 65

109

N7109C

4590

21 Apr. 55

Star of Granada

Sold to California Airmotive, 10 Nov. 61

110

N7110C

4591

8 May 55

Star of Escorial

Scrapped 14 Apr. 64

ж

N7111C

4592

10 May 55

Star of Toledo

Sold to California Airmotive, 4 Jan. 67

112

N7112C

4593

11 May 55

Star of Versailles

Sold to California Airmotive, 5 Dec. 66

113

N7113C

4594

11 May 55

Star of Fontainebleau

Sold to California Airmotive, 15 Feb. 67

114

N7114C

4595

2 Jun. 55

Star of Mont St. Michael

Sold to Aaron Ferer & Sons, 13 Jul. 65

115

N7115C

4596

29 May 55

Star of Chilton

Crashed at New York (JFK) 26 Jan. 66

116

N7116C

4597

4 Jun; 55

Star of Heidelberg

Scrapped 8 Apr. 64

117

N7117C

4598

5 Jun. 55

Star of Kenilworth

Sold to Aaron Ferer & Sons, 1 Oct. 65

118

N7118C

4599

9 Jun. 55

Star of Capri

Scrapped, 11 Jan. 64

119

N7119C

4600

1 Jul 55

Star of Rialto

Scrapped 10 Jun. 64

The aircraft said to Aaron Ferer & Sons were resold and scrapped at Tucson. The aircraft sold ta California Airmotive were scrapped at Fox Field, Lancaster.

 

Engines Wright 972TC Turbo-compounds (3,250 hp) x 4 Length 114 feet MGTOW 137,5001b. Span 123 feet

Max. Range 3,500 miles Height 25 feet

 

Secret Weapon

Secret Weapon

Secret Weapon

Engine Problems

Elegant though the Constellation was, and impressive though its performance, this fine airliner did have its problems, not least because its designers were always trying to advance the levels of technology. One of the main problems was the Wright R-3350 turbo-compound engines, which consistently gave trouble, to the extent that Claude Girard, the senior pilot of the relief truck, described on this page, claimed that the crews “logged more flying time on three engines than four.” At first, a C-47 was based in Paris to ship the piston engines to distant points, as T. W.A. had spread its wings to the far comers of Europe and southern Asia. But with the Jet Age approaching, with much larger engines, the decision was made to base a specialized engine-carrier in Paris.

The C-82

Larry Trimble, T. W.A.’s operational chief in Paris, found the answer in a twin-boomed Fairchild C-82 Packet which he discovered in Tel Aviv in 1956. It took eight months of work, with much overtime, totalling 10,000 man-hours, to ‘civilianize’ the C-82. To increase the load­carrying capability and airfield performance, a Westinghouse 3,250-lb- thrust J-34 jet engine was installed on top of the fuselage for auxiliary power, and to raise the take-off weight to 54,000 lb. A Volkswagen engine APU (auxiliary power unit) was also installed to power an electric windlass to haul aboard the disabled engines.

The Thing

The C-82’s performance was sluggish and the airplane was not easy to handle. Compared to the elegant Constellations, it was distinctly unhandsome. The crews named it Ontos, which is the Greek word for “Thing.” Ugly duckling it may have been; but it did its job well, entering service with T. W.A. In 1957, it was registered, as a matter of local convenience, ET-T-12, which had been the Ethiopian number for the displaced C-47. Ethiopian was one of the airlines that T. W.A. was closely associated with, either as part-owner or as technical and operational adviser. Eventually, Ontos was certificated by the F. A.A. on 1 March 1960, and registered as N9701F. It carried engines everywhere throughout the eastern hemisphere, flying regularly to Manila, Bombay, and Nairobi, with Constellation replacement engines. In 1968 alone, now hauling Boeing 707 engines too, there were 68 unscheduled overseas engine replacements

Artist’s Note

T. W.A. ’s C-82 was substantially modified fi-om its original post-World War Two configuration. Note the modern avionics antennae and J-34 jet engine pod mounted above the fiiselage.

Engines

Pratt & Whitney R2-800-85 (2,100 hp) x 2

Length

77 feet

NIGTOW

54,000 lb.

Span

107 feet

Range

500 miles

Height

26 feet

Secret Weapon

After twelve years of faithful service, un-noticed by the media as the Jet Age was augmented by the 747s and other more publicity-worthy wide-bodied giants, the “Thing” was retired on 13 Jan­uary 1972, and sold the following year to an American airborne delivery firm, Briles Rotor & Wings.

Secret Weapon

I Photo courtesy Roger Bentley collection)