Summary The Lockheed Constellation was the first airliner family with a pressurized cabin and entered service during WWII. The development of the Super Constellation led to longer range, higher capacity, and more powerful piston-engined aircraft. Various models were produced, including the C-121C Super Constellation, used for transport and early AWACS, with 55% going to the Navy and Air Force.
The Lockheed Constellation (aka "Connie") is regarded as the first civil airliner family of aircraft to enter widespread use equipped with a pressurized cabin. It found extensive use in both military and civilian use during and after World War II (as the Super Constellation). The Constellation is sometimes regarded as an aircraft that changed the world .
Previous aircraft like Pan Am's Boeing Clipper 314s were unpressurized , while the old Zeppelins were infamously frightfully cold with passengers having to warm up (even though they were luxurious). Background of the Constellation Constellation's origin traces to 1937 (with the L-044 Excalibur) before World War II. On the eve of World War II in 1939, Trans World Airlines (TWA) requested a 40-passenger airliner that could fly nonstop (3,500 miles) across the US with a 6,000 lbs payload capability (something Excalibur couldn't do).
This led to Kelly Johnson and his team developing the Constellation (Johnson also worked on designing the P-80 Shooting Star and the U-2 spy plane). At its introduction, the Constellation (and its derivative, t.