Lockheed L1649A Starliner - Lufthansa

L1649 
The Lockheed L-1649 Starliner was the last model of the Lockheed Constellation line. Powered by four Wright R-3350 TurboCompound engines, it was built at Lockheed's Burbank, California plant from 1956 to 1958

Development of the Starliner began when Lockheed designed the L-1449 in response to the Douglas DC-7C Seven Seas. Powered by four 5500 hp Pratt & Whitney PT2G-3 turboprop engines, the L-1449 would have cruised faster than the DC-7C but would have had comparable range with the large fuel capacity in a new 150 ft (46 m) wing. Pratt & Whitney dropped the PT2 project circa March 1955 due to expected unreliability, high specific fuel consumption and high operating costs,[citation needed] though the T34 military version of the engine powered the Douglas C-133 freighter.
The Air-Britain book says the L-1449 would have been 55 inches longer than the L-1049 series with a maximum weight of 175,000 lb;[1] The L-1549 replaced the 1449 in early 1955 with an additional 40-inch stretch and a takeoff weight of 187,500 lb, presumably still with the big PT2 turboprops.
But Rummel's book[2] says Lockheed told TWA on 30 Sept 1954 the L-1449 would use the same fuselage as the 1049 series; Hughes Tool Co ordered 25 of them in December, though TWA estimated the L-1449 would lose money for them even with every seat occupied. When P&W dropped their engine Lockheed proposed an L-1549 with Allison turboprops, but TWA and Lockheed agreed on the piston-engine L-1649 instead and so amended the L-1449 contract. In April 1955 Lockheed told TWA they wanted to drop the 1649, but Hughes refused to agree.
Though the L-1449 and L-1549 were never built, all Constellations from 1954 onward were strengthened to take the thrust generated by the T34/PT-2 turboprops, which were fitted to several R7V-2 Constellations for the United States Navy (USN).
With the abandonment of the L-1549, Lockheed designed a less ambitious upgrade of the Constellation series as the L-1649A Starliner. The new design used the L-1049G fuselage, the new 150 ft (46 m) wing and four Wright R-3350 988 TC18-EA-2 TurboCompound radial engines, allowing the Starliner to fly non-stop over the North Pole from the United States to Europe.
"Lockheeds claim that their new airliner, powered by four 3,400 h.p. Wright Turbo-Compounds, will be capable of carrying 58 passengers for 6500 miles at a cruising speed of over 350 m.p.h. and that it will fly from Paris to New York in nearly three hours less time than the DC-7C when carrying the same payload as its Douglas competitor."[3] In January 1958 Pan American scheduled the DC-7C Orly to Idlewild in 14 hr 15 min; TWA scheduled the 1649 in 14 hr 50 min.