The Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, more commonly known as the Lockheed 14, was a civil passenger and cargo aircraft built by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation during the late 1930s. An outgrowth of the earlier Model 10 Electra, the Model 14 was also developed into larger, more capable civil and military versions. Neville Chamberlain flew in British Airways Lockheed 14s to Germany, and on the famous "Peace in our time" trip which resulted in the Munich Agreement, he delivered his speech beside G-AFGN.
Design and development [edit]
The design, developed by a team led by Don Palmer, was a scaled-up version of the original Model 10 Electra, with passenger seating increased from 10 to 14. It was intended to compete commercially with the contemporary Douglas DC-2 and the Boeing 247. The first Model 14 flew on July 29, 1937, piloted by Marshall Headle. Early 14's used the Pratt & Whitney Hornet engine; later the Wright Cyclone was offered as an option.
Lockheed built a total of 114 Model 14s; another 119 were built under license in Japan by the Tachikawa Aircraft Company under the designation Tachikawa Type LO "Thelma". Another 121 were built by Kawasaki Aircraft Company under the designation Kawasaki Type 1 cargo transporter. The type 1 cargo's fuselage was lengthened by 1.4m, enabling the fitting of larger cargo doors.[1]
Operational history [edit]
KLM operated two Lockheed 14s within Europe during 1938/39
The Model 14 entered commercial service with Northwest Airlines in October 1937. Aircraft were exported for use by Aer Lingus of Ireland, British Airways Ltd later merged into BOAC of Britain, KLM of the Netherlands, Union Airways and National Airways Corporation (NAC) of New Zealand. The Model 14 was the basis for development of the Lockheed Hudson maritime reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force, USAAF, United States Navy and many others during World War II.
Record-breaking flights [edit]
In May 1938, a team of aviators of the Polish airline LOT, made up of Waclaw Makowski, director of the LOT and first pilot, Zbigniew Wysiekierski, second pilot, Szymon Piskorz, mechanic and radionavigator, Alfons Rzeczewski, radio-navigator and Jerzy Krassowski, assistant, accomplished an experimental flight from the United States to Poland. This flight was carried out on board one of the aircraft bought by LOT and manufactured by Lockheed in California, a Lockheed Model 14H Super Electra (of which the Polish registration was SP-LMK. [2]). The crew took off from Burbank (Los Angeles) where these aircraft were manufactured,and after a tour of South America, flew the Atlantic from Brazil to West Africa en route to Warsaw. A poster celebrating the flight can be seen in a US Library of Congress/Matson Archive photo of the LOT/Imperial Airways Sales office in Jerusalem about 1939.[3]
The distance covered was of 15,441 mi (24,850 km). They flew via the Central American cities of Mazatlan, Mexico City, Guatemala, and Panama, then via the South American cities of Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Rio de Janeiro and Natal in Brazil. They flew across the South Atlantic to Dakar, Senegal, in Africa and then to Casablanca, Tunis, and then on to Rome, Italy. The final leg of the flight brought them to Warszaw, Poland. The flying time was 85 hours between May 13 and June 5. The overflight of the Atlantic - from Natal to Dakar - lasted 11 hours and 10 minutes (1,908 mi/3,070 km). This feat by Polish aviators really marked the history of air communication on a world level.(Prior to this flight airliners were delivered across the Atlantic as deck cargo on ships [4]).
Howard Hughes flew a Super Electra (NX18973) on a global circumnavigation flight. With four crewmates (Harry Connor, copilot and navigator; Tom Thurlow, navigator; Richard Stoddart, radio operator; and Ed Lund, flight engineer), the plane took off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York on July 10, 1938. The flight, which circled the narrower northern latitudes, passed through Paris, Moscow, Omsk, Yakutsk, Fairbanks, Alaska and Minneapolis before returning to New York on July 14. The total distance flown was 14,672 mi (23,612 km).
Operators [edit]
British Airways G-AFGN featured peripherally in one of the most significant events of its time, the 1938 signing of the
Munich Agreement
Civilian [edit]
Australia
Belgium
- SABENA (in Africa)
- John Mahieu Aviation (postwar)
Brazil
Canada
Dutch East Indies
- KNILM (Royal Netherlands Indian Airways)
France
Honduras
Ireland
Japan
- Netherlands
- KLM (mostly for KLM's West Indian Section in the Caribbean)
Poland
Portugal
Romania
- LARES (Liniile Aeriene Române Exploatate cu Statul)
Trinidad and Tobago
United Kingdom
- British Airways Ltd. (not to be confused with the modern airline of the same name)
- BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation), which British Airways Ltd. was merged into.
United States
Venezuela
Military [edit]
Canada
- Japan
South Africa
- United States
Accidents and incidents [edit]
- On January 10, 1938, Northwest Airlines Flight 2, an L14H, crashed near Bozeman, Montana, due to structural failure caused by a design defect, killing all ten passengers and crew on board.
- On July 8, 1938, Northwest Airlines Flight 4, an L14H, registration NC17383, stalled and crashed on takeoff from Billings Municipal Airport, killing one of ten on board.[5]
- On July 22, 1938, a LOT Polish Airlines L14H, registration SP-BNG, crashed near Stulpicani, Romania, killing all 14 on board; the cause was unknown, but the aircraft may have been struck by lightning.[6]
- On November 18, 1938, a Trans-Canada Air Lines L14H2, registration CF-TCL, crashed shortly after takeoff from Regina Airport, killing both pilots.[7]
- On November 22, 1938, a British Airways Ltd. L14-WF62, registration G-AFGO, crashed at Walton Bay, Somerset while on a test flight, killing both pilots Commander E. G. Robinson and Commander Robert P. J. Leborgne.[8]
- On December 9, 1938, a KLM L14-WF62, registration PH-APE and named "Ekster", crashed on takeoff from Schiphol Municipal Airport due to engine failure while on a training flight, killing all four on board.[9]
- On January 13, 1939, Northwest Airlines Flight 1, an L14H2, crashed at Miles City Municipal Airport after an in-flight fire caused by a fuel leak, killing all four passengers and crew on board.
- On December 21, 1939, a BOAC L14-WF62, registration G-AFYU, ditched in the Mediterranean between Malta and Sicilia, killing five of 11 on board.[10]
- On January 22, 1940, a KNILM L14-WF62, registration PK-AFO, crashed off Ngurah Rai Bali International Airport after losing altitude on takeoff, killing eight of nine on board.[11]
- On April 22, 1940, a BOAC L14-WF62, registration G-AFKD and named "Loch Invar", crashed near Loch Lomond, Scotland while being ferried from Perth International Airport to Heston Airport, killing all three crew on board.[12]
- On February 6, 1941, a Trans-Canada Air Lines L14H2, registration CF-TCP, crashed into trees while on approach to Armstrong Airport, killing all 12 passengers and crew on board.[13]
- On December 20, 1942, a Canadian Pacific Air Lines L14H2, registration CF-TPD, crashed into Mount William Knight, killing all 13 passengersand crew on board; the wreckage was found in August 1943.[14]
- On January 13, 1943, an Air France L14H2, registration F-ARRF, crashed at Aguelhok, Mali due to engine failure, killing all three crew on board.[15]
- On October 29, 1948, an R.A Brand & Co. Ltd. L14-08, registration G-AKPD, crashed off Elba, killing all four passengers and crew on board; the wreckage was found in March 1954 during the search for BOAC Flight 781.[16]
- On July 14, 1951, an Airtaco L14H, registration SE-BTN, crashed on takeoff from Stockholm due to double engine failure caused by fuel starvation, killing four of six on board.[17]
Specifications (Model 14-WF62 Super Electra) [edit]
General characteristics
Performance
See also [edit]
- Related development
- Related lists
References [edit]
Bibliography [edit]
- Francillon, René J. Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-835-6.
External links [edit]
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