Lockheed L-049 Constellation
Lockheed C-69 Constellation
Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation
Lockheed L-1649 Starliner
Lockheed C-121 Constellation
Lockheed L-749 Constellation
Lockheed L-1249 Super Constellation
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Superconstellation2594: Mike Lehmann· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Lockheed L-049 Constellation: RuthAS· CC BY 3.0
- 3. Lockheed C-69 Constellation: USAF· Public domain
- 4. Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation: Ralf Manteufel· GFDL 1.2
- 5. Lockheed L-1649 Starliner: NACA· Public domain
- 6. Lockheed C-121 Constellation: United States Air Force· Public domain
- 7. Lockheed L-749 Constellation: Ralf Manteufel· GFDL 1.2
- 8. Lockheed L-1249 Super Constellation: U.S. Navy· Public domain
- 9. 20180328 C-121 Constellation Udvar-Hazy: Balon Greyjoy· CC0
- 10. Constellation-N422NA: Cchhey0· CC0
what is it?
The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first civil airliner family to enter widespread use equipped with a pressurized cabin, enabling it to fly well above most bad weather, thus improving the general safety and ease of commercial passenger air travel. Several models of the Constellation series were produced, all with the distinctive triple tail and dolphin-shaped fuselage.
How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · 38.5 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 4.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 38.5 m: about 9 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 10 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Range of 6,400 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
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
- 1978
- status
- retired
- number built
- 856
- role
- airliner and transport
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Lockheed Corporation
- engines
- 4× Wright R-3350-DA3 Duplex-Cyclone
- crew
- 5
- passengers
- 95
- length
- 35.4 m
- wingspan
- 38.5 m
- height
- 7.5 m
- max take-off weight
- 62.4 t
- top speed
- 607 km/h
- cruise speed
- 547 km/h
- range
- 6,400 km
- ceiling
- 7,315 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q677122, Wikipedia: Lockheed Constellation (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.