The Lockheed VC-121E “Columbine III” (Image Source: USAF Museum)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Robert Yowell, who writes:
I was visiting the US Air Force Museum [Friday] and walked through “Columbine III” which was the Lockheed Constellation used as Air Force One by President Eisenhower from 1954 until he left office. In the back of the cabin was a nice cozy area where this Hallicrafters receiver was installed – ostensibly for the passengers to listen to news or other events while in flight.
I am sure one of your readers will be able to identify which model it is.
Can you imagine flying in this gorgeous Lockheed VC-121E four prop aircraft and listening to HF radio from a built-in Hallicrafters set? Wow…
Thank you, Robert, for sharing these photos. The National Museum of the US Air Force is one of my favorite museums in the world. I bet I’ve visited it more than a dozen times over the past decade–always a treat and always something new to discover!
Post readers: Can you identify this Hallicrafters model? Please comment!
SX-62A, I rebuilt one and still use it today. (Thanks Les). President Kennedy had one also. The SX-62 family have 8 watts ( 2X 6V6GT) of real, honest-to-goodness class B audio. One of the best sounding radios I’ve listened to in my 50 years of the hobby. Gerry Dexter has one also.
SX 62A
More:
https://www.qsl.net/la5ki/sx.htm
Scroll down to SX-62.
The Connie was the military version of the Constellation.
The engines were “turbo-compound” piston types only used
on these aircraft,the DC-7 and the PV-2 Neptune .
They used part of the exhaust to turn the props and were a
mechanical nightmare for mechanics who hated them.a
The blunt nose was modified to take a weather search radar
which was used on the final version of the airliner.
SX-62