2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
what is it?
The Lockheed C-69 Constellation is a four-engined, propeller-driven military transport aircraft developed during World War II. It was co-developed with the Lockheed Constellation airliner. It first flew in 1943, and production of the 22 constructed was shared between the United States Army Air Forces (15) and commercial carriers. Most of the C-69 aircraft built were later converted into civilian airliners under the designation Lockheed L-049 Constellation.
How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 37.5 m wingspan
base stats
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 83 years ago, in 1943.
- 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 5 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
- 1943-01-09
- introduced
- 1943
- retired
- 1945
- status
- retired
- number built
- 22
- role
- transport
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Lockheed Corporation
- engines
- 4× Wright R-3350-35 Duplex-Cyclone
- crew
- 4
- length
- 29 m
- wingspan
- 37.5 m
- height
- 6.8 m
- max take-off weight
- 32.7 t
- top speed
- 531 km/h
- cruise speed
- 365 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 7,629 m
- wings
- low wing
- landing gear
- retractable tricycle gear
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q166891, Wikipedia: Lockheed C-69 Constellation (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.