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.
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 R-1690 Hornet engine; later the Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 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 Transport AircraftThelma. 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 1.4 m (4.6 ft), enabling the fitting of larger cargo doors.
In Japan during the late 1930s and early 1940s, in common with most large economies of the time, research was being conducted into pressurised cabins for high-altitude flight. In similar fashion to the Lockheed XC-35, in the United States, Tachikawa incorporated a pressurised cabin into new forward and centre fuselage sections for one of the locally built Lockheed Type LO Transport Aircraft. The resulting research aircraft was given the long designation Tachikawa-Lockheed Type-B high altitude research aircraft and the company designation Tachikawa SS-1. The first conversion was completed in May 1943, re-engined with 2x 810 kW (1,080 hp) Mitsubishi Ha-102 14-cylinder radial engines. The two conversions carried out a brief flight testing programme.
In 1938, British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, after signing the Munich Agreement, returned to London Heston Airport on board a British Airways Lockheed 14, and was famously photographed beside the aircraft (registration G-AFGN) showing to the crowd the signed document, which he would later that day describe as bringing "peace for our time".
Record-breaking flights
In May 1938, a team of aviators of the Polish airline LOT, made up of Waclaw Makowski, director of 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, manufactured by Lockheed in California, a Lockheed Model 14H Super Electra (of which the Polish registration was SP-LMK.). 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.
The distance covered was of 15,441 mi (24,850 km; 13,418 nmi). They flew via the 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 Warsaw, Poland. The flying time was 85 hours between 13 May and 5 June. 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 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 ).
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 Lockheed 14 took off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York on July 10, 1938 at 5:20 PM. 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 at 1:37 PM. The total distance flown was 14,672 mi (23,612 km) and total time was 3 days, 19 hours, 17 minutes.
Variants
Data from:Lockheed Aircraft since 1913
Model 14
The basic airliner version of the Super Electra, variants with cabin arrangement changes, engine types etc. denoted by an alpha-numeric suffix.
Model 14H
20 aircraft powered by 2x 875 hp (652 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1690-S1E-G Hornet engines
Model 14H-2
32 aircraft powered by 2x 875 hp (652 kW) R-1690-S1E2-G engines, 12 of which were re-engined with 1,200 hp (890 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S1C3-G Twin Wasp engines to become 14-08s.
Model C-14H-1
A single 14-H (c/n 1401) converted with a bulged cabin roof and large freight door for carriage of bulky loads, later re-converted to 14-H for airline use in Brazil and Nicaragua.
Model 14-08
12 14H-2s re-engined with 1,200 hp (890 kW) R-1830-S1C3-G engines by Trans Canada Airlines (TCA)
Model 14-WF62
An exclusively export version powered by 2x 900 hp (670 kW) Wright SGR-1820-F62 Cyclone engines for British Airways (8), KLM (11) and Aer Lingus (2).
Model 14-WG3B
Another export version, a.k.a. 14-G3B, powered by 2x 900 hp (670 kW) GR-1820-G2B engines. With the exception of four aircraft delivered to Romania, all WG3Bs were delivered to Japan, either to Tachikawa Hikoki K.K. for re-sale or direct to the operator Nihon Hikoki K.K. (Greater Japan Airways Co. Ltd).
Model 14-N
Two aircraft were completed as personal transports as 14-Ns, powered by 2x 1,100 hp (820 kW) GR-1820-G105 engines.
Model 14-N2
One aircraft built for Howard Hughes, for a round the world flight, powered by 2x 1,100 hp (820 kW) GR-1820-G102 and fitted with auxiliary tanks in the cabin as well as, survival equipment, navigation equipment and communication equipment.
Model 14-N3
One aircraft with 2x 1,100 hp (820 kW) GR-1820-G105A engines
Lockheed Type LO Transport Aircraft
Long designation given to 30 Model 14-WG3B aircraft delivered by Lockheed for use by Nihon Koku K.K. (Greater Japan Airways Co. Ltd). Given the allied reporting name Toby.
C-111
Three civil Model 14s impressed in Australia. FY1944 serials assigned after the fact
XR4O-1
One L-14 (USN 1441, mfr. serial 1482) used as USN executive transport
Tachikawa Type LO Transport Aircraft
Japanese licence production of the Model 14-38 by the Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd (立川飛行機株式会社 Tachikawa Hikōki K.K.?) powered by 2x 900 hp (670 kW) Mitsubishi Ha-26-I 14 cylinder radial engines. The 119 production aircraft were given the allied reporting name Thelma.
Freight transport aircraft redesigned by Takei Doi at Kawasaki Kokuki Kogoyo K.K. (Kawasaki Aircraft Company), from the Type LO. Careful attention to weight reduction, a 1.5 m (4.9 ft) increase in rear fuselage length and power from 2x 950 hp (710 kW) Nakajima Ha-25 14-cylinder radial engines improved performance and handling. The 121 production aircraft were given the Allied reporting name Thalia.
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 10 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 10 on board.
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.
On November 18, 1938, a Trans-Canada Air Lines L14H2, registration CF-TCL, crashed shortly after takeoff from Regina Airport, killing both pilots.
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.
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.
On January 13, 1939, Northwest Airlines Flight 1, an L14H2, crashed at Miles City Municipal Airport after an inflight 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.
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.
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.
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.
On February 20, 1941, a Royal Air Force Hudson III, serial T9449, suffered a double engine failure and crashed near Musgrave Harbour, Newfoundland. The pilot Captain Joseph Mackey survived, but the two other crew and the sole passenger died. The passenger was the very distinguished Canadian doctor, and Nobel Laureate, Sir Frederick Banting.
On December 20, 1942, a Canadian Pacific Air Lines L14H2, registration CF-TPD, crashed into Mount William Knight, killing all 13 passengers and crew on board; the wreckage was found in August 1943.
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.
On May 19, 1943 an RAF Hudson IIIA FH168 (c/n 414-6458) Crashed in attempted forced landing 7 miles south of RAF St Eval, England. The cause of the crash was engine failure. Two of the crew were killed, including, Air Commodore Sir Nigel Norman who was thrown off the a/c and broke his neck. He was on his way to the Middle East for an Airborne Forces Planning Conference. Also killed in the crash was P/O (Obs) Arthur Rotenberg, J/16615 buried in St Columb Major Cemetery
On March 28, 1946, a Dalstroi Aviation L14, registration 514, crashed on takeoff from Zyrianka, Russia due to crew error, killing the pilot.
On December 7, 1946, a Dalstroi Aviation L14, registration 6, crashed on climbout from Berelakh, Magadan, Russia (then part of the Khabarovsk Territory) due to double engine failure, killing all seven on board.
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.
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.
Specifications (Model 14-WF62 Super Electra)
Data from Lockheed Aircraft since 1913
General characteristics
Crew: two
Capacity: 12-14 passengers
Length: 44 ft 4 in (13.51 m)
Wingspan: 65 ft 6 in (19.96 m)
Height: 11 ft 5 in (3.48 m)
Wing area: 551.0 sq ft (51.19 m2)
Empty weight: 10,750 lb (4,876 kg)
Gross weight: 15,650 lb (7,099 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)
Fuel capacity: 644 US gallons (2,440 l; 536 imp gal)
Powerplant: 2 × Wright SGR-1820-F62 Cyclone 9-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engines, 900 hp (670 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 250 mph (402 km/h; 217 kn) at 5,800 ft (1,800 m)
