This is a Lockheed Constellation airliner making a pass at the
annual Quad Cities Airshow in Davenport, Iowa. The Connie was on
the drawing board at the start of WWII. Due to the war, it did not
enter into commercial service. The USAAF took over the existing
airframes, and took ownership of the few Connies that did come off
of the assembly line during the war. After WWII, a new, larger
Connie, the 1049, entered into commercial service. As far as
prop airliners go, the Connie was the luxury liner of its day.
The jet airliners started making the scene in the late 1950's
and early 1960's, and before we knew it, the prop airliners
were gone. Most were relegated to 3rd world fly-by-night airlines
or flying fish out of Alaska. This Connie was one of the lucky
ones. She was saved by a group of TWA employees under the name
“Save A Connie”. They wanted to paint her in TWA
colors, but TWA would not assume the public relations risk. So,
she was painted exactly like a TWA jet, but with the TWA lettering
replaced with ‘SAC’. Later, TWA went belly-up, and the SAC Connie
was quickly repainted with the TWA logo. The Save A Connie
people have since saved other prop airliners, and they have a
museum located at the downtown Kansas City Airport.
The military continued to use Constellations after WWII. It was
a favorite VIP transport for the Military Airlift Command (MATS).
Several were used for fast cargo prior to the advent of jet transports
like the C-141. The Navy also jumped on the Connie bandwagon,
using the Connie as the first AWACS platform (aerial radar for
early warning and theater air control). The Connies stood watch
over Vietnam during the entire war era, orbiting off shore making
endless circles while directing air operations 24 hours a day.
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