Which Constellation was part of the Blue Angels?

The Blue Angels, the US Navy's aerobatic demonstration team, need more than their fighters to perform: ground crew, spare parts, and equipment have to travel from one show to the next. For years, one of those tasks fell to a Lockheed C-121J Constellation. The Navy converted four C-121J into VIP transports, and one of them operated with the Blue Angels until a Lockheed C-130 Hercules replaced it in 1971, the aircraft that has filled that role ever since.

The C-121 family comprises the military versions of the Constellation, used by the Air Force and Navy for cargo, passenger, and VIP transport, as well as the radar surveillance variants. Among them, the Air Force's C-121C closely resembled the Navy's R7V-1 and was distinguished by its square cabin windows instead of round ones. The C-121C later passed to the Air National Guard and were retired in 1973. Other C-121J met less glamorous fates, such as aircraft number 131644, which made a forced landing near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, in 1970, giving its name to Pegasus Field.

The Constellation's replacement by the Hercules in 1971 sums up the change that military transport aviation underwent in those years: the elegant four-engine piston aircraft, born as a luxury airliner, gave way to a turboprop designed from the outset as a tactical freighter, with a rear ramp and the ability to operate from short runways. Even so, during its stint with the Blue Angels the C-121J accompanied the team to air shows across the country.