The Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra was an American civil passenger and cargo

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

built by the

Lockheed Aircraft Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but o ...

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.

Design and development

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 Boeing Model 247 is an early United States airliner, and one of the first such aircraft to incorporate advances such as all-metal ( anodized aluminum) semimonocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing, and retractable landing gear.

. The first Model 14 flew on July 29, 1937, piloted by Marshall Headle. Early 14's used the

Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet The Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet was a widely used American aircraft engine. Developed by Pratt & Whitney, 2,944 were produced from 1926 through 1942. It first flew in 1927. It was a single-row, 9-cylinder air-cooled radial design. Displacemen ...

engine; later the

Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V, and in the Soviet Uni ...

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 Aircraft ''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 , 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 The Lockheed XC-35 is a twin-engine, experimental pressurized airplane. It was the second American aircraft to feature cabin pressurization. It was initially described as a "supercharged cabins" by the Army. The XC-35 was a development of the Lo ...

, in the United States,

Tachikawa 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 households, and a population density of 7600 persons per km2. The total area of the ci ...

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

Mitsubishi Ha-102 The was a 14-cylinder, supercharged, air-cooled, two-row radial engine used in a variety of early World War II Japanese aircraft. It was one of the smallest 14-cyl. engines in the world and the smallest diameter Japanese engine. The Mitsubishi ...

14-cylinder radial engines. The two conversions carried out a brief flight testing programme.

Operational history

The Model 14 entered commercial service with

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...

in the US in October 1937. Aircraft were exported for use by

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

of Ireland,

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

and

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...

of the Netherlands. The Model 14 was the basis for development of the

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and p ...

maritime reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft operated by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and many others during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

In 1938, British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, after signing the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...

, returned to London

Heston Airport Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Ne ...

on board a British Airways Lockheed 14, and was famously photographed beside the aircraft (registration ), 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 Wacław 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 . 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 NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

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 Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

flew a Super Electra (NX18973) on a global

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Mage ...

flight. With four crewmates (Harry Connor, copilot; Tom Thurlow, navigator; Richard Stoddart, engineer; and Ed Lund, mechanic), the Lockheed 14 took off from

Floyd Bennett Field Floyd Bennett Field is an airfield in the Marine Park neighborhood of southeast Brooklyn in New York City, along the shore of Jamaica Bay. The airport originally hosted commercial and general aviation traffic before being used as a naval air ...

in New York on July 10, 1938. The flight, which circled the narrower northern latitudes, passed through

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, Omsk,

Yakutsk Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one ...

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...

and

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

before returning to New York."A Rich Young Texan with a Poet's Face Gets Hero's Welcome on World Flight."
''Life '', July 25, 1938, pp. 9–11, 14. Retrieved: October 14, 2012. 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 1913Francillon 1987 ;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 Pratt & Whitney R-1690-S1E-G Hornet engines ;Model 14H-2:32 aircraft powered by 2x R-1690-S1E2-G engines, 12 of which were re-engined with 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 Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

. ;Model 14-08:12 14H-2s re-engined with R-1830-S1C3-G engines by

Trans-Canada Air Lines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGreg ...

(TCA) ;Model 14-WF62:An exclusively export version powered by 2x

Wright SGR-1820-F62 Cyclone The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V, and in the Soviet Uni ...

engines for

(8),

(11) and

(2). ;Model 14-WG3B:Another export version, a.k.a. 14-G3B, powered by 2x

GR-1820-G2B The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V, and in the Soviet Uni ...

engines. With the exception of four aircraft delivered to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, all WG3Bs were delivered to Japan, either to Tachikawa Hikoki K.K. for re-sale or direct to the operator

Nihon Hikoki K.K. Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(Greater Japan Airways Co. Ltd). ;Model 14-N:Two aircraft were completed as personal transports as 14-Ns, powered by 2x GR-1820-G105 engines. ;Model 14-N2:One aircraft built for

, for a round the world flight, powered by 2x

GR-1820-G102 The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V, and in the Soviet Uni ...

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 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 was an aircraft manufacturer in the Empire of Japan, specializing primarily in aircraft for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. It was based at Tachikawa, in Tokyo Prefecture. History Tachikawa Aircraft In November 1924, Ishikawajima Shipyar ...

(立川飛行機株式会社 Tachikawa Hikōki K.K.?) powered by 2x Mitsubishi Ha-26-I 14 cylinder radial engines. The 119 production aircraft were given the allied reporting name Thelma. ;Kawasaki Army Type 1 Freight Transport :Long designation of the Ki-56 ;Kawasaki Ki-56 : Freight transport aircraft redesigned by Takei Doi at

Kawasaki Kokuki Kogoyo K.K. is the aerospace division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI). It produces aircraft, space systems, simulators, jet engines, missiles, and electronic equipment. During the 1930s and 1940s, Kawasaki Aircraft Industries developed numerous types o ...

(Kawasaki Aircraft Company), from the Type LO. Careful attention to weight reduction, a increase in rear fuselage length and power from 2x

Nakajima Ha-25 The was a two-row, 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine used in a number of combat aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. Design and development The engine was designed by Nakajima Air ...

14-cylinder radial engines improved performance and handling. The 121 production aircraft were given the Allied reporting name Thalia.

Operators

Civilian

; *

Guinea Airways Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

* Qantas Empire Airways ; *

SABENA The ''Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne'' (French; ), better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its ba ...

(in Africa) * John Mahieu Aviation (postwar) ; *

Aerovias Brasil Empresa de Transportes Aéreos Aerovias Brasil S/A was a Brazilian airline founded in 1942. It was merged into Varig in 1961, when Varig bought the Consórcio Real-Aerovias-Nacional, of which Aerovias Brasil was one of the partners. History Aero ...

* Linhas Aéreas Paulistas – LAP ; *

16 Lockheed Super Electra 14H2, 12 modified to model 14-08 standard *

Canadian Pacific Air Lines Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian ...

; *

KNILM Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (in English: Royal Dutch Indies Airways) was the airline of the former Dutch East Indies. Headquartered in Amsterdam, KNILM was ''not'' a subsidiary of the better-known KLM (Royal Dutch A ...

(Royal Dutch Indies Airways) ; *

Air Afrique Air Afrique was a Pan-African airline, that was mainly owned by many West African countries for most of its history. It was established as the official transnational carrier for francophone West and Central Africa, because many of these countr ...

(the prewar airline, unrelated to the postwar airline of the same name) *

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

; * TACA Airways System ; * Aer Lingus Teoranta ; *

Japan Air Transport was the national airline of the Empire of Japan from 1928 to 1938. History Commercial aviation began in Japan with the privately held Japan Air Transport Institute, which pioneered passenger service between Sakai, Osaka and Tokushima on Shikok ...

(''Nihon Kōkū Yusō KK'') *

Imperial Japanese Airways was the national airline of the Empire of Japan during World War II. History With the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, there was a tremendous need for air transport capability by the Japanese military, which had traditionally drawn on th ...

(''Dai Nippon Kōkū KK''), which Japan Air Transport was merged into. ; *

Manchuria Aviation Company Manchuria Aviation Company(traditional Chinese/Kyūjitai: 滿洲航空株式會社; simplified Chinese: 满州航空株式会社; Shinjitai: 満州航空株式会社; Japanese Hepburn: ''Manshū Kōkū Kabushiki-gaisha, "MKKK"'') was the nation ...

operated an unknown number of Tachikawa Type LO aircraft. ; *

(mostly for KLM's West Indian Section in the Caribbean) ; * LOT Polish Airlines operated 10 aircraft between May 1938 and September 1939. Two aircraft (SP-BNG and SP-BNJ) crashed. When WWII started four aircraft (SP-BNH, SP-BPK, SP-BNE and SP-BPL) were evacuated to Romania and finally took over by LARES. One aircraft (SP-BPN) was interned in Estonia and three (SP-BNF, SP-BPM and SP-LMK) were evacuated to the United Kingdom. Two of them were taken over by BOAC in mid-1940. ; * DETA Mozambique Airways (serving Portugal's colony of

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

) ; *

LARES Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these. Lare ...

(''Liniile Aeriene Române Exploatate cu Statul'') ; * British West Indian Airways ; * 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. ; *

* Continental Air Lines *

Santa Maria Airlines Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

; *

Línea Aeropostal Venezolana Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela C.A. is a state-owned airline of Venezuela based in Torre Polar Oeste in Caracas, Venezuela. It operates domestic services and international services in the Caribbean. Its main base is Simón Bolívar International ...

(LAV)

Military

; *

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

; *

Estonian Air Force The Estonian Air Force ( et, Õhuvägi, ) is the aviation branch of the Estonian Defence Forces. The air force traces its history to 1918, and was re-established in its current form in 1991. As of 2016, the Estonian Air Force has a strength of ...

operated one aircraft, ex-Polish SP-BPN interned on 4 September 1939. This Super Electra was used for VIP flights between 1939 and 1940. ; *

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

; *

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

; *

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

took over single ex-Polish Super Electra after seizing Estonia in 1940. Aircraft was crashed during takeoff from Riga to Moscow in October 1940. Wreck was still present on the airfield during German invasion in 1941. ; *

; *

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Accidents and incidents

* On January 10, 1938,

Northwest Airlines Flight 2 Northwest Airlines Flight 2 was a Lockheed Super Electra aircraft, registration NC17388, which crashed into the Bridger Mountains in Gallatin County, Montana, about northeast of Bozeman, on January 10, 1938. All ten on board were killed in t ...

, an L14H, crashed near Bozeman, Montana, due to structural failure caused by a design defect, killing all 10 passengers and crew on board. * On May 16, 1938, a Northwest Airlines L14H2 (NC17394) struck Stroh Peak (near Saugus, California) while on a delivery flight, killing all nine on board. * On July 8, 1938, Northwest Airlines Flight 4, an L14H (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 (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

L14H2 (CF-TCL) crashed shortly after takeoff from Regina Airport, killing both pilots. * On November 22, 1938, a British Airways Ltd. L14-WF62 (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

L14-WF62 (PH-APE, ''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 Northwest Airlines Flight 1, registration NC17389, was a Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra aircraft which crashed in eastern Montana on Friday, January 13, 1939, approximately southwest of the Miles City Airport. All four on board were killed in ...

, an L14H, crashed on takeoff from Miles City Municipal Airport following a cockpit fire, killing all four on board. * On January 18, 1939, a Guinea Airways L14H (VH-ABI, ''Koranga'') crashed on takeoff from Tindal Airport following a loss of altitude, killing all four on board. * On May 17, 1939, an

L14-WG3B (J-BCOZ) crashed on takeoff from Fukuoka Airport after the aircraft struck a fence, killing six of 11 on board. * On December 21, 1939, a British Airways, Ltd. L14-WF62 (G-AFYU) ditched in the Mediterranean 300 mi off Alexandria, Egypt killing five of 11 on board. * On January 22, 1940, a

L14-WF62 (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 (G-AFKD, ''Loch Invar'') crashed near Loch Lomond, Scotland while being ferried from Perth International Airport to Heston Airport, killing all three crew on board. * On November 10, 1940, RAF L14N2 ''AX688'' stalled and crashed shortly after takeoff from Nairobi during bad weather, killing all on board. * On February 6, 1941, a Trans-Canada Air Lines L14H2 (CF-TCP) crashed into trees while on approach to Armstrong Airport, killing all 12 passengers and crew on board. * On February 20, 1941, Royal Air Force Hudson III ''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 18, 1941, an Aeroflot L14H (CCCP-L3453) stalled and crashed near Khodynka Field following engine failure during a test flight, killing two of three on board. * On August 22, 1942, a KLM West Indies Service L14-WF62 (PJ-AIP) crashed shortly after takeoff from Piarco Airport, killing all 13 on board. * On December 20, 1942, a

L14H2 (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

L14H2 (F-ARRF) crashed at Aguelhok, Mali due to engine failure, killing all three crew on board. * On May 19, 1943

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Hudson IIIA ''FH168'' (c/n 414-6458) Crashed in attempted forced landing 7 miles south of

RAF St Eval Royal Air Force St. Eval or RAF St. Eval was a Royal Air Force station for the RAF Coastal Command, southwest of Padstow in Cornwall, England, UK. St Eval's primary role was to provide anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the south wes ...

, England. The cause of the crash was engine failure. Two of the crew were killed, including, Air Commodore Sir

Nigel Norman Air Commodore Sir Henry Nigel St Valery Norman, 2nd Baronet, (21 May 1897 – 19 May 1943) was a consulting civil engineer and Royal Air Force officer during the first half of the 20th century.Airborne Forces Planning Conference. Also killed in the crash was P/O (Obs) Arthur Rotenberg, J/16615 buried in

St Columb Major St Columb Major is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as ''St Columb'', it is approximately southwest of Wadebridge and east of Newquay Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newqua ...

Cemetery * On August 26, 1943, a British West Indian Airways L14H (VP-TAH) burned out at Piarco Airport during refueling. * On March 28, 1946, a Dalstroi Aviation L14 (''514'') crashed on takeoff from Zyrianka, Russia due to crew error, killing the pilot. * On April 22, 1946, a TACA de Nicaragua B14S (AN-ACC) crashed on takeoff from La Libertad Airstrip, killing 18 of 21 on board in the deadliest accident involving the Super Electra. * On December 7, 1946, a Dalstroi Aviation L14 (''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 (G-AKPD) crashed off

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

, killing all four passengers and crew on board; the wreckage was found in March 1954 during the search for

BOAC Flight 781 BOAC Flight 781 was a scheduled British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) passenger flight from Singapore to London. On 10 January 1954, a de Havilland Comet passenger jet operating the flight suffered an explosive decompression at altitude an ...

. * On July 14, 1951, an Airtaco L14H (SE-BTN) crashed on takeoff from Stockholm due to double engine failure caused by fuel starvation, killing four of six on board. * On June 16, 1955, a TAPSA L14H2 (OB-QAG-338) crashed on takeoff from Tarapoto Airport due to loss of control after the cargo shifted, killing all three on board.

Specifications (Model 14-WF62 Super Electra)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Francillon, Rene J. ''Lockheed Aircraft since 1913''. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, Second edition 1987. .

External links

Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, C-111
* {{Allied reporting names Super Electra 1930s United States airliners Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1937 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft Twin-tail aircraft