Lockheed C-121 Constellation

what is it?

The Lockheed C-121 Constellation is a military transport version of the Lockheed Constellation. A total of 332 aircraft were constructed for both the United States Air Force and United States Navy for various purposes. Numerous airborne early warning versions were also constructed.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · 37.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 537 km/htop speed
• seats 44passengers
• size 48.5 tmax take-off weight
• built 332made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 79 years ago, in 1947.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 37.5 m: about 8 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 8 African elephants (~6 t each).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1947-03-14

introduced

1948

status

retired

number built

332

role

military transport

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Lockheed Corporation

engines

4× Wright R-3350-75 Duplex-Cyclone

crew

5

passengers

44

length

29 m

wingspan

37.5 m

height

6.8 m

max take-off weight

48.5 t

top speed

537 km/h

cruise speed

521 km/h

range

—

ceiling

7,450 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family