I'm not particularly fond of "crowd killers" (airliners), but there are a few that stand out as a thing of beauty. The Lockheed L-049 Constellation is one of those aircraft that was just a looker. It was designed by Kelly Johnson and Hall Hibbard. It's top speed was 340 MPH! Considering the time frame that it was built in, the size of the aircraft and it was a propliner, that is a rocket.
Something I didn't know until recently is that the C-69 cargo version of this aircraft actually did some military service during WWII, with 22 being used before the war ended. There was also a bomber version proposed (XB-30) but it was never built. Post-war designations were C-121 (cargo), EC-121 (electronic combat), WV-1 and WV-2 (Navy EC-121). Multiple airliner versions were also made after the war.
The second production Constellation set a record on April 17, 1944, flying from Burbank, CA to Washington DC in 6 hours and 57 minutes at an average speed of 330.9 MPH. The aircraft was flown by Howard Hughes and Jack Frye (TWA president at the time). On the flight back, they stopped at Wright field in Ohio and gave Orville Wright the last flight of his life. He commented that the wingspan on the airplane was longer than his first flight.
The advent of jet airliners forced the replacement of the Constellation. It's last passenger flight was in May of 1967, but many were used in freight service for several more years.