View allAll Photos Tagged LOCKHEED
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Named "fork-tailed devil" (der Gabelschwanz-Teufel) by the Luftwaffe and "two planes, one pilot" (2飛行機、1パイロット Ni hikōki, ippairotto?) by the Japanese, the P-38 was used in a number of roles, including dive bombing, level bombing, ground-attack, night fighting, photoreconnaissance missions, and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks under its wings.
The P-38 was used most successfully in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations as the mount of America's top aces, Richard Bong (40 victories) and Thomas McGuire (38 victories). In the South West Pacific theater, the P-38 was the primary long-range fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the appearance of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war.
The P-38 was unusually quiet for a fighter, the exhaust muffled by the turbo-superchargers. It was extremely forgiving, and could be mishandled in many ways, but the rate of roll in the early versions was too slow for it to excel as a dogfighter. The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in production throughout American involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to Victory over Japan Day.
Design and development[edit]
Lockheed designed the P-38 in response to a February 1937 specification from the United States Army Air Corps. Circular Proposal X-608 was a set of aircraft performance goals authored by First Lieutenant Benjamin S. Kelsey (later Brigadier General) and First Lieutenant Gordon P. Saville (later General) for a twin-engine, high-altitude "interceptor" having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at high altitude." Kelsey recalled in 1977 that he and Saville drew up the specification using the word interceptor as a way to bypass the inflexible Army Air Corps requirement for pursuit aircraft to carry no more than 500 lb (227 kg) of armament including ammunition, as well as the restriction of single-seat aircraft to one engine. Kelsey was looking for a minimum of 1,000 lb (454 kg) of armament. Kelsey and Saville aimed to get a more capable fighter, better at dog-fighting and at high-altitude combat. Specifications called for a maximum airspeed of at least 360 mph (580 km/h) at altitude, and a climb to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) within six minutes, the toughest set of specifications USAAC had ever presented. The unbuilt Vultee XP1015 was designed to the same requirement, but was not advanced enough to merit further investigation. A similar single-engine proposal was issued at the same time, Circular Proposal X-609, in response to which the Bell P-39 Airacobra was designed. Both proposals required liquid-cooled Allison V-1710 engines with turbo-superchargers and gave extra points for tricycle landing gear.
The Lockheed design team, under the direction of Hall Hibbard and Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, considered a range of twin-engine configurations, including both engines in a central fuselage with push-pull propellers.
The eventual configuration was rare in terms of contemporary fighter aircraft design, with only the preceding Fokker G.1, the contemporary Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft, and the later Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter having a similar planform. The Lockheed team chose twin booms to accommodate the tail assembly, engines, and turbo-superchargers, with a central nacelle for the pilot and armament. The XP-38 gondola mockup was designed to mount two .50-caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, with 200 rpg, two .30-caliber (7.62 mm) Brownings, with 500 rpg, and a T1 Army Ordnance 23-mm (.90 in) autocannon with a rotary magazine as a substitute for the non-existent 25-mm Hotchkiss aircraft autocannon specified by Kelsey and Saville. In the YP-38s, a larger John Browning-designed, Colt-made M9 37-mm (1.46 in) autocannon with 15 rounds replaced the T1. The 15 rounds were in three 5-round clips, an unsatisfactory arrangement according to Kelsey, and the M9 did not perform reliably in flight. Further armament experiments from March to June 1941 resulted in the P-38E combat configuration of four M2 Browning machine guns, and one Hispano 20-mm (.79 in) autocannon with 150 rounds.
P-38 armament, concentrated in the nose of the aircraft
Clustering all the armament in the nose was unlike most other U.S. aircraft, which used wing-mounted guns with trajectories set up to crisscross at one or more points in a convergence zone. Nose-mounted guns did not suffer from having their useful ranges limited by pattern convergence, meaning that good pilots could shoot much farther. A Lightning could reliably hit targets at any range up to 1,000 yd (910 m), whereas other fighters had to pick a single convergence range between 100 and 250 yd (230 m). The clustered weapons had a "buzz saw" effect on any target at the receiving end, making the aircraft effective for strafing as well. The rate of fire was about 650 rounds per minute for the 20×110-mm cannon round (130-gram shell) at a muzzle velocity of about 2,887 ft/s (880 m/s), and for the .50-caliber machine guns (43–48-gram rounds), about 850 rpm at 2,756 ft/s (840 m/s) velocity. Combined rate of fire was over 4,000 rpm with roughly every sixth projectile a 20-mm shell. The duration of sustained firing for the 20-mm cannon and .50-caliber machine guns was approximately 14 seconds and 35 seconds, respectively.
The Lockheed design incorporated tricycle undercarriage and a bubble canopy, and featured two 1,000-hp (746 kW) turbo-supercharged 12-cylinder Allison V-1710 engines fitted with counter-rotating propellers to eliminate the effect of engine torque, with the superchargers positioned behind the engines, with the exhaust side of the units exposed along the dorsal surfaces of the booms. Counter-rotation was achieved by the use of "handed" engines, which meant that the crankshaft of each engine turned in the opposite direction of its counterpart. The V-12 engines required changing only the spark plug firing order in order for the direction of the crankshaft to be reversed, according to the General Motors Allison V-1710 Service School Handbook.
It was the first American fighter to make extensive use of stainless steel and smooth, flush-riveted butt-jointed aluminum skin panels. It was also the first fighter to fly faster than 400 mph (640 km/h).
Pacific theater
Wartime poster encouraging greater production of P-38s
The P-38 was used most extensively and successfully in the Pacific theater, where it proved ideally suited, combining excellent performance with very long range, and had the added reliability of two engines for long missions over water. The P-38 was used in a variety of roles, especially escorting bombers at altitudes between 18–25,000 ft (5,500-7,600 m). The P-38 was credited with destroying more Japanese aircraft than any other USAAF fighter. Freezing cockpits were not a problem at low altitude in the tropics. In fact, since there was no way to open a window while in flight as it caused buffeting by setting up turbulence through the tailplane, it was often too hot; pilots taking low altitude assignments would often fly stripped down to shorts, tennis shoes, and parachute. While the P-38 could not out-turn the A6M Zero and most other Japanese fighters when flying below 200 mph (320 km/h), its superior speed coupled with a good rate of climb meant that it could utilize energy tactics, making multiple high-speed passes at its target. Also, its focused firepower was even more deadly to lightly armored Japanese warplanes than to the Germans'. The concentrated, parallel stream of bullets allowed aerial victory at much longer distances than fighters carrying wing guns. It is therefore ironic that Dick Bong, the United States' highest-scoring World War II air ace (40 victories solely in P-38s), would fly directly at his targets to make sure he hit them (as he himself acknowledged his poor shooting ability), in some cases flying through the debris of his target (and on one occasion colliding with an enemy aircraft which was claimed as a "probable" victory). The twin Allison engines performed admirably in the Pacific.
Postwar operations[edit]
The end of the war left the USAAF with thousands of P-38s rendered obsolete by the jet age. The last P-38s in service with the United States Air Force were retired in 1949.[82] A total of 100 late-model P-38L and F-5 Lightnings were acquired by Italy through an agreement dated April 1946. Delivered, after refurbishing, at the rate of one per month, they finally were all sent to the AMI by 1952. The Lightnings served in 4 Stormo and other units including 3 Stormo, flying reconnaissance over the Balkans, ground attack, naval cooperation and air superiority missions. Due to unfamiliarity in operating heavy fighters, old engines, and pilot errors, a large number of P-38s were lost in at least 30 accidents, many of them fatal. Despite this, many Italian pilots liked the P-38 because of its excellent visibility on the ground and stability on takeoff. The Italian P-38s were phased out in 1956; none survived the inevitable scrapyard.
Surplus P-38s were also used by other foreign air forces with 12 sold to Honduras and 15 retained by China. Six F-5s and two unarmed black two-seater P-38s were operated by the Dominican Air Force based in San Isidro Airbase, Dominican Republic in 1947. The majority of wartime Lightnings present in the continental U.S. at the end of the war were put up for sale for US$1,200 apiece; the rest were scrapped. P-38s in distant theaters of war were bulldozed into piles and abandoned or scrapped; very few avoided that fate.
Variants:
Over 10,000 Lightnings were manufactured in all, becoming the only U.S. combat aircraft that remained in continuous production throughout the duration of American participation in World War II. The Lightning had a major effect on other aircraft; its wing, in a scaled-up form, was used on the L-049 Constellation.
Popular culture
1950 Studebaker Champion
Harley Earl arranged for several of his designers to view a YP-38 prototype shortly before World War II, and its design directly inspired the tail fins of the 1948–1949 Cadillac
The P-38 was also the inspiration for Raymond Loewy and his design team at Studebaker for the 1950 and 1951 model-year Studebakers.
The whine of the speeder bike engines in Return of the Jedi was partly achieved by recording the engine noise of a P-38, combined with that of a North American P-51 Mustang.
Studebaker Champion Convertible (1950)
Studebaker was proud to be "First by Far With a Postwar Car," but after three years on the market, its vehicles very much needed a distinctive new look for their carried-over bodies. In fact, the 1950-1951 Studebaker origins were as a counterpoint to the post-war car, when celebrated styling consultant Raymond Loewy decided his staff should look to the heavens for inspiration.
Perhaps no automaker is more identified with a single design than Studebaker with its 1950-1951 "bullet-nose" cars. The feisty South Bend independent didn't invent the "spinner" front end -- the 1948 Tucker and 1949-1950 Ford used similar themes, as have several European models. Studebaker's styling differed mainly in degree.
Ads called it "The Next Look," implying it would start a trend. It didn't, but that mattered little to company executives, who were content to chalk up sales unmatched in Studebaker's previous 48 years of auto production and in any of the next 16.
When Studebaker contracted Loewy Associates to design all-new 1947 models, Exner and Cole worked up their own proposal in secret -- with the advantage of engineering parameters not made available to the "official" Loewy team. It was this design that management ultimately chose and introduced in mid 1946. Studebaker was two years ahead of the competition -- "First by Far With a Postwar Car," as ads blared. To Exner's chagrin, advertising credited Loewy with the new styling.
Loewy promptly fired Exner for his treachery and replaced him with Bob Bourke, Exner's subordinate and friend. Bourke, who made significant contributions to the '47 design, would head Loewy's South Bend studio into 1955, after which Studebaker and Loewy parted company.
People loved the 1947 Studebakers, the little-changed '48s, and the modestly updated '49s. Though the fresh styling concealed mostly prewar mechanical concepts, refinements were made to improve longevity and reliability.
For example, the low-price Champion had arrived in spring 1939 with a lightweight L-head six of 164.3 cubic inches. This went to 169.6 cubic inches and 80 horsepower for 1941-49, then added five horsepower. The costlier Commanders used a larger six dating from Studebaker's 1932 Rockne. By 1949, this engine was up to 245.6 cubic inches and 100 horsepower.
The 1947-1949 models were a great sales success, lifting Studebaker to eighth in the U.S. industry with a market share of 4.12 percent. Production was at record levels. So were corporate profits -- $27.56 million in calendar 1949 alone. Things looked great, and were about to get even better.
The bullet-nose idea had been on Bourke's drawing board since 1940-1941, when he first sketched several elements of the eventual 1950 Studebaker. Chief among them was a protruding nose with flanking pontoon fenders suggesting the front of an airplane.
Public reaction is what matters in the auto industry, and "The Next Look" 1950 Studebaker, featuring the company's signature "bullet-nose" look for the first time, was a winner -- more popular than even the 1947. Sales began in August 1949, nearly a month ahead of other 1950 cars.
For all this hoopla, the 1950s were identical to the 1947-49 models except for the bullet nose, minor trim, and vertical instead of horizontal taillights. However, the new front end added an inch to wheelbases, taking Champions to 113, Commanders to 120. Both lines again offered two- and four-door sedans, a convertible, and a five-passenger Starlight coupe with its distinctive panoramic rear window.
Demand for the bullet-nose '50s proved so strong that Studebaker added a third shift at its large South Bend factory and ran its Southern California and Hamilton, Ontario, assembly plants at or near capacity. A 14-month model "year" (July 15, 1949, to September 27, 1950) produced 343,164 cars -- the most for any vehicle in Studebaker's long history. By the end of 1950, company employment was up to 25,000, a peacetime record.
Text for the Lockheed P-38 Lightning has been taken from Wikipedia. Text regarding the 1950 Studebaker Champion Convertible has been reproduced from sections of the website "How Stuff Works".
This Lockheed P-38 Lightning from 1941, and 1950 Studebaker Champion Convertible has been created in Lego miniland-scale for Flickr LUGNuts 79th Build Challenge, - "LUGNuts goes Wingnuts", - featuring automotive vehicles named after, inspired by, or related to aircraft.
Lockheed C-130H Hercules 78-0813 758th AS / 911th AW - United States Air Force Reserve
2008-05-14 ETAR / RMS Ramstein AB
The SR-71, unofficially known as the "Blackbird," is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft. The U.S. Air Force retired its fleet of SR-71s on Jan. 26, 1990, because of a decreasing defense budget and high costs of operation.
Throughout its nearly 24-year career, the SR-71 remained the world's fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft. From 80,000 feet, it could survey 100,000 square miles of Earth's surface per hour. On July 28, 1976, an SR-71 set two world records for its class -- an absolute speed record of 2,193.167 mph and an absolute altitude record of 85,068.997 feet.
On March 21, 1968, in the aircraft on display, Maj. (later Gen.) Jerome F. O'Malley and Maj. Edward D. Payne made the first operational SR-71 sortie. During its career, this aircraft accumulated 2,981 flying hours and flew 942 total sorties (more than any other SR-71), including 257 operational missions, from Beale AFB, Calif., Palmdale, Calif., Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, and RAF Mildenhall, England. The aircraft was flown to the museum in March 1990.
National Museum of the US Air Force
Wright-Patterson AFB
Dayton, OH
Baslow
Part of the Radical Horizons: The Art of Burning Man at Chatsworth exhibition . this art exhibit was first exhibited in Nevada in 2018 and uses a real Fuselage of a 1940 Lockheed Lodestar . The identity of the aircraft at the moment is unknown
For more info re its history follow this link
Serial: 181 (44-25786)
Aircraft force-landed due to flak damage on April 2, 1945 at Sambor airfield in Yugoslavia.
Flown by Capt Mike Brezas, a 12 kill ace.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope spacecraft was built by Lockheed Missiles Space Corporation (now Lockheed Martin) in its Sunnyvale, California facility. Since the 1990 launch, Lockheed Martin personnel located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, have helped NASA manage the day-to-day spacecraft operations of the telescope, and provided preparation and training for the telescope’s many servicing missions.
Piction ID: 83164470 Filename: perma_002824.tif Title: Lockheed Constellation--Perman Collection Image--Please tag these photos so information can be recorded.---Note: This material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.)--Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
The Lockheed Martin Orion structural test article team performed a critical jettison test on June 1, 2020. During the test, the three large service module fairings that cover the solar arrays on the structural test article, were jettisoned into large nets. This test, performed at Lockheed Martin Space’s Waterton Canyon facility near Denver, validated the structural shock and stresses seen during the launch milestone.
Thank you for 3.6 million views in two years 2017 to 2019
The above image is a scan from an original Kodachrome™ slide. The default size is 2000 x 1250 pixels, so clicking on the photo will enlarge it for better viewing.
The original image comes from my slide collection, amassed over the past 40+ years. They are a combination of my own photographs and ones acquired over those years.
I created this Photostream in 2017 for the purpose of holding my slide collection as an archive, as otherwise they would just remain in binders and boxes, not being enjoyed by anyone, myself included.
Comments are welcome.
Aircraft MSN: 5097
Type & Series: Lockheed L1329 JetStar-731
Registration: N77D
Operator: Mine Safety Appliances
Location (when available): Luton-LTN
If the Location is blank, and you can identify it, you are welcome to leave a comment below.
Remarks:
My websites:
The Lockheed XFV-1 is on static dispaly at the Florida Air Museum in the Sun and Fun Complex at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland Florida U.S.A.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 36 ft 10.25 in (11.23 m)
Wingspan: 30 ft 22 in (8.36 m)
Height: 36 ft 10.25 in (11.23 m)
Wing area: 246 ft² (22.85 m²)
Empty weight: 11,599 lb (5,261 kg)
Loaded weight: 16,221 lb (7,358 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 16,221 lb (7,358 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × 1 Allison XT40-A-14 turboprop, each
Performance
Maximum speed: 580 mph (930 km/h)
Cruise speed: 410 mph (660 km/h)
Range: unknown
Service ceiling: 43,300 ft (13,100 m)
Rate of climb: 10,820 ft/min (3,300 m/min)
Wing loading: 65.9 lb/ft² (322 kg/m²)
Armament
4 × 20 mm (.79 in) cannons or 48 × 2.75 in (70 mm) rockets
©Copyright Notice
This photograph and all those within my photostream are protected by copyright. They may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written permission.
Thank you for 3.6 million views in two years 2017 to 2019
The above image is a scan from an original Kodachrome™ slide. The default size is 2000 x 1250 pixels, so clicking on the photo will enlarge it for better viewing.
The original image comes from my slide collection, amassed over the past 40+ years. They are a combination of my own photographs and ones acquired over those years.
I created this Photostream in 2017 for the purpose of holding my slide collection as an archive, as otherwise they would just remain in binders and boxes, not being enjoyed by anyone, myself included.
Comments are welcome.
Aircraft MSN: 5013
Type & Series: Lockheed L1329 JetStar-8
Registration: N523AC
Operator: Amway Corp.
Location (when available): London-LHR
If the Location is blank, and you can identify it, you are welcome to leave a comment below.
Remarks:
My websites:
Foreground: Lockheed C-60A Lodestar, 42-55918, delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
AMC Museum C-60A web page:
amcmuseum.org/at-the-museum/aircraft/c-60-lodestar/
Background: Lockheed C-5A Galaxy, 69-0014, delivered to the U.S. Air Force in 1971.
Air Mobility Command Museum C-5A web page:
amcmuseum.org/at-the-museum/aircraft/c-5a-galaxy/
Air Mobility Command Museum
Dover Air Force Base, Delaware
Museum web site:
Lockheed T-12 "Electra". 1938. Emelia Erhart Flew a T-10. at Evergreen Field, Vancouver, Washington
Neg# ACAQ 221. Mamiya RB67. 90mm, Yg filter. FP4 film. 2000
The Lockheed Martin Orion structural test article team performed a critical jettison test on June 1, 2020. During the test, the three large service module fairings that cover the solar arrays on the structural test article, were jettisoned into large nets. This test, performed at Lockheed Martin Space’s Waterton Canyon facility near Denver, validated the structural shock and stresses seen during the launch milestone.
During the Cold War, the size and secretive nature of the Soviet Union required the United States to conduct reconnaissance missions on the frontiers and often into the Soviet Union itself. In the early years of the Cold War, this mission was done by converted transports (such as RC-47s) and bombers (such as RB-47s). Both had shown themselves to be vulnerable to attack from Soviet fighters and ground fire. The solution was to build an aircraft that could get above these threats. The USAF issued a requirement for such an aircraft in 1951, but only Lockheed’s proposal, the CL-282, designed by famed Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, seemed to hold any promise. The CL-282 mated huge wings based on glider designs to the fuselage of a F-104 Starfighter, and took off from a dolly and landed on skids to save weight, similar to the wartime German Messerschmitt 163 Komet. The USAF rejected this as being too dangerous, but the Central Intelligence Agency was willing to put the CL-282 into development. It was given the designation U-2 to disguise its purpose.
Johnson tweaked the design considerably before the first U-2A flew in August 1955. The fuselage diameter was increased over that of the F-104, and it used a smaller J57 engine (though later variants would use the same J75 powerplant as the Starfighter). Landing gear was included in a “bicycle” configuration to save weight, which was paramount in the design: the cameras that were central to the U-2’s purpose had to be placed in two positions to maintain the center of balance of the aircraft. Because the enormous wings would droop on the ground, jettisonable wing “pogos” were attached before taxiing. While often referred to as a glider, the U-2 was a powered aircraft and used gliderlike design mainly to save fuel and allow it to reach altitudes of over 70,000 feet—at the time, well above any known Soviet defenses. The aircraft also had to be flown near its top speed at all times, as its stall speed was only twenty mph lower, requiring the pilot to constantly watch speed and altitude. U-2 pilots already had to be strong men—the aircraft was very sluggish below 70,000 feet and had to be manhandled to stay in the air—and had to fly in a full pressure suit due to the high altitudes they flew at. Finally, because of its high lift wings, landings were made at high speeds and the U-2 was hard to get down; pilots had to use a periscope to see the runway and be guided down by another pilot driving a pace car at speeds up to 120 mph. The U-2’s extreme difficulty made itself known very quickly, as three test pilots were killed in two months in U-2A crashes. It remained in service because there was no other option available.
If the U-2 was tough to fly, it did the job. Entering service in 1956, it began flying long-range flights from Germany and Japan, initially by USAF and US Navy pilots detached to the CIA, who actually controlled the flights under Project Dragon Lady. The U-2’s existence was a secret, and early bare-metal U-2As were responsible for a rash of UFO sightings in the late 1950s. The Soviet Union quickly learned what it was—though the USAF and CIA hoped the U-2 flew above Soviet radar coverage, the Russians could track the aircraft—it had no means of intercepting it. Efforts were made to increase the range of surface-to-air missiles, and finally, on 1 May 1960, a U-2A flown by Francis Gary Powers was shot down by two SA-2 Guideline (S-75 Dvina) SAMs. Powers ejected and was captured, causing the United States considerable embarrassment, as the Eisenhower administration had originally denied the U-2’s existence. Work was accelerated on a high-speed replacement of the U-2, which would eventually become the SR-71 Blackbird.
Despite the U-2 being no longer invulnerable, flights continued over both the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China, the latter being flown by both American and Taiwanese pilots from the Republic of China. Of the 19 U-2s operated from Taiwan, eleven were lost to accidents and combat. Gradually, responsibility for these missions was transferred from the CIA to the USAF, and the U-2 fleet began to be painted in overall black, an attempt to both give it a modicum of camouflage on night missions and make it somewhat stealthy. U-2 operations also expanded: a U-2 was the aircraft that brought back pictures of Soviet attempts to build missile sites in Cuba, starting the Cuban Missile Crisis, and were flying reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam as early as 1964. U-2 missions were even undertaken from aircraft carriers, with three variants developed for carrier operations, though this was rare.
The U-2 was continually updated over the decades, with the tactical version, the TR-1A, entering service in the early 1980s. This was a considerable upgrade over the U-2Cs then in service, with turbofan powerplant and large “mission pods” that could be carried under the wings, which could be installed with cameras, side-looking radar, or other equipment. TR-1s were later redesignated U-2R and further reengined. Some were equipped with fuselage-mounted Senior Span satellite communications equipment, allowing real-time transmission of photographs.
So important is the U-2 that attempts to retire it have so far come to naught, and it has outlasted both its replacements—the SR-71 and remotely-piloted RQ-4 Global Hawk, as the U-2 is actually cheaper to operate. The U-2R is now expected to stay in service until 2023, by which time the basic design will be nearly 70 years old. It has yet to acquire an official nickname, though it is often referred to by its crews as the Dragon Lady. 86 were built and about 32 remain in service, with nine on display in museums. NASA also operates two modified ER-2 atmospheric research aircraft.
Other than the ones that have been shot down, this U-2D, 56-6721, may be the most famous U-2 built. Constructed as Article 388, a U-2A for the CIA, it was initially assigned to the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Laughlin AFB, Texas. It was then assigned to the secret "Black Cat Squadron," a unit of U-2s flown by Republic of China (Taiwan) pilots for operations over mainland China. On August 3, 1959, Major Hsi-Chun "Mike" Hua was pilotng 56-6721 on a training mission when his engine flamed out at 70,000 feet. He was able to glide down to lower level, and sighted a lighted runway in southern Colorado. As it was the only lighted runway he could see, he headed for it, but couldn't lower the landing gear due to the loss of hydraulic pressure. Out of options, he belly-landed on the runway and skidded into the grass; when Hua climbed out, he found out he was in Cortez, Colorado. The incident became known as the "Miracle of Cortez," and Hua was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
56-6721 was brought back to Lockheed's Plant 42 and rebuilt as a U-2D, with an extended fuselage to accomodate a second pilot and advanced infrared sensors, codenamed the Missile Detection and Alarm System (MIDAS). Under Projects Low Card and Smokey Joe, 56-6721 was assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California; MIDAS was the testbed for infrared missile detection systems used by satellites. The aircraft served in this role until 1971, and was also used to track X-15 and Corona satellites.
From 1971 to 1977, 56-6721 was used as a chase plane for the Compass Cope drone program, and was retired in 1978. It was donated to the March AFB Museum, and remained there until 2001, when it was returned to Lockheed, restored, and moved to Blackbird Airpark near Plant 42. It has been there ever since.
Today, 56-6721 is displayed as a standard U-2, in overall black/indigo blue camouflage; ironically, the aircraft may have never worn this scheme, having been finished either in bare metal or overall white. The second seat and the former location of the infrared sensors can be seen behind the cockpit. It could probably use a repaint at this point, but is still in good condition.
A scan of a Kodachrome slide that was part of my personal collection
MSN 1196 Lockheed L1011-500 D-AERL
LTU
Miami-Int'l, FL
This is a port side view of an R7O-1, bureau number 128438 from the Pacific Division in flight.
(U.S. Navy photo)
This aircraft was later sent to the USAF as a C-121G (s/n 54-4051).
This is a scan of an original kodachrome slide. It was scanned with an Epson Pro V750, and finished up with very minor post processing work in Photoshop.
Clicking on the Photo will enlarge it to its full size for your screen
The original comes from my own slide collection, which contains both my own photos and those acquired over the past forty or so years collecting.
Uploading of photos in this Flickr collection is for one reason only, and that is to allow them to be enjoyed by people who find them of interest. Otherwise, much of this material would continue to remain hidden away in boxes and pages. Comments on the photos are welcomed.
MSN: 5039
TYPE/SRS: Lockheed L1329 JetStar-6
REG'N: N600J
OPERATOR: Johnson & Johnson Inc.
LOCATION:
REMARKS:
A Trans World Airlines Constellation refuelling at Zurich-Kloten airport in the mid-fifties. Four members of the ground crew are standing in a circle underneath the starboard outer engine, another fellow can be seen working on the plane's wing. In the background, a second aircraft has just taken off. This wonderful colour photograph was part of a family album I discovered at a flea market in Stuttgart.
Country of origin: Germany
The same aircraft still earning its keep as an instructional airframe in the Spartan College of Aeronautics & Technology, Los Angeles.Technology
Mars Base Camp is Lockheed Martin’s concept for sending humans to Mars in about a decade. Using NASA’s Orion spacecraft as the command deck, the orbiting outpost could give scientists/astronauts the ability to operate rovers and drones on the surface in real time, helping us better understand the Red Planet.
Was going thru some old photos and wanted to share this one.
See another angle here
www.flickr.com/photos/bibbeek/2554127958/in/set-721576043...
Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star marked as 51-9036 in a attractive USAF scheme at the Newark Air Museum Winthorpe Lincolnshire, this trainer is an ex French Air Force example (19036) arriving at the museum some years ago still in their marks.
Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II at Corris, LFA7. The 34th Fighter Squadron, 388th Fighter Wing based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, USA _93A4643
Lockheed Martin’s sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-6) protected communications satellite is encapsulated in its protective fairings ahead of its expected March 26 launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. AEHF-6 is part of the AEHF system -- a resilient satellite constellation with global coverage and a sophisticated ground control system -- that provides global, survivable, protected communications capabilities for national leaders and tactical warfighters operating across ground, sea and air platforms. The anti-jam system also serves international allies to include Canada, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Australia. For more information, visit: www.lockheedmartin.com/aehf
(Photo credit: United Launch Alliance)