Minicraft RC-121C/D USAF 1/144 Scale with 2 Marking Options

The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star was a United States Navy and United States Air Force airborne early warning radar surveillance aircraft. A military version of the Lockheed Constellation, it was designed to serve as an airborne early warning system to supplement the Distant Early Warning Line, using two large radomes, a vertical dome above and a horizontal one below the fuselage. EC-121s were also used for intelligence gathering (SIGINT).It was introduced in 1954 and retired from service in 1978, although a single specially modified EW aircraft remained in service with the U.S. Navy until 1982. The U.S. Navy versions when initially procured were designated WV-1 (PO-1W), WV-2, and WV-3. Warning Stars of the U.S. Air Force served during the Vietnam War as both electronic sensor monitors and as a forerunner to the Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS. U.S. Air Force aircrews adopted the civil nickname, "Connie" (diminutive of Constellation) as reference, while naval aircrews used the term "Willie Victor" based on a slang version of the phonetic alphabet and the naval version of the aircraft's pre-1962 designation of WV-1, WV-2 or W V-3. The RC-121 was developed to provide airborne early warning radar for areas beyond the range of ground based radar installations. The United States Navy and Air Force operated the Warning Star/ EC121 (also RC-121) from 1952 to 1978 providing airborne radar for surveillance, intelligence gathering and command and control functions. The EC-121 was the predecessor to the now well-known AWACS E-3 Sentry.