The Lockheed L-049 Constellation was born from a conversation between Howard Hughes and Lockheed's Kelly Johnson in 1939. Hughes wanted a transcontinental airliner that could carry 40 passengers at 300 mph. Johnson delivered an aircraft with a triple-tail, dolphin-shaped fuselage, and four 2,200-horsepower Wright R-3350 radial engines. The prototype first flew in January 1943, but the military took priority and the Constellation became the C-69 transport. After the war, TWA introduced the Constellation on commercial routes in 1945. The L-1049 Super Constellation stretched the fuselage and added more power. The Constellation set numerous records, including the first nonstop transcontinental flight by a commercial aircraft and the first round-the-world flight by a commercial airliner. But the R-3350 engines were unreliable and prone to fires. The Constellation was retired from U.S. airlines by 1967, though it soldiered on in cargo and charter roles into the 1990s. The surviving examples are among the most prized aircraft in the warbird community.