The Lockheed L-049 Constellation was the first model of the Constellation aircraft line. Designed by the famous Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, its first flight happened on January 9, 1943. It entered service in July 1943 as the C-69 military transport aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces. After the Second World War, it was also the first civilian variant of the family. Numerous stretched and improved versions followed over the next decade. Colloquially known as Connies, Constellations were among the most graceful aircraft of early commercial flight. The variant of particular significance for Indian aviation was the Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, affectionately called Super Connie. It was perhaps the only instance of an aircraft bought by an Indian airline – Air-India International – becoming a “hand-me-down” to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and finally going to the Indian Navy (IN).

It all began in 1939 when the top management of the Lockheed Corporation met with Howard Hughes, the legendary American billionaire aviator. Hughes wanted Lockheed to design a revolutionary aircraft capable of operating US commercial aviation’s first coast-to-coast, non-stop service. He demanded total secrecy and specified that Lockheed could not sell the aircraft to any other airline until his carrier, Trans World Airlines (TWA), had received 35 of them. However World War II intervened and the US Military acquired the Constellation production facilities.

After the war, the Constellation was largely instrumental in ushering in high-altitude transport operations. At one stroke its pressurised cabin gave commercial aircraft the ability to fly above 90 per cent of weather disturbances – the “air sickness zone” – into a region of “smooth sailing”. This immensely increased passenger comfort and revolutionised air travel. It also helped transform Lockheed, then a bit player, into a big guy in the aviation industry. Aside from its unique design, attractive curves, and ability to fly faster than many fighter aircraft of the time, the Constellation introduced several innovations like hydraulically-boosted power controls. It had three vertical tailfins, allowing it to enter the low-roofed hangars of the 1950s without sacrificing its tailfin surface area.

Howard Hughes publicised the plane by setting a transcontinental speed record on a Burbank, California, to Washington, D.C., flight in April 1944 flying nonstop in six hours, 57 minutes, and 51 seconds. The first commercial flight of the L-049 happened on February 5, 1946, when TWA’s “Star of Paris” flew from New York City to Paris, with stops in Newfoundland (Canada) and Ireland. US President Eisenhower loved the Connie and a Constellation became his personal presidential plane, and the first to bear the “Air Force One” designation.

Earlier, in 1943, Lockheed began planning stretched variants of the Constellation family. Some of the better known ones were the L-749 and the L-1049 Super Constellation that entered service with Eastern Airlines in December 1951. It was stretched to 116 ft 2 in and equipped with more powerful Wright R-3350-DA3 Turbo-Compound 18-cylinder supercharged radial engines. It had a capacity of 62 to 95 passengers (109 in high-density configuration).

Air-India International was one of the first airlines to take delivery of three Lockheed Constellation L-749 aircraft, thanks to an order cancellation by another airline. It received these airliners in March 1948 and they helped launch its Bombay to London service. Later Air-India acquired some Super Constellations and they formed the backbone of its fleet right up to June 1962, when the last L-1049 was retired, and Air-India became the world’s first all-jet airline. In the late 1950s, the Constellations were increasingly unable to compete with jet airliners such as the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8 and began to slip in popularity. The final Constellation was built in 1959. By then, more than 800 aircraft had been produced and the planes had flown for most of the world’s major airlines, including Pan Am, Air France, BOAC, KLM, Qantas, Lufthansa and Air-India.

In October 1961 the IAF’s No. 6 Squadron “Dragons” added nine retired Air-India International Super Constellations to its fleet. Seven of these were modified for Maritime Reconnaissance (MR). Two Super Connies served as freighters or troop carriers. Super Connies participated in Operation Vijay that liberated Goa in December 1961, and transported troops in the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict. In 1976, the Indian Navy took over the MR role. On November 18, 1976, five remaining MR-configured IAF Super Constellations went to newly-formed Indian Naval Air Squadron No. 312 “Albatross” based at INS Hansa, at Dabolim, Goa. By 1983, the Navy retired the Super Connies from active service, around the time the IAF retired its last two Super Connie freighters. India was the last military operator of the Lockheed Constellation.