Lockheed Constitution
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The Lockheed R6V ConstitutionThe Constitutions were identified as R6O until 1950. was a large, propeller-driven, double-decker transport aircraft developed in the 1940s by Lockheed as a long-range, high-capacity
transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
and
airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...
for the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
and
Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
. Only two of the aircraft were ever built, both prototypes. Although these two planes went into service with the Navy, the Constitution design ultimately proved underpowered and too large for practical airline use at the time. Although the
Martin JRM Mars The Martin JRM Mars is a large, four-engined Cargo aircraft, cargo transport flying boat designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company, Martin Company for the United States Navy during World War II. It was the largest Allies of World War I ...
flying boat had a slightly longer wingspan, the Constitution remains the largest
fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generate ...
type ever operated by the U.S. Navy.


Design and development

The Lockheed Constitution began life in 1942 as a joint study by the U.S. Navy,
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
, and Lockheed. The design requirements, initially designated Lockheed Model 89, called for a large transport aircraft to improve upon the Navy's fleet of
flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...
s. Pan Am was involved in the study because such an aircraft had potential use as a commercial airliner. This transport would carry pounds of cargo at a cruising altitude of and a speed greater than . The aircraft would be fully pressurized and large enough so that most major components could be accessed and possibly repaired in flight. For instance, tunnels led through the thick wings to all four engines. The aircraft was designed by a team of engineers led by
Willis Hawkins Willis Moore Hawkins (December 1, 1913 – September 28, 2004) was an American aeronautical engineer for Lockheed for more than fifty years. He was hired in 1937, immediately after receiving his bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering ...
and W.A. Pulver of Lockheed and Commander E. L. Simpson, Jr. of the Navy. The name Constitution was given to the project by Lockheed president Robert E. Gross. The Constitution design had a "double bubble" fuselage, the cross section of which was a "figure eight". This unorthodox design, originally created in 1937 by
Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation (business), consoli ...
's chief aircraft designer George A. Page Jr. and first introduced with the
Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company p ...
, utilized the structural advantages of a cylinder for
cabin pressurization Cabin pressurization is a process in which conditioned air is pumped into the aircraft cabin, cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for humans flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this air i ...
, without the wasted space that would result from a single large cylinder of the same volume. The original contract from the
Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and rela ...
called for 50 Constitutions for a total price tag of $111,250,000. On
VJ Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on wh ...
, however, the contract was scaled back to $27,000,000 for only two aircraft.


Operational history


Ship No. 1

The first Constitution, BuNo 85163, was built in the summer of 1946 at the Lockheed plant in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
. Due to the aircraft's large size—the tail towered —Lockheed had to build a special hangar for final assembly. The hangar, Lockheed-California's Building 309, measured long, wide, and the equivalent of six stories tall. The footprint of the hangar covered . It cost $1,250,000. The R6O made its first flight on 9 November 1946, powered by interim 3,000 hp R-4360-18 radials.Wainwright 2009, p. 61 Joe Towle and
Tony LeVier Anthony W. LeVier (February 14, 1913 – February 6, 1998) was an American air racer and test pilot for the Lockheed Corporation from the 1940s to the 1970s. Early life Born Anthony Puck in Duluth, Minnesota, his father died while he was still ...
flew the aircraft on a leisurely course to
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. Once there, the aircraft underwent a carefully documented test program. At this time, electronic data recording technology was not well developed, so instrument readings were recorded by a movie camera pointed at the instrument panel. Additional movie cameras were carried to record test results. The first Constitution made a nonstop flight from
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, California to
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, Maryland on 25 July 1948, a distance of . The pilot for the flight was Commander William Collins, USN and the copilots were Lieutenant Commander James W. Robinson, USN and Roy Wimmer, Lockheed engineering test pilot. Four days later, the ship was formally christened by Mrs.
John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer. He is recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved ...
, wife of the
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, at
Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, from Washington, D.C. The closest airport to the nation's capital, it is one of two airports owned by the federal government and ope ...
.by daughter Marijane Robinson McBride who was at Lockheed the day actor Robert Montgomery gave the pilots a model of the USS Constitution sailing ship. The first test flights revealed that the aircraft was underpowered so the engines were changed for 3,500 hp (with water injection) R-4360-22-W engines. The R6O also tested assisted takeoffs with six rockets mounted on the wings near the fuselage. At full gross weight, the rockets shortened the takeoff run by 24%. Ship No. 1 was delivered to Navy Transport Squadron 44 (VR-44), based at
Naval Air Station Alameda Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station mostly in Alameda, California, with a slight portion of it within San Francisco proper, on San Francisco Bay. NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and ...
, on 2 February 1949. Both it and its sister ship flew the route between California and
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, approximately .


Ship No. 2

The second Constitution, BuNo 85164, first flew on 9 June 1948, reaching 25,000 feet during a two-hour flight. Unlike Ship No. 1, the upper deck was fully furnished as a luxury passenger transport, with accommodations for 92 passengers and 12 crew. Accommodations on the upper deck of the first Constitution were decidedly more spartan. On the rear of the forward bulkhead, in front of the spiral staircase leading to the lower deck, there was a permanent display case containing a scale model of the original sailing ship. The lower deck had of cargo space, and it was loaded by an electrical hoist. The lower deck could also be converted to seat an additional 76 passengers. The second Constitution, like its predecessor, also made a non-stop transcontinental flight. On 3 February 1949, the aircraft flew 74 members of the press from Moffett Field to
Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, from Washington, D.C. The closest airport to the nation's capital, it is one of two airports owned by the federal government and ope ...
. At the time, this was the largest number of people flown across the United States in a single flight. This flight inaugurated six months of regular service between Washington, D.C. and
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. In 1949, Ship No. 2 made a Navy recruiting tour of 19 cities. The side of the fuselage proudly advertised "Your Navy—Air And Sea." Some 546,000 toured the aircraft's interior.


Final disposition

The Constitution had operational difficulties which prevented it from meeting its original design objectives. The large airframe needed more power than the four
Pratt & Whitney R-4360 The Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major is an American 28-cylinder four-row radial piston aircraft engine designed and built during World War II. At , it is the largest-displacement aviation piston engine to be mass-produced in the United States, ...
s could deliver, and the engines had cooling problems. While this could be compensated for by flying with engine cowl flaps partially open, it increased drag and decreased range. The Navy operated the two Constitutions through the end of the 1940s and into the 1950s. By 1949 the Navy announced that it could no longer afford to operate them, and offered them to airlines on a five-year lease. There was no interest from airlines in using the Constitutions (the airline version was named the Model 189), so the Navy retired both aircraft in 1953. They went into storage at NAS Litchfield Park, Arizona in 1955. Both aircraft and 13 spare engines were sold for $97,785. Lockheed proposed the Model 389 and Model 489 airliners based on the Constitution, which would have accommodated up to 169 passengers. Neither of these "paper" projects received much interest from civil operators. The first Constitution was brought to
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, where it served as an enormous billboard for Alamo Airways, before being scrapped by
Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...
when he acquired the property.Wainwright 2009, p. 64. The second Constitution was flown to
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, Florida, where it was damaged by an internal fire, suspected by the authorities to be
arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...
, while the aircraft was being prepared for a ferry flight to
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. It remained stored at Opa-Locka in June 1970, but was eventually scrapped.Kirby 1990, pp. 90/7–90/8


Operators

; *
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
**VR-5 **VR-44


Specifications (R6V)


See also


Footnotes


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Boyne, Walter J. ''Beyond the Horizons: The Lockheed Story''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. . *Francillon, René J. ''Lockheed Aircraft since 1913''. London: Putnam, 1982. . *Francillon, René J. ''Lockheed Aircraft since 1913''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. . * Kirby, Fred. "Fact File: Part 1". ''Air-Britain Archive'', 1990, No. 1. pp. 90/7–90/8. . *"Lockheed Constitution Development Story." ''
Society of Automotive Engineers SAE International is a global professional association and standards organization based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, United States. Formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, the organization adopted its current name in 2006 to reflect bot ...
'', SAE Preprint #556, December 1950. *McLarren, Robert. "Design Analysis: Lockheed Constitution Transport." ''
Aviation Week ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network, a division of Informa. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aeros ...
'', 30 August 1948, pp. 20–27. *Wainwright, Marshall. "Burbank Behemoth." ''Air Classics'', Volume 45, No. 6, June 2009. *Yenne, Bill. ''Lockheed''. New York: Crescent Books, 1987. .


Further reading

*


External links


Article on the R6V Constitution from the Goleta Air and Space Museum websiteLockheed R6V Constitution article from General Aviation News
* {{USN transports R06V Constitution Lockheed RV6 Constitution Four-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Articles containing video clips Aircraft first flown in 1946 Four-engined piston aircraft Double-deck aircraft Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear