Image: The EC-121 "Warning Star" on display at the Aerospace Museum of California
Description: The California-based Lockheed Aircraft Corporation built the EC-121 “Warning Star” for the United States Air Force in the early 1950s. The Warning Star is a version of the Lockheed L-1049 “Super Constellation”, a commercial passenger airliner. It began operation in 1953 prior to the Vietnam War. The Warning Star flew out of McClellan Air Force Base to patrol the west coast of the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s. The Warning Star needed large crews to operate its specialized radar equipment. Sixteen to twenty-two men flew in teams to pilot the plane and operate the on-board radar systems. Both large domes on the bottom and top of the EC-121 are early radar systems that helped the Warning Star “see” any aircraft within hundreds of miles. This Warning Star supported Distant Early Warning Lines (DEW Lines); an invisible fence of radar along the nation’s borders. It alerted fighter pilots in the area if any unidentified aircraft attempted to approach the U.S. The U.S. Navy operated the Warning Star, but its paint represents aircraft based out of McClellan Air Force Base.
Title: The EC-121 "Warning Star" on display at the Aerospace Museum of California
Credit: Own work
Author: LEHarrison
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes
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