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Lockheed Constellation
The Lockheed Constellation
128 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1973
2 people want to read
About the author
M.J. Hardy
10 books7 followersLibrarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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May 29, 2025
Now that I have finished this book, it is not surprising to me that it has faded into relative obscurity. I got my hands on it as part of some personal research into the early decades of commercial aviation. I had hoped that this would be a comprehensive exploration of the Lockheed Constellation, and it is, but not in the way I wanted or expected.
The bulk of the book is essentially a prose list of every Constellation variant ever produced. Nearly every purchase any airline ever made of this aircraft is described. That’s 90% of the book - documentation of Constellation orders. It is comprehensive, but it’s not what I was hoping this book would be.
I was looking for a more detailed account of the development of the aircraft, in hopes of expanding upon what I have already read by Kelly Johnson on the matter. This is only briefly touched upon in this book. Aside from a couple of broader details Johnson did not mention, I really didn’t learn anything new. And while the book is painstaking in its seeming attempt to document every Constellation ever made, who purchased it, and what it did, it doesn’t make for an enjoyable reading experience. A lot of the technical changes between variants are described in detail, which was exhausting to try and visualize. For such a picture-heavy book, I would have expected more diagrams.
And speaking of pictures, that is the book’s redeeming quality. If you want pictures of Constellations, I doubt any single publication has more. Dozens of variants and liveries are on display, some on every page, as well as accessory pictures of some of the people involved and a few illustrations/diagrams. I would have liked more diagrams, but there is no shortage of photos. The technical specs of each variant are also well-documented, just not always easily accessible, as it’s mostly described in prose rather than listed.
In short, it’s a fine picture book, but focuses way more on the manufacturing/purchasing history of this aircraft than it does on development or the people involved.
The bulk of the book is essentially a prose list of every Constellation variant ever produced. Nearly every purchase any airline ever made of this aircraft is described. That’s 90% of the book - documentation of Constellation orders. It is comprehensive, but it’s not what I was hoping this book would be.
I was looking for a more detailed account of the development of the aircraft, in hopes of expanding upon what I have already read by Kelly Johnson on the matter. This is only briefly touched upon in this book. Aside from a couple of broader details Johnson did not mention, I really didn’t learn anything new. And while the book is painstaking in its seeming attempt to document every Constellation ever made, who purchased it, and what it did, it doesn’t make for an enjoyable reading experience. A lot of the technical changes between variants are described in detail, which was exhausting to try and visualize. For such a picture-heavy book, I would have expected more diagrams.
And speaking of pictures, that is the book’s redeeming quality. If you want pictures of Constellations, I doubt any single publication has more. Dozens of variants and liveries are on display, some on every page, as well as accessory pictures of some of the people involved and a few illustrations/diagrams. I would have liked more diagrams, but there is no shortage of photos. The technical specs of each variant are also well-documented, just not always easily accessible, as it’s mostly described in prose rather than listed.
In short, it’s a fine picture book, but focuses way more on the manufacturing/purchasing history of this aircraft than it does on development or the people involved.
Displaying 1 of 1 review