MacArthur’s Lockheed Constellation Starts Up and Takes Off!

Successful Test Flight

This sleek-looking Constellation garnered a lot of attention on its third test flight.

Taken at Chino Airport in California, the Connie, also known as ‘Bataan’, can be seen starting up and taking off before performing several fly-bys over the airport.

This aircraft was General Douglas MacArthur’s personal Constellation during the Korean War. MacArthur flew many notable missions aboard the plane, which included 17 missions over the Korean peninsula.

When the war ended, ‘Bataan’ was assigned to NASA for the Apollo space program, refitted with sophisticated computers, equipment, and communications gear for air and ground-based tracking.

After the program’s cancellation in 1970, Bataan was put on display for more than 20 years before the Planes of Fame Air Museum acquired her.

Fortunately for us, the Museum has been planning on restoring the Bataan to airworthy condition. You can see their progress in the video below!