Design of the Lockheed L-49 began in 1939 to meet the requirement of Pan American Airways and Transcontinental & Western Air (now Trans World Airlines), for a 40-passenger airliner for use on domestic routes. Manufacture was initiated but with the outbreak of World War II aircraft on the production line were commandeered for service with the USAAF as transports under the designation C-69, the first being flown on 9 January 1943. A total of 22 entered USAAF service before the contract cancellations following VJ-Day. Production of civil aircraft then began under the company designation L-049 Constellation, using components that had been intended for C-69s, but with the interiors completed to airline standard and with basic accommodation for 43 to 48 passengers, or a maximum of 60 in a high-density layout. The first Constellation was certificated for civil operations on 11 December 1945, the type entering service first with Pan Am and TWA, the latter inaugurating a regular US-Paris service on 6 February 1946.

The first true civil Constellations were Lockheed L-649 aircraft with 2,500hp Wright 749C-18BD-1 engines and far more luxurious interiors seating 48 to 64 passengers as standard, or 81 in a high-density arrangement. This version was replaced in production during 1947 by the longer-range L-749 with additional fuel yet able to carry the same payload, but by the end of 1949 the demand for air travel was increasing and operators were then looking for aircraft of greater capacity. This brought development of the L-1049 Super Constellation, with the fuselage lengthened by 5.59m, and Super 'Connies' entered service during their production life with a variety of interior layouts that could seat a maximum of 109 passengers. Last of the civil Constellation-derived airliners was the L-1649A Starliner, with a completely new wing of increased span and with far greater fuel capacity, providing a range considerably in excess of any of its predecessors. When production ended in the late 1950s a total of 856 aircraft of all versions, both civil and military, had been built.

3-View

A three-view drawing (600 x 372)