Lockheed Model 10A Electra
The Model 10 Electra was Lockheed’s entry into the mid 1930s airliner market. Appearing almost simultaneously with the Boeing 249 and Douglas DC-2 the Electra is slightly smaller than its competitors, but it matched the speed of the DC-2. The Model 10 has the distinction of being the first aircraft on which Lockheed’s famous designer Kelly Johnson worked. First flown in 1934 the Electra entered service first with Northwest Airlines and served successfully with many domestic and foreign airlines. Approximately 20 Electras were acquired by the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II from their civil owners and were used as personnel transports in the United States. After the war the Electras passed from major airlines into small regional and non-scheduled airlines and into use as personal and business aircraft. The Electra is probably best known as the aircraft in which Amelia Earhart vanished during her attempted around-the-world flight in 1937.