Lockheed 188 Electra
- roy blewett
- Jun 8
- 3 min read
In the early 1950s, with most major US airlines still using radial-powered fleets, Capital Airlines asked Lockheed to develop an airliner using newly-developed propeller-turbine engines. Lockheed declined, citing a lack of interest in such a project from other airlines, leading Capital to order 60 Vickers Viscounts from the United Kingdom instead. The airlines soon realized the advantages of turboprops and, in late 1954, American Airlines issued a specification for a 70-seat short haul turboprop-powered airliner. Lockheed proposed a twin-engine, high wing design only for American to change the specification to a larger, four-engine aircraft capable of carrying 75 passengers 2,000 miles and turning a profit when also operating shorter distance flights. Lockheed revised its response, offering a choice of either Rolls-Royce Dart or Napier Eland engines.
Shortly afterwards, Eastern Air Lines issued a requirement for an aircraft to carry 85 passengers over even greater distances, and this led Lockheed to revise its design further, adopting the Allison 501D engine, a civil version of the T56A installed on Lockheed’s Hercules military transport. The design frozen as the Model 188 Electra, both American and Eastern placed firm orders in 1955 and, by the time of the first flight, Lockheed was in possession of contracts for 129 aircraft.
The Electra entered service on 12 January 1959. However, on 3 February, pilot error led to the crash of an American Electra on approach to La Guardia with the loss of 65 lives. On 29 September, 34 people were killed when a Braniff Electra broke up in mid-air, and a further 63 died when a Northwest example also broke up in flight on 17 March 1960. The cause of the two mid-air break-ups was traced to weaknesses in the engine mountings that led to wing flexing and a catastrophic failure of the wing root. Lockheed introduced an upgrade package to resolve the problem but public confidence in the Electra had been lost. Cruise speed restrictions imposed by the FAA led many airlines to look more closely at jets, not least as United Air Lines had by this time placed an order for Caravelles. Lockheed decided to terminate the programme (a decision likely made a little easier by the United States Navy’s adoption of the Electra as the basis for a new land-based anti-submarine patrol aircraft), and the last aircraft made its first flight before the cruise speed restrictions were lifted. American Airlines, one of the launch customers began to dispose of its Electras the following year.
Despite its somewhat shaky start, the Electra remained in passenger service until the late 1990s. Between them, specialist operators Conair, Air Spray and Buffalo Airways acquired large numbers of Electras to convert to tankers and as sources of parts for their respective active fleets. Although Conair has now retired its Electras, operations by the other two companies continue and this has helped stabilize the number of survivors.
First flight: 6 Dec 57 (c/n 1001, N1881)
Production: 170, at Burbank, CA
First delivery: 8 Oct 58, to Eastern Air Lines (c/n 1007, N5502)
Last delivery: 23 Jun 61 (c/n 1144, N138US)
Variants: 188A - initial production version powered by 4 Allison 501D-13, -13A or -15 tubroprops, with seating for up to 98 passengers (115 built); 188B - unofficial Lockheed designation for 188C c/ns 2001-2022 intended for export and equipped with track mounted seats, additional lavatories and a navigator station; 188C - 188A with increased fuel capacity and higher operating weights (55 built).
Conversions: Aero Union, Air Spray, Buffalo Airways and Conair have all completed conversions of Electras to use as firefighters. Air Spray’s aircraft, known as LongLiners, are equipped with a 3,000-gallon tank and the Aero Union (now United Aeronautical Corp.) Retardant Aerial Delivery System II (RADS-II).
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