EC-121D Constellation Operations in Vietnam

The EC-121 Constellation's roots date back to WWII where they were responsible for transporting dignitaries, equipment and personnel. However, during the early sixties the USAF began to equip the EC-121D with radios, electronic data collection equipment, and airborne radar technology. The equipment added to the aircraft eventually created the predecessor to the E-3 Sentry, the EC-121 Constellation, also known as the "Connie." This paper will focus on the Connie's operations, primarily during the Big Eye Task Force in Southeast Asia from 4 April 1965 to 30 June 1968. In 1966, the task force officially changed designations by direction of Air Defense Command (ADC) to the "College Eye Task Force." The College Eye Task Force provided command and control (C2) to more than 20,000 aircraft involved in combat operations over North Vietnam, and issued over 3,297 Mikojan and Gurevich (MiG) and Chinese border warnings to assist fighter and bomber aircraft. In addition, the Connie played a key role in the successful rescue of 80-downed aircrew1. Furthermore, it is important to highlight EC-121D capabilities plus missions including 25 MiG shoot downs the Connie assisted in and the associated task force. This research covers Connie capabilities, flying conditions, deployments, mission development, significant contributions, noteworthy missions, finally, compare EC-121D and E-3 Sentry crews operations in Operation DESERT STORM (ODS) to Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF).