Lockheed EC-121D Constellation
The
EC-121, originally designated as the RC-121, is a radar-picket modification
of a USAF C-121 passenger airplane which evolved from the Lockheed
"Constellation" commercial transport. The massive radomes above and
below the fuselage carry six tons of electronic gear. These aircraft
entered service with the Air Defense Command in 1953, flying patrols off the
U.S. coasts as an aerial extension of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line.
The Air Force ordered 82 EC-121s between 1951 and 1955, 72 of which were
-Ds.
In Southeast Asia, these unarmed radar aircraft aided in downing enemy
planes, directed U.S. aircraft to their aerial refueling tankers and guided
rescue planes to downed pilots.
The aircraft pictured here was nicknamed "Triple Nickel" because of its
serial number (53-555). On Oct. 24, 1967 over the Gulf of Tonkin, it
guided a U.S. fighter by radar into position to destroy a Mig-21. This
was the first time a weapons controller aboard an airborne radar aircraft
had ever directed a successful attack on an enemy plane. "Triple
Nickel" was retired to the Museum in 1971.
(NMUSAF)
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