This four-cylinder, horizontally-opposed engine is one of the earliest aero engines to be built in Australia. It was designed and built by two young motor mechanics, Azor D. Robbins and Aubrey Keith Lock. Robbins was employed at Dalgetys Garage in Bourke Street, Melbourne while Lock was an apprentice with Herbert Thomson’s Steam Car Company in Armadale. They had been approached to build a 50 horsepower (37 kW) aero engine by Lawrence Marshall, a Melbourne inventor who was building a biplane to compete for a Commonwealth government prize of £5,000 for a military aeroplane. Lock and Robbins worked on the engine part-time in Richmond and subsequently at the Dalgety’s engineering shop in Melbourne. A total of forty cylinders were believed to have been cast by an outside foundry from which the four best were selected. Despite this, the cylinders fractured during a bench test and Marshall refused to pay for the engine as it did not deliver the promised 50 horsepower.
It was later repaired by Lock and acquired by Azor Robbins and a business partner Alex Porter, who had built a Bleriot-type monoplane in Albury, New South Wales. Robbins and Porter had moved to Albury from Melbourne in 1911 opening their own automotive business at 532 Kiewa Street. The engine was reported to have been displayed at the 1912 Albury Show. Their aircraft is believed to have made several short flights in July 1913. The aircraft was subsequently sold to Blacklock’s Garage in Dean Street Albury where it was later destroyed in a fire. The engine was salvaged by Aubrey Lock who kept it at his Melbourne house until his death in 1966. It was donated to the Museum of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, in pieces in 1978 by Donald Shanks. Since then it has been reassembled and conserved to retain as much of the original finish and components as possible.
The Lockheed Brothers left the Company after the Detroit merger and set up the Airover Company, later called Alcor, to build the Uni-twin. With two Menasco engines side-by-side in the nose, driving two propellers. The name of the company was changed to Lockheed Vega when it became a subsidiary of the revived parent organization.
With Allan H. Lockheed as president, built a new version of his Duo twin-engined monoplane. Type was called Alcor Duo-6 and was distinctive in having two Menasco engines placed horizontally.
A demonstration flight was made in May 1934 at Mines Field with one propeller removed—it took off in 1200′, attained 130mph, and reportedly handled much like a single-engine plane.
Alcor Duo-6 NX962Y
The Alcor Olympic Duo-4 of 1930 designed by Allan Loughead, featured two engines mounted side-by-side in a nose nacelle. Powered by two 160hp Menasco B-6 (reportedly first with 125hp C-5s), it was originally planned for one Wright J-6-7c in the nose. The unbraced cantilever wing had two full-length box spars.
Alcor Duo-4 with Pancho Barnes
The one five-place Alcor Duo-4 built, NX962Y, nosed over in a wind gust during a landing on Mar 18, 1931; although damage was slight, nervous financial backers withdrew their support.
Though Alcor conformed with Lockheed “star names” system and development was pursued in 1930s, no production resulted. Alcor was not a Lockheed Aircraft Corporation product.
Olympic Duo-6 Engines: two 230hp Menasco B-6S Wingspan: 42’0″ Length: 28’6″ Useful load: 2045 lb Max speed: 183 mph Cruise: 157 mph Stall: 57 mph Range: 700 mi
Around this time, the late 1930s Lockheed Aircraft Corporation was studying different airliner projects. The first was the Model 27, which had a canard configuration. The other two were the L-104 and L-105. The L-105 was smaller, with 1200 hp engines, and was more conventional than the L-104. These studies led Lockheed’s Burbank facility to settle on a design dubbed Model 44, a four-engined airliner that was announced to the public in April 1939. Soon afterwards, the new airliner was dubbed Excalibur. The Excalibur resembled an enlarged Model 10 Electra. It would be powered by four Wright GR-1820 Cyclone 9 radial engines, rated at 1000 hp (746 kW), or four Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radials. Its wingspan was 95 ft 9 in (29.18 m), its length was 82 ft 6 in (25.15 m), and its projected maximum speed was in the 250-280 mph range (402–451 km/h). Several variants were proposed, to accommodate different passenger loads.
The original Excalibur design envisioned a 21-passenger payload, with a 240 mph (386 km/h) cruising speed. This was revised to 36 passengers at 268 mph (431 km/h) cruise at 12,000 feet (3,660m) altitude. This change included increasing the fuselage diameter, making it comparable to the Model 18 Lodestar, and increasing the wingspan to 95 ft 9 in (25.19 m) with an area of 1,000 ft² (92.9 m²). A tricycle landing gear with steerable nosewheel was envisioned. With the revised specifications, the Excalibur could now effectively compete with the near monopoly Douglas had on the airliner market. Its projected performance was better (except in range) than the Boeing 307. The revision of specifications was partially due to a request from Pan American Airlines; their influence also caused the addition of the third tailfin. A variant designated the L-144, able to carry 40 passengers was planned, but was ultimately cancelled even though South African Airways had placed a potential order for two examples. Lockheed proceeded with a full-scale mockup of the proposed Excalibur, including most of the airliner except the right wing.
The billionaire Howard Hughes, who had recently gained ownership of Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA), decided to provide funding for the new Excalibur. He had a plan in mind to vastly improve the characteristics of the Excalibur by increasing comfort, speed and profit of the aircraft. It was thus that Hughes invited three workers from Lockheed and Jack Frye (president of TWA) to a meeting at his Hancock Park residence. The Lockheed employees included Clarence “Kelly” Johnson and Robert E. Gross. Hughes expressed his requirements for the “airliner of the future”: a payload of 36 passengers (or 20 sleeping berths), a six-person crew, a 3,600 mile (5,800 km) range, a 300 mph (483 km/h) cruise speed, and a weight of 23.5-25 metric tonnes. This meant that the Excalibur would have to get a 100 mph (161 km/h) increase in speed and be able to fly 1,000 ft (305 m) higher. It would need to cross the United States nonstop. The first decision was to re-engine the Excalibur with Wright R-2600 radials, which had not been tested yet. The next decision was to start from scratch while saving the overall shape and triple tail configuration of the original Excalibur.
The new design differed so much from the original Excalibur, that a different model designation was needed. It was first given the temporary designation L-104, then it was later officially designated the Model 49 or “Excalibur A”. In time, the Model 49 would become a completely different aircraft from the original Model 44. Lockheed later dropped the name “Excalibur” as the new airliner had little to do with its predecessor. The end result was the Lockheed L-049 Constellation.
Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp S4C-4-G, 1200 hp (895 kW) each Wingspan: 95 ft 0 in (28.96 m) Wing area: 1000 sq.ft (92.90 sq.m) Aspect ratio: 9.025 Length: 74 ft 11½ in (22.85 m) Empty weight: 26,424 lb (11,986 kg) Gross weight: 40,000 lb (18,144 kg) Crew: two Capacity: 32 passengers
The concept of the rigid rotor coupled to a gyroscope system was developed by an Advanced Concepts Group led by Irven Culver to seek significant improvements in performance, cost, reliability, and handling characteristics of helicopters. Following testing of a small radio-controlled vehicle – with a 1.52m diameter, two blade, hingeless rotor driven by a McCoy 60 model aeroplane engine – the small design team undertook in July 1959 to design and build an experimental two-seat helicopter for full-scale demonstration of the new concept.
Designated CL-475, this research helicopter had a steel and aluminium tubing covered frame with fabric and a Plexiglass cabin with side-by-side seats. Its 140hp Lycoming VO-360-AIA four-cylinder air-cooled engine initially drove a two-blade wooden rotor, with gyroscopic control being provided by a double metal ‘lollipop’ attached to the blades and connected to the swashplate by springs. In this form the CL-475, which was registered N6940C, was completed in autumn 1959 and was trucked to Rosamond Lake in the Mojave Desert where initial trials could be made without attracting undue attention.
Excessive vibration was encountered during the first flight on 2 November, 1959, and forced Irv Culver’s team to experiment during the next six months with a variety of three- and four-blade wooden rotor designs. The vibration problem, however, was brought within reasonable limits only after the adoption of a three-blade metal rotor and the installation of a new gyroscopic ring attached directly to the swashplate. The CL-475, which in mid-1960 had been moved to the Lockheed facility at Rye Canyon, was then evaluated by FAA, NASA and military pilots and proved to be easy to fly. In fact, a pilot without previous helicopter experience was once able to ferry it alone. Pleased with the results, Lockheed incorporated the rigid-rotor concept in its entry for the US Army light observation helicopter (LOH) competition in 1961. Although the Army did not select this Lockheed design, it had sufficient confidence in the new concept to order jointly with the Navy two Lockheed XH-51 research helicopters.
At the end of its trial programme, the CL-475 was put in storage until 1975, when it was donated by Lockheed to the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution. It has now been loaned to the US Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Lockheed began developing its rigid rotor concept with the CL-475 helicopter design in 1959 and the performance of the CL-475 encouraged Lockheed to continue development. Lockheed submitted the CL-475 to the Army as a candidate to replace the Bell OH-13 Sioux and Hiller OH-23 Raven observation helicopters. Lockheed also tested the commercial market waters without success. However, in February 1962, Lockheed’s Model 186, a new design based on the CL-475 rigid rotor, was selected as the winner for a joint Army-Navy program to evaluate the rigid rotor for high-speed flight capability.
Lockheed CL-475 prototype Registration: N6940C Engine: 1 x 140 hp Lycoming VO-360-AIA Main rotor: three-blade Main rotor diameter: 32 ft Weight: approx 2,000 lb Seats: two side-by-side
The Vega Starliner NX21725 was a five/six-seat low-wing cabin monoplane with retractable landing gear and an unusual powerplant. The model 22 was a modification with 640hp Menasco Unitwin 2-544 and a single tail. This comprised two 194kW Menasco C6S-4 inline engines, mounted side-by-side, and coupled to drive together, or independently in emergency, a single propeller.
First flown on 22 April 1939 (piloted by B A Martin), the Starliner was abandoned after some 85 flight test hours as there was no demand for an aircraft in this category.
Vega Starliner NX21725
The aircraft was sold to a film studio and its track faded.
Engines: two 194kW Menasco C6S-4 Unitwin Wingspan: 12.50 m / 41 ft 0 in Length: 31’6″ Max take-off weight: 2722 kg / 6001 lb Useful load: 1660 lb Max. speed: 338 km/h / 210 mph Cruise speed: 180 mph Stall: 60 mph Range: 600 mi Seats: 6
Potential of the QT-2 / Q-Star was such that Lockheed produced a refined version for the US Army: The YO-3A. Also based on the Schweizer SGS 2-32 Sail-Plane wings and tail unit, but with wings mounted low on the fuselage, retractable landing gear, upgraded (SLAE) avionics, State-Of-The-Art Sensor (NVAP with LTD) and the Tactical Observer seated forward for better visibility. A 156.5kW IO-360D Continental Engine provided propulsion power. The YO-3A was deployed in Southeast Asia from mid-1969 to late-1971.
It was the first military aircraft to employ an integrated NOD Sensor with a YAG Laser. It also had an Infrared Illuminator for other tactical sensors (INFANT LLTV, NODs, etc). The YO-3A was deployed in Vietnam for more than a year.
It was later operated by the Louisiana Dept of Wildlife & Fisheries (LDWF) and FBI. NASA operated the former 69-18010 as NASA 818 (or similar).
One YO-3A is preserved in the Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker, Alabama. YO-3A 69-18005 is on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. YO-3A 69-18006 is on display at the Pima Air and Space, Tucson AZ. YO-3A 69-18007 is in storage at the Western Museum of Flight in Torrance, California. As of 2014, YO-3A 69-18010 (NASA 818) is in flyable storage at Armstrong Flight Research Center.
YO 3A Engine: Continental, 210 hp. Wing span: 57 ft 0 in (17.40 m). Length: 30 ft (9.14 m). Gross weight: 2,167 lb (983 kg). Max speed: 149 mph (240 km/h). Crew: 2.
Faced with the military requirement for a quiet observation aircraft, Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. (LMSC) developed the “Q” Series Aircraft: QT-1 (conceived, but not constructed), QT-2 (N2471W and N2472W) later modified to QT-2PC configuration (#1 and #2), and Q-Star. Note: “QT: for Quiet Thruster.
The Q-Star Aircraft was LMSC’s “House Aircraft” for evaluating “quiet recon” concepts. Eighteen propeller/reduction systems and other items were evaluated. It flew early versions “Black Crow” Sensors and was the first aircraft to use a rotary combustion chamber (Wankel) engine for primary power.
Two Schweizer 2-32s (67-15345 and 67-15346) from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School X-26 Program (USNTPS) were modified to QT-2 configuration (QT for Quiet Thruster) by the Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. (LMSC) and civil registered as N2471W and N2472W.
In 1967 the aircraft were modified by adding a Continental O-200 engine, V-Belt RPM reduction system, four-bladed fixed pitch wood (Fahlin) propeller, and airframe upgrades. The QT-2 first flew in August 1967.
After demonstrating quiet flight, the aircraft were again modified to military QT-2PC configuration, known only as Tail Numbers “1” and “2”, with GFE avionics and camouflage for night operation. They were successfully evaluated in Southeast Asia (Prize Crew OpEval) for covert (“stealth”) tactical airborne observation in the spring of 1968 (during Têt). Arriving in South Vietnam just before the 1968 TET Offensive, they accumulated approximately 600 hours flying exclusively tactical night missions during the first three-month deployment. They continued to operate in Vietnam during most of 1968 (Prize CrewII) and were then transferred to the Navy (NTPS Pax. R.) as X-26Bs in 1969. The QT-2PCs were the first military aircraft to use “Starlight Scopes”.
QT-2PC #1 in the Soc Trang, RVN Army Airfield Hangar in 1968
The two QT-2PCs were returned to USNTPS in 1969 and re-designated X-26Bs.
The #1 QT-2PC was re-designated “67-15345” and the #2 aircraft was used for spare parts.
The #1 ship is now at USAAM at Ft. Rucker, AL. The #2 ship QT-2PC N2472W was retro-verted to SGS 2-32 configuration and is operated by Mile High Gliders in CO.
Lockheed Aircraft Corp. offered the rotating combustion engine its first chance to fly. Under a Navy contract, Lockheed was experimenting with ul¬tra quiet aircraft for undetected low altitude reconnaissance. Several air¬frame configurations, were developed culminating in the QT 3. Basically the QT 3 (QT for quiet thruster) consisted of a highly modified Schweizer 2 32 sailplane equipped with art amidship mounted Continental 100 horsepower engine turning a large slow turning propeller through a reduction drive and long overhead propeller shaft. The QT 3 yielded airframe and propellor noise so low that the most noticeable remaining sound was valve action in the engine. Endeavoring to eliminate valve noise, Lockheed’s engineers seized upon the RC engine since it has no valves, only ports.
Replacing the air cooled Continen¬tal with an RC 2 60 U5 liquid cooled engine required extensive reengineer¬ing. A Corvette aluminum radiator was grafted to the nose and redesigned reduction gearing was required. A 5.34/1, two stage ‘V’ belt reduction system reduced 6,000 rpm at the en¬gine down to 500 propeller rpm. Only 185 horsepower was used in the Q Star due to carburetor limitations. Nevertheless, power was increased by 85% with only a 6% increase in air¬frame weight. A three blade 90 100in constant speed propeller converted power to thrust. Laminated birch was used for blade material but at least one propeller had a balsa wood core covered with glass fibre.
Throughout the QT proj¬ect, Lockheed tested five 4 blade, two 6 blade, and two 3 blade props.
Flight testing revealed previously un¬attainable levels of quiet flight. Com¬pound muffling culminated in a discharge pipe pointing straight up. Re¬sidual noise was thereby directed away from the ground. As a test a Cessna 182 and the Q Star, both load¬ed to 2,600 pounds gross weight, were flown over the airport at 800 feet. The 182 was easily detectable by engine and propeller noise; Q Star was almost impossible to detect. Even at 400 feet the Q Star sounded only like leaves rustling in a light wind. In the cockpit, engine noise is similar to the hum of an electric motor and even then, most noise in the cockpit seemed to be aerodynamically originated.
Potential of the QT-2 / Q-Star was such that Lockheed produced a refined version for the US Army: The YO-3A.
Engine: 1 x Cont. IO-360, 154kW Wingspan: 17.4 m / 57 ft 1 in Length: 9.2 m / 30 ft 2 in Wing area: 17.0 sq.m / 182.99 sq ft Crew: 2
QT-2PC Engine: 1 × Continental O-200, 100 hp (75 kW) Propeller: Ole Fahlin four-blade, 8 inch chord, fixed-pitch 100 inch diameter Wingspan: 57 ft 1.5 in (17.37 m) Wing area: 185 ft² (16.7 m²) Wing aspect ratio: 18 Length: 30 ft 9 in (9.33 m) Height: 9 ft 3 in (2.74 m) Loaded weight: 2,500 lb (kg) Fuel Capacity: 20 gallons (nominal) Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (m) Rate of climb: 200 ft/min (m/s) Quiet cruise speed: 70 – 80 mph Wing loading: kg/m² (lb/ft²) Flight endurance: Planned = 4+ hours; demonstrated = 6.7+ hours Crew: two
North American Aviation Inc, designed during 1937 the prototype of a lightweight primary trainer which it designated North American NA-35. Powered by a 93kW Menasco Pirate inline engine, it was of low-wing monoplane configuration with fixed tail-wheel landing gear, and seated the instructor and pupil in tandem open cockpits. First flown in October 1940, piloted by B A “Bud” Martin.
Vega 35-67 NX14299
When the NA-35 failed to win a US Army Air Corps contract in 1939, North American sold all rights, along with prototype NX14299 and 4 unfinished planes, to Lockheed’s Vega subsidiary in October 1940.
Vega 35-67 NX14299
Vega built only four of these Vega 35 aircraft (ATC 741), NX21760, and NX28351-28353, two converted to 35-70 (ATC 741) with more powerful 119kW Menasco Pirate D-B engines, the first flown in 1941, but by then the company had no manufacturing capacity available and Vega 35 production was abandoned. The wing design was used as basis for prototype NAvion.
Vega 35-67 NX21760
The model 37 of 1941 was wartime production of Lockheed Vega.
35-67 Engine: 125hp Menasco D-4 Wingspan: 9.07 m / 29 ft 9 in Length: 25’6″ Useful load: 549 lb Max. speed: 124 mph Cruise speed: 108 mph Stall: 48 mph Range: 320 mi Seats: 2
35-70 Engine: 150hp Menasco C-4S Wingspan: 9.07 m / 29 ft 9 in Length: 25’6″ Useful load: 542 lb Max speed: 140 mph Cruise speed: 124 mph Stall: 46 mph Range: 305 mi Seats: 2
The first US Navy contract for two XP2V-1 Neptune maritime-reconnaissance bombers was placed in April 1944.
The P2V / P-2 has mid-set unswept wing, unswept tail surfaces, and conventional control surfaces. The ailerons drop 10 degrees when the Lockheed-Fowler flaps are fully extended. The tricycle undercarriage has a single wheel on each unit with the nosewheel retracting rearward and mains forward into the engine nacelles.
The first prototype flew on 17 May 1945. From then Lockheed received contracts for the P2V-1 to P2V-7 versions which were subsequently redesignated in the P-2 category.
Last versions in operational service were the P-2E (formerly P2V-5) which introduced the glazed nose, MAD tailboom, Julie/Jezebel ASW systems, etc, and later fitted with auxiliary underwing turbojets; SP-2E, as for the P-2E but with modernised equipment; P-2H, the first version to introduce auxiliary underwing turbojets and incorporating equipment and detail changes; and the SP-2H, as for the P-2H but with modernised equipment. These served with the Argentinian Navy (P-2H), Australian Air Force (SP-2H), Brazilian Air Force (P-2E), French Navy (P-2H), JMSDF (P-2H, and Kawasaki P-2J), Netherlands Navy (SP-2H), Portuguese Air Force (SP-2E) and the US Navy (SP-2H).
The USA supplied Britain with P-2 Neptune under the Mutual Defence Aid Pact. British Neptunes served in four squadrons from 1952 to 1957.
Truculent Turtle
In 1946 US Navy Neptune ‘Truculent Turtle’ flew non-stop 11,229 miles from Perth, Australia, to Columbus, Ohio.
The P 2H Neptune was a variant used by the Maritime Patrol Command of the Canadian Armed Forces.
On 6 November 1951 a Lockheed P2V Neptune from VP-6 Squadron of the US Navy was shot down over the Sea of Japan near the Soviet naval base at Vladivostok. The Neptune, with a crew of 10 on board, was to have reconnoitred the weather near the Siberian coast. On 18 January 1953 an American P2V-5 Neptune maritime reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Chinese MiG fighters near (over?) the coastal town of Swatou, opposite Taiwan. All thirteen crew were killed. The number of occupants appears to be a little on the high side for a normal patrol flight. In those days it was not unusual for American aircraft to drop secret agents over the People’s Republic of China. Such ‘cover-flights’ were usually flown from Nationalist Chinese Taiwan. On 4 September 1954 the third Neptune went down. A P2V-5 of the American Naval Squadron VF-19 was shot down by two Soviet MiG-15 over the Sea of Japan, about 40 miles from the Siberian coast. The Neptune, originating from Atsugi airbase in Japan, forced-landed in the sea after the attack. Nine of the ten crew escaped and were rescued later. On 22 June 1955 Soviet jets attached an American P2V-5 Neptune from Patrol Squadron VP-9 over the Bering Strait. With the starboard engine on fire the Neptune had difficulty in fore-landing near Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, barely 60 miles / 100 km from the Soviet coast but United Stated territory. Three crew members were injured during the Soviet attack. Washington demanded compensation of $724,947 but later accepted a Soviet offer of half that.
A small number of P2V 2 and P2V 7 Neptunes were in service with ski landing gear for operations in the Antarctic.
P2V-7 Neptune
Kawasaki developed from the Lockheed P 2H Neptune a new ASW and maritime patrol bomber which has the designation P 2J. First flown in July 1966, the P-2J ¬differed from the P-2H in having a lengthened fuselage, and 2,850 ehp General Electric T64-1HI-10 turboprops replacing original piston engines, plus underwing 3,085 lb st (1400 kgp) J3-1H1-7C turbojets.
Entering service with the JMSDF in 1969, the last of`82 production aircraft was delivered in 1979. Sixteen P2V-7 were supplied from the USA before Japanese production began. Armament of the P 2J comprises up to 8,000 lb (3,628 kg) of bombs, depth charges, or tor¬pedoes carried internally, and 16 5 inch rockets underwing.
An approach in Vietnam was the monitoring of electronic sensors on the ground, the signals being received by the AP 2E Neptune.
Between 1945 and 1962, 1195 were manufactured.
The CIA purchased seven Lockheed P2V-7U Neptunes for the USAF for clandestine missions along the Iron Curtain and beyond. The US Navy had not wished to be involved but the Navy bought the aircraft and the USAF operated them, with USAF markings. The USAF stated at the time they were purchased as RB-69 radio trainers.
RB-69
The RB-69 were converted by Lockheed into multi-purpose spying aircraft. They were able to perform low-level photographic reconnaissance, and with advanced ELINT equipment, electronic surveillance flights. Agents could be dropped through a panel in the belly, and tens of thousands of pamphlets could be dropped. Flights were planned from Eglin Air Base in Florida. The USAF Neptunes were observed from 1957 in Taiwan, in Japan, and on Wiesbaden airbase in West Germany. From Wiesbaden the blue-black RB-69 flew with a number of additional bulges and with two pencil-shaped antennas alongside the fuselage. The aircraft carried the first sideways-looking radar system and operated until modified to ordinary SP-2H Neptunes for anti-submarine warfare.
Hawkins & Powers enveloped civil conversions of C-130 and P2V-7 under TC A19NM, A30NM, and A34NM in the Restricted category as borate bombers for forest fire control.
P-2 Neptune Engines: 2 x Wright R-3350-32W, 2575kW Max take-off weight: 36191 kg / 79788 lb Empty weight: 22592 kg / 49807 lb Wingspan: 31.7 m / 104 ft 0 in Length: 27.9 m / 91 ft 6 in Height: 8.9 m / 29 ft 2 in Wing area: 92.9 sq.m / 999.97 sq ft Max. speed: 648 km/h / 403 mph Ceiling: 6800 m / 22300 ft Range w/max.fuel: 5930 km / 3685 miles Armament: 2 x 12.7mm machine-guns, bombs, missiles, torpedos Crew: 7
P2V-5 Neptune Engines: 2 x Wright, 3250 hp. Wing span: 102 ft 0 in (31.08 m). Length: 81 ft 7 in (24.87m). Height: 28 ft 1 in (8.56 m). Max TO wt: 76,152 lb (34,542 kg). Max level speed: 341 mph ( 549 kph).
P2V Neptune Length: 91.667 ft / 27.94 m Height: 29.331 ft / 8.94 m Wingspan: 103.904 ft / 31.67 m Max take off weight: 80085.6 lb / 36320.0 kg Max. speed: 309 kts / 573 km/h Service ceiling: 22014 ft / 6710 m Range: 3202 nm / 5930 km Engine: 2 x Wright R-3350-32W, 3452 hp Crew: 7 Armament: 3630kg
P2V-7 Neptune Engines: 2 x Wright R3350-30W Turbo-Cyclone 3,250 hp, 2 x Westinghouse J34 turbojets, 3600 lb Wingspan: 103 ft. 10 in Length: 91 ft. 8 in. Height: 29 ft 4 in Wing area: 1000 sq.ft Empty weight: 49,808 lb Loaded weight: 72,000 lb Fuel capacity: 1832 gal Opt bomb bay fuel: 583 gal Crew: 7 Max speed: 421 m.p.h. Ceiling: 31,000ft Service ceiling: 22,000 ft Range: 3,700 miles at 175 mph at 1000 ft Armament: 2x.50 in. machine-guns later 4 x 20mm canon Bombload: 2×294 mm. rockets or 8,000 lb; plus 16 x 5-in. rockets under wings.
AP 2E
Kawasaki P 2J Wing span is 97 ft 8.5 in (29.78 m). Max cruise: 250 mph (402 km/h).
Lockheed built 286 Super “Connies,” then followed with production of the L.1619 Starliner. This development of the Model 649 standard Constellation actually started in when Lockheed were attempting to meet the requirements of TWA. Modified into a military transport during the Second World War, the design was reconverted into an airliner which came at the right time to equip airlines starved of new aircraft by the war.
The Super Constellation was first introduced on transatlantic services by KLM in 1953.
With a range of 7,200 miles, the Starliner became popular on long international routes for TWA and Air France. Only 43 Starliner Constellations were built, and most of those were short lived, bowing out gracefully for the introduction of the jet age. A historical note about the Connie’s heritage: the tri-tailed airliner was the first Air Force One.
US Navy designation – Lockheed R7V-1 Super Constellation.
In 1963 Flying Tiger VP Fred Benninger required a Super H Connie for less than the going price of $500,000. Finding two Navy surplus Elations, Connies with Electra engines, the fuselages were right but not the wings. Two cheap South American 1049G’s and four months of fitting parts produced two cargo planes for less than the price of one.
Lockheed Super Constellation Engines: 4 x Wright, 3250 hp. Wing span: 123 ft 0 in (37.49 m). Length: 113 ft 7 in (34.65 m). Height: 24 ft 9 in (7.56 m). Max TO wt: 133,000 lb (60,380 kg). Max level speed: 352 mph (563 kph).
EC 121K Warning Star Engines 4 x 3,400 h.p. Wright R 3350 turbo compound piston engines. Length 113.6 ft. (34.62 m.) Wing span 123 ft. (37.47 m.) Weight, max 137,500 lb. (62,370 kg.) Crew 6. Pax cap: 65 89 Max cruise 310 m.p.h. (500 km.p.h.) Range 4,800 miles (7,700 km.) with 18,000 lb payload
