Lockheed L-14 Super Electra
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| L-14 Super Electra | |
|---|---|
 Trans Canada Airlines Lockheed 14H2 c. 1938 |
|
| Type | Civil cargo and passenger transport |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Corporation |
| Designed by | Don Palmer |
| Maiden flight | 29 July 1937 |
| Introduced | October 1937 |
| Number built | 233 |
The Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra was a civil cargo and passenger aircraft built by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation during the late 1930s.
Contents |
[edit] Design and development
The design was a scaled-up version of the original Electra; the design team was lead by Don Palmer. The first Model 14 flew on July 29, 1937, piloted by Marshall Headle. 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".
[edit] Operational history
The Model 14 entered commercial service with Northwest Airlines in October 1937. Aircraft were exported for use by Aer Lingus of Ireland, BOAC of Britain, 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 the Second World War.
[edit] Record-breaking flights
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 planes bought by LOT and manufactured by Lockheed in California, Lockheed L-14H Super Electra (of which the Polish registration was SP-LMK [1]). The crew took off from Burbank (Los Angeles) where these planes were manufactured, towards Warsaw.
The distance covered was of 24,850 km. They flew over the states of Central America (Mazatlan, Mexico City, Guatemala, Panama), of South America (Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Rio, Natal), the South Atlantic, Africa (Dakar, Casabianca, Tunis), Italy (Roma). The flight lasted 85 hours between May 13 and June 5. The overflight of the Atlantic - from Natal in Brazil to Dakar in Africa - lasted 11 hours and 10 minutes (3,070 km). This exploit of Polish aviators really marked the history of the air communication on a world level. [2]
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).
[edit] Operators
[edit] Civilian
- Aer Lingus
- BOAC
- Continental Airlines
- National Airways Corporation
- Northwest Airlines
- Santa Maria Airlines
- Trans Canada Airlines
- Union Airways
- LOT Polish Airlines (10 in 1938-1940)
- KNILM
[edit] Military
Canada : Royal Canadian Air Force
Japan
South Africa : South African Air Force
United States : US Army Air Force, US Navy
[edit] Specifications (Model 14-WF62 Super Electra)
General characteristics
- Crew: two, pilot and co-pilot
- Capacity: 12 passengers
- Length: 44 ft 4 in (13.52 m)
- Wingspan: 65 ft 6 in (19.97 m)
- Height: 11 ft 5 in (3.48 m)
- Wing area: 551 ft² (51.2 m²)
- Empty weight: 10,750 lb (4,886 kg)
- Loaded weight: 15,650 lb (7,114 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 17,500 lb (7,955 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Wright SGR-1820-F62 radial engines, 760 hp (567 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 250 mph (402 km/h)
- Range: 2,125 mi (3,420 km)
- Service ceiling 24,500 ft (7,649 m)
- Wing loading: 28 lb/ft² (139 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.10 hp/lb (0.16 kW/kg)
[edit] Accidents and incidents
[edit] See also
Related development
Related lists
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)
- List of Lockheed aircraft
[edit] References
- Francillon, René J. Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-835-6.
[edit] External links
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