The Lockheed Constellation (Connie) incorporates a distinctive and elegant design,  featuring a porpoise-shaped fuselage and triple tail fins.  On April 16, 1944, Lockheed delivered the first L-049 Connie to TWA.  The aircraft was flown 2,400 miles from California to Washington D.C., breaking all speed records to the East Coast. In Washington, the plane was immediately turned over to the military for use in WWII, designated the C-69. 

After WWII, Lockheed converted Constellation production back to the civilian L-049.  In 1951, the next generation Connie, the L-1049 Super Constellation, was introduced with a new engine and a stretched fuselage. It flew farther, faster and higher than its predecessor and its interior boasted unprecedented luxury. The Super G Constellation came out in 1955 and featured weather radar and optional wing-tip fuel tanks and two years later the final generation of Constellation emerged. The L-1649A Starliner had a new wing that enabled the plane to fly non-stop from California to Europe across the North Pole. The Starliner, along with its competition the Douglas DC-7C, were the pinnacle of the piston-engine plane.

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