Lockheed R6V Constitution

DEDICATED TO FRANK POWERS

LOCKHEED R60/R6V CONSTITUTION

The Lockheed Constitution book is the result of Frank Powers letter writing and gathering efforts of some 15-years and my longstanding desire to include it in my Naval Fighter series. About Frank Powers: In June 1949, my father took me to an air show at Logan Airport in Boston. As we approached, one giant airplane glistened above all others and attracted me like a magnet. From inside this plane, I could see Boston Harbor. The Lockheed R60-1 Constitution made a long lasting impression on me. I became the Maine Wing Information Officer for the Civil Air Patrol and in 1990, I began writing letters to find this plane that had thrilled me in my youth. The Air Force bone yard in Arizona directed me to the Naval Aviation Museum and a long correspondence began with them and the Naval Academy which had used the plane for cadet cruises. Clippings on the 1949 air show in the Boston Globe and at the Maine state Library in Augusta provided helpful information.

Above, Lockheed family photo with two Constellations, a Lodestar, two Electras and the second Constitution. (SDAM) Below, public relations photo of the three wheel Davis car with XR60-1 in 1947. (via Lloyd Jones)

Over time, without leaving Augusta, I started to compile information on the plane and the men related to it. BuPer in Washington, DC, provided me with contact information for crewmembers. I began corresponding with those men to gain their insights and memories, including documents and photos. Eventually, with the help of the National Park Service and the USS Constitution, I organized the 1999 reunion of these men to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston air show. Meeting these men from all over the country inspired me to greater search for the story of this giant aircraft.

INTRODUCTION

This research got to the point I thought it could make a book, but I am not a writer. A friend, Harvey Versteeg, had me contact Jerry Pahl at the Air Zoo who had published some of his Smokejumper, Ford Trimotor stories. Jerry suggested I contact Steve Ginter and the rest is history.

© 2009 by Steve Ginter

ISBN 0-942612-83-3 Steve Ginter, 1754 Warfield Cir., Simi Valley, California, 93063 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher.

CONTRIBUTORS Scott Bloom, CDR Byron Brown, Elaine Euscher, Lloyd Jones, William T. Larkins, John Marrs, Steve McDonald, Wayne Morris, Fred Roos, San Diego Aerospace

Museum, Guy Shaffer, Paul Sperry, Don Sperring Aircraft in Review, William Swisher, Doug Siegfried Tailhook Association, William Stubjaker, Norm Taylor, Burt Whited, and Nick Williams.

Lockheed specification 2957, dated 20 November 1942. These initial requirements called for a 5,000 mile range with a 17,500 pound payload at speeds in excess of 250 mph and altitudes above 25,000 feet. This specification evolved nearly a year later into Lockheed specification 4418 and the Navy contract was issued on 1 November 1943.

Although a military airplane, the Lockheed Constitution began life through the urgings of Pan Am Airways executives. Before the war, Pan Am was the world's largest over ocean operator using large flying boats like the Sikorsky S-42, Martin M-130 and Boeing 314. But they would need high capacity landplanes to expand their routes in the continental United States. In 1936, they became one of five sponsors of the Douglas DC-4. Later in the year they switched to backing the Boeing 307 with its pressurized cabin. Once the war started the airline's aircraft and crews were pressed into service to transport troops and equipment. In this capacity they solicited the Navy to build a true heavy lifter transport. This 1942 concept evolved into the Lockheed Model 49 Constitution. The final agreement between Pan Am and Lockheed was finalized under

They also were instrumental in starting the USAAC projects for the Boeing C-97, Douglas C-74, and later that year the Convair XC-99. Pan American engineers headed by Andre Priester worked alongside Lockheed engineers led by Willis Hawkins and project engineer W. A. "Dick" Pulver in the design of the aircraft. The Navy was represented by CDR E. L. Simpson Jr., while more than 28 basic design proposals were studied before they settled on the aircraft's 189 by 156 foot planform. The aircraft was of a conventional 4. ..

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Above, XR60-1 BuNo 85163 on a test flight over the Channel Islands, CA, prior to delivery to the Navy. (Lockheed)

engine mid-wing configuration with a figure eight style fuselage consisting of an upper and lower cabin. This pressurized, double-deck cabin was originally proposed to carry 204 military passengers in maximum density configuration and 168 military passengers in its normal configuration. In the post-war civil configuration, Pan Am proposed 51 seated passengers combined with 58 passengers in sleeper berths. Cargo doors were installed fore and, aft of the wing and were large enough to accomodate equipment such as jeeps and large engine assemblies. For maintenance during flight, the wings were deep enough for in-flight engine repairs. Hydraulic and electrical "control cen-

ters" as well as a well-equipped workshop were located in the center-section opposite the wing.

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ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION THREE-VIEW

One of the Lockheed's design criteria was to build an airplane with sufficient wing area and capacity to handle higher performance powerplants, including turboprops.

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The big Lockheed was not a priority project and it required a new sixstory hangar for production, thus it was not completed until some 15 months after the war ended. The 92 ton behemoth was powered by four 3,000 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major 28-cylinder radials turning four-blade propellers and required a specialized landing gear to carry its weight. The main gear was designed with two main struts in tandem on each side with two wheels per strut. The eight main wheels were also spun prior to landing by electric motors to reduce stress on landing. The single strut steerable nose gear was fitted with two wheels.

airfoils offered the promise of major performance improvements. A concentrated theoretical study was started into adapting the laminar flow sections to a wing which required high lift and unquestionably good stall characteristics. Lockheed utilized a Constellation and a P-38 as a pattern in both spanwise lift distribution calculations and in comparisons with tuft studies in the wind tunnel. After a complete wing study, inclUding weight, drag, and volume comparisons, the wing was finalized. The resulting wing had a root section of 20% thickness and a similar tip section of 12% with an aspect ratio of 10.

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The original BuAer contract called for 50 aircraft at a price of $111,250,000. However, the contract was amended to two aircraft and $27,000,000 on VJ Day. Wing development revolved around the new laminar flow airfoils being introduced by NACA. These

Below, public rollout of the XR60-1 BuNo 85163 at Lockheed Burbank on 21 August 1946 with a Lockheed Electra for comparison. (Naval History Center)

Control and stability studies resulted in two revised vertical tail designs. The final version had a very high aspect ratio. This led to a design with complete dependence on boo~ controls, permitting very small chord control surfaces with sealed hinges for maximum control effectiveness. An early powerplant option had called for a steam-driven engine supercharger, which was eventually scrapped in favor of an exhaust-driven centrifuge type supercharger. It was felt that the steam driven unit would have produced higher performance, but development time and expense precluded its use. The turbosupercharger finally used was also a new concept in

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At left and above, pUblic rollout of the XR60-1 BuNo 85163 at Lockheed Burbank on 21 August 1946. (NMNAISDAM) Below left, with a Lockheed Electra for comparison. (NMNA) Above, note horizontal tail walkway markings. (SDAM) Below, the Constitution with eleven TWA Constellations in the background. (SDAM)

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