Corgi Aviation Archive Series Diecast Model

Lockheed EC-121R "Batcat" Super Constellation – 553rd Reconnaissance Wing, USAF, Korat RTAFB, Thailand (Vietnam War era)

1:144 Scale.  Length: 9.7".  Wingspan: 10.5"


Limited Edition of 1700 Models Worldwide

The US Air Force converted 30 ex-Navy EC-121Ks and EC-121Ps into EC-121Rs. The radomes and the AEW equipment were removed and they were used as airborne relay stations to detect and transmit signals from seismic devices dropped behind enemy lines. Based at Korat RTAFB in Thailand, the EC-121R's were nicknamed "Batcat". Two of these aircraft were lost during the Vietnam War, with the loss of 22 crewmen.

EC-121R Batcats were camouflaged in the standard three-color Southeast Asia scheme. Their missions were 18 hours long, with eight hours on station at one of eleven orbits, three of which were over South Vietnam, six over Laos, one over Cambodia, and one over the Gulf of Tonkin.

The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star, a military version of the Super Constellation airliner, was a U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy airborne early warning radar surveillance aircraft. The USAF used the EC-121 during the Vietnam War as electronic sensor monitors and to detect enemy aircraft activity as well as other operations. Introduced in 1954 the EC-121 was retired in 1978, although a single specially modified NC-121K remained in use with the U.S. Navy until its retirement in June 1982. The EC-121 was replaced by the Boeing E-3 Sentry (a modified Boeing 707), which entered service with the USAF starting in 1977.


The Corgi Aviation Archive features a wide selection of high quality, ready-made, diecast model airplanes. Each model is crafted with meticulous attention to detail, using specifications of the original aircraft. Corgi models are built with diecast metal and some plastic components.

This model of a EC-121R Super Constellation by Corgi features: