Lockheed L-188 Electra
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The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American
turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. With its fairly high
power-to-weight ratio Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement ...
, huge propellers and very short wings (resulting in the majority of the wingspan being enveloped in propwash), large Fowler flaps which significantly increased effective wing area when extended, and four-engined design, the airplane had airfield performance capabilities unmatched by many jet transport aircraft even today—particularly on short runways and high altitude airfields. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensive modifications to fix a design defect, no more were ordered. Jet airliners soon supplanted turboprops for many purposes, and many Electras were modified as freighters. Some Electras are still being used in various roles into the 21st century. The airframe was also used as the basis for the
Lockheed P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop Anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. It is based on the Lockheed ...
maritime patrol aircraft.


Development

By the mid-20th century, Lockheed had established a strong position in commercial airliner production with its
piston-engine A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all ...
d Constellation series. Further development brought
turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
engines to the Constellation
airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aeros ...
with the
Lockheed L-1249 Super Constellation The Lockheed L-1249 Super Constellation was a turboprop-powered version of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft family. Built in 1954 and 1955, the aircraft were used as prototypes for possible future military transport aircraft for both the Unite ...
. In 1951, Lockheed was approached by Capital Airlines to develop a new turboprop airliner, which was designated the YC-130, but no other carriers had any interest, so the design was dropped. Subsequently, Capital Airlines went on to order 60 British
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a retired British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. T ...
s. In 1954, as a result of
American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
' interest in developing a twin-engined aircraft, the idea resurfaced and the company offered a twin-engined design now designated the CL-303. This newer design was a high-wing type and would allow for 60 to 70 passengers. This design was also shelved for lack of interest from other carriers. The following year, American Airlines revised its requirement to a four-engine design for 75 passengers with range. Lockheed proposed a new design, the CL-310 with a low wing and four Rolls-Royce Darts or
Napier Eland The Napier Eland is a British turboshaft or turboprop gas-turbine engine built by Napier & Son in the early 1950s. Production of the Eland ceased in 1961 when the Napier company was taken over by Rolls-Royce Limited, Rolls-Royce. Design and d ...
s. The CL-310 design met the American Airlines requirements, but failed to meet those of another interested carrier,
Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...
. Its requirements were for a longer range, a minimum cruising speed of , and increased seating capacity to the 85-to-90-passenger level. Lockheed redesigned the CL-310 to use the Allison 501-D13 turboprop engine, a civilian version of the T56 developed for the
Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
military transport. The airframe was stretched to allow for more seats and handle the increased performance. This design was launched as the Model 188 with an order for 35 by American Airlines on June 8, 1955. This was followed by Eastern Air Lines with an order for 40 on September 27, 1955. The first aircraft took 26 months to complete, and by that time Lockheed had orders for 129. The prototype, a Model 188A, first flew on December 6, 1957, two months ahead of schedule. Lockheed was awarded a
type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...
by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) on 22 August 1958. The first delivery – to Eastern Air Lines – was on October 8, 1958, but it did not enter service until January 12, 1959. In 1957, the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
issued a requirement for an advanced
maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...
. Lockheed proposed a development of the Electra that was later placed into production as the P-3 Orion, which had much greater success – the Orion has been in continual front-line service for more than 50 years.


Design

The Model 188 Electra is a low-wing cantilever
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
powered by four wing-mounted Allison 501-D13 turboprops. It has a retractable
tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...
and a conventional tail. It has a cockpit crew of three and can carry 66 to 80 passengers in a mixed-class arrangement, although 98 could be carried in a high-density layout. The first variant was the Model 188A, followed by the longer-range 188C with room for more fuel and
maximum take-off weight The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) or maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW) or maximum takeoff mass (MTOM) of an aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. I ...
15000 KG / 33069 lbs.


Operational history


Civilian operations

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
was the launch customer.
Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...
, Braniff Airways, and
Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...
followed. The Electra suffered a troubled start. Passengers of early aircraft complained of noise in the cabin forward of the wings, caused by propeller resonance. Lockheed redesigned the engine nacelles, tilting the engines upwards 3°. The changes were incorporated on the production line by mid-1959 or as modification kits for the aircraft already built, and resulted in improved performance and a better ride for passengers. Three aircraft were lost in fatal accidents between February 1959 and March 1960. After the third crash, the FAA limited the Electra's speed until the cause could be determined. After an extensive investigation, two of the crashes (in September 1959 and March 1960) were found to be caused by an engine-mount problem. The mounting of the gearbox cracked, and the reduced rigidity enabled a phenomenon called "whirl mode flutter" (analogous to the
precession Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. In an appropriate reference frame it can be defined as a change in the first Euler angle, whereas the third Euler angle defines the rotation itself. In o ...
of a child's
spinning top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be rotation, spun on its vertical Axis of rotation, axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will ...
as it slows down, an interaction of propellers with airflow) that affected the outboard engine nacelles. When the oscillation was transmitted to the wings and the flutter frequency decreased to a point where it was resonant with the outer wing panels (at the same frequency, or harmonically related ones), violent up-and-down oscillation increased until the wings would tear off. The company implemented an expensive modification program (the Lockheed Electra Achievement Program, LEAP) in which the engine mounts and the wing structures supporting the mounts were strengthened, and some of the wing skins were replaced with thicker material. All Electras were modified by the factory at Lockheed's expense, with the modifications taking 20 days for each aircraft. The changes were incorporated in later aircraft as they were built. However, the damage had been done, and the public lost confidence in the type. This and the smaller jets that were being introduced eventually relegated Electras to the smallest airlines. Production ended in 1961 after 170 had been built. Losses to Lockheed have been estimated as high as $57 million, not counting an additional $55 million in lawsuits. Electras continued to carry passengers into the 1990s, but most now in use are freighters. Several airlines in the US flew Electras, but the only European airline to order the type from Lockheed was KLM, which used 12 between September 1959 and January 1969 in Europe and east to Saigon and Kuala Lumpur. In the South Pacific, Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) and its successor
Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...
flew the Electra on trans-Tasman flights. In Australia Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) and Ansett each operated three Electras on trunk routes between the Australian mainland state capital cities, and later to
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
, from 1959 until 1971. Ansett had its three Electras converted to freighters in 1970–71 and continued to fly them until 1984.
Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
also operated four Electras on its routes to Hong Kong and Japan, to
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, and to
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(until the New Guinea route was handed to Ansett and TAA); then later across the Indian Ocean to South Africa, and across the Tasman in competition with TEAL after that airline became 100% New Zealand-owned. The divestiture of TEAL's 50%-Australian shareholding was itself prompted by the Electra order, as TEAL wanted jet aircraft, but was forced by the Australian government to order Electras in order to standardise with Qantas. Three Qantas Electras were retired in the mid-1960s and the fourth in 1971. Some Electras were sold to South American airlines, where the Electra had highly successful operations, such as those of
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), internationally known as LAB Bolivian Airlines, was the flag carrier and principal airline of Bolivia from 1925 until it ceased operations in 2010. It was the second oldest airline in South America after Avianca, a ...
and Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas; in both cases, the Electra ensured the airlines' international operations before they started using jets. Most notably, Brazilian flag carrier airline
Varig VARIG (''Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense'', 'Rio Grandean Airways') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went into judici ...
operated flawlessly a fleet of 14 Electras on the extremely busy
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-
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shuttle service (the so-called ''Ponte Aérea'' – or "Air Bridge" in Portuguese) for 30 years, completing over half a million flights on the route before the type was replaced by Boeing 737-300 and Fokker 100 jets in 1992. The Electra became so iconic on that route that its retirement caused a commotion in Brazil, with extensive press coverage and many special tributes. During the mid-1970s, several secondhand Electras were bought by travel clubs, including Nomads, Adventurers and Shillelaghs. Others were retired from passenger service into air-cargo use, 40 being modified by a subsidiary of Lockheed from 1968 with one or two large doors in the left side of the fuselage and a reinforced cabin floor. Air California and Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) were still operating Electras for scheduled passenger service during the late 1970s primarily into the Lake Tahoe Airport located in the
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
mountains of California, as this airfield had banned scheduled jet aircraft flights at the time.


Military use

In 1973, the
Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...
bought three Electras equipped with cargo doors. These were used during the "
Dirty War The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...
" to toss political prisoners into the
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in the infamous death flights. The Electras were also used for transport duties during the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
in 1982. In 1983, after the retirement of its last SP-2H Neptune, the Argentine Navy bought further civilian Electra airframes, modified several for maritime patrol, and widely used them until their replacement by P-3s in 1994. One of the Argentine Navy's Electras, known locally as L-188E ''Electron'', is preserved at the Argentine Naval Aviation Museum (''Museo de la Aviación Naval'') at
Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: ''White Bay''), colloquially referred to by its own local inhabitants as simply Bahía, is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires province of Argentina, centered on the northwestern end of the eponymous Blanc ...
.


Variants

; :Initial production version ;L-188AF (All Freight version) :Unofficial designation for freighter conversions of L-188A carried out under a supplementary type certificate. ;L-188PF (Passenger-Freight version) :Unofficial designation for freighter conversions of L-188A carried out under a supplementary type certificate. ; :Long-range version with increased fuel capacity ( fuel capacity from on L-188A) and a higher operating gross weight (Maximum takeoff weight is compared to of the "A" version). ;L-188CF :Unofficial designation for freighter conversion of L-188C carried out under a supplementary type certificate. ; YP-3A Orion :One Orion aerodynamic test bed, fuselage shortened by .


Operators


Current operators

By July 2018, only two Electras in the world were transporting cargo, both with Buffalo Airways. Thirteen other aircraft remained in service as air tankers, nine with Air Spray (
aerial firefighting Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to Wildfire suppression, combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers ar ...
) and four with Buffalo Airways (cargo/bulk fuel and aerial firefighting). As of 2024, no passenger flights are taken on Electras, with Air Spray and Buffalo Airways still operating 13 cargo and firefighting planes.


Former civilian operators

;Australia * Ansett Airlines *
Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
* Trans Australia Airlines ;Austria * Amerer Air ;Bolivia *
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), internationally known as LAB Bolivian Airlines, was the flag carrier and principal airline of Bolivia from 1925 until it ceased operations in 2010. It was the second oldest airline in South America after Avianca, a ...
;Brazil *
Varig VARIG (''Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense'', 'Rio Grandean Airways') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went into judici ...
;Canada * Conair Group *International Jetair * Northwest Territorial Airways * Nordair 1972–1987 ( Canadian Airlines 1987–1989) - 4 operated for
Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...
Ice Reconnaissance service 1970s–1989 ;Colombia *
SAM Colombia SAM (Spanish language, Spanish acronym: ''Sociedad Aeronáutica de Medellín'') was a Colombian airline. With its main hub at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, SAM operated domestic and international routes and was a subsidiary of Avian ...
* Aerocondor Colombia * Aerocosta ;Republic of the Congo * Trans Service Airlift ;Costa Rica * Aero Servicios Puntarenas SA (APSA) * Lacsa ;Ecuador * Ecuatoriana de Aviación * Transportes Aereos Nacionales Ecuatorianos (TAME) ;El Salvador *
TACA International Airlines Transportes Aéreos del Continente Americano, S.A. (Spanish language, Spanish for "Air Transport of the American Continent"), known and formerly branded as TACA International Airlines), and operating as Avianca El Salvador, is an airline owned ...
;Guyana * Guyana Airways ;Honduras * SAHSA *Transportes Aereos Nacionales (TAN Airlines) ;Hong Kong * Cathay Pacific Airways ;Indonesia * Garuda Indonesia Airlines * Mandala Airlines ;Ireland * Hunting Cargo Airlines ;Laos * Royal Air Lao ;Mexico * Banco de México (corporate aircraft) *Mex-Jet Cargo (all cargo freighter version) ;Netherlands * KLM *
Martinair Martinair (legally ''Martinair Holland N.V.'') is a Dutch cargo and former passenger airline headquartered and based at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The airline was founded in 1958 by Martin Schröder (aviator), Martin Schröder, and is currently ...
;Netherlands Antilles * Air ALM (all cargo freighter version) ;Norway * Fred. Olsen AirtransportHagby 1998, p. 55. * Nordic Air ;New Zealand *
Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...
* TEAL ;Panama *
Copa Airlines Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., branded as Copa Airlines, is the flag carrier of Panama. It is headquartered in Panama City, Panama, with its main hub at Tocumen International Airport. Copa is a subsidiary of Copa Holdings and a member o ...
;Paraguay * Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas ;Peru * Líneas Aéreas Nacionales SA ;Philippines * Air Manila International ;Sweden * Falcon Air * West Air Sweden ;Taiwan * Winner Airways (one L-188A leased from
Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...
for two months in 1970) ;United Kingdom * Air Bridge Carriers * Atlantic Airlines * Channel Express ;United States * Air California * Air Florida *
American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
* American Flyers Airline * Braniff International Airways * Denver Ports of Call *
Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...
* Evergreen International Airlines *
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
* Fleming International Airways * Fairbanks Air Service * Great Northern Airlines * Gulf Air Transport *
Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. ( ) is a commercial U.S. airline headquartered in Honolulu, and a subsidiary of the Alaska Air Group. It is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the island state of Hawaiʻi, and the tenth largest ...
(in cargo service) * Holiday Airlines * Intermountain Airlines * Johnson International Airlines * McCulloch International Airlines * McCulloch Properties *
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* National Airlines *
National Center for Atmospheric Research The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundat ...
*
Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...
*
Overseas National Airways Overseas National Airways (ONA) was a supplemental air carrier (also known as an irregular air carrier or a non-scheduled carrier) during the period in which the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), a now defunct United States Federal agency, tightly ...
* Pacific Southwest Airlines * Reeve Aleutian Airways (passenger/cargo " Combi" versions) * Renown Aviation * Saturn Airways *Shillelagh Travel Club * Southeast Airlines * Trans International Airlines, later became Transamerica Airlines * Trans International Airlines (1985–1989) * TPI International Airways *
Universal Airlines (United States) Universal Airlines was a United States supplemental air carrier that operated from 1966 to 1972, based initially at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan and later at Oakland International Airport in California. Universal was a re-naming of ...
* Western Airlines * Zantop International Airlines ;Zaire * Karibu Airways * Trans Service Airlift


Military operators

;Argentina *
Argentine Naval Aviation The Argentine Naval Aviation (', COAN) is the naval aviation branch of the Argentine Navy and one of its four operational commands. Argentina, along with Brazilian Navy, Brazil is one of two South American countries to have operated two aircraft c ...
;Bolivia *
Bolivian Air Force The Bolivian Air Force (BAF; or 'FAB') is the air force of Bolivia and branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces. History By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft ( Curtiss Hawk fighters, Curtiss T-32 Condor II and Junkers ...
– 1 from 1973, still in use in 1987. ;Ecuador * TAME ;Honduras * Honduran Air Force – one 188A from 1979 ;Mexico *
Mexican Air Force The Mexican Air Force (FAM; ) is the air service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and as such overseen by the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). The objective of the FAM is to defend the integrity, in ...
– one 188A from 1978 to 1987. ;Panama * Panamanian Air Force – One 188C from 1973 to 1984.


Orders

;Model 188A *
Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...
ordered 40 188As which were delivered between November 1958 and August 1959, the last five as 188Cs. *
American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
ordered 35 188As which were delivered between November 1958 and March 1960. * National Airlines ordered 14 188As which were delivered between April 1959 and January 1961. * Ansett-ANA ordered three 188As which were delivered to Australia in February 1959, April 1959 and February 1960. *
Braniff Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues to ...
ordered nine 188As which were delivered between April 1959 and January 1960. * Western Airlines ordered 12 188As which were delivered between May 1959 and February 1961. *
Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...
ordered two 188As which were delivered in 1959. * Trans Australia Airlines ordered three 188As which were delivered to Australia between June 1959 and August 1960. *
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
ordered one 188A which was delivered in July 1958. ;Model 188C * Northwest Orient Airlines ordered 18 188Cs which were delivered between July 1959 and June 1961. * Pacific Southwest Airlines ordered three 188Cs which were delivered in November and December 1959. * Capital Airlines ordered five 188Cs but later cancelled the order. The five aircraft were sold to other operators. *
Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
ordered four 188Cs which were delivered between October and December 1959. * KLM ordered 12 188Cs which were delivered between September 1959 and December 1960. * Tasman Empire Airways ordered three 188Cs which were delivered in October and December 1959. *
Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...
ordered three 188Cs which were delivered in January 1961.


Aircraft on display

*s/no. 1003 ex
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
''N428NA''. This was the first P-3 Orion prototype. It was converted from an existing L188 Electra airframe into the YP3V-1/YP-3A Orion. It was later converted into the NP-3A by
United States Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Located in Washington, DC, it was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, appl ...
, then used by NASA for the Earth Resources Observation Program. Preserved at the National Naval Aviation Museum, Forrest Sherman Field,
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. *s/no. 1025 ex
Varig VARIG (''Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense'', 'Rio Grandean Airways') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went into judici ...
''PP-VJM''; preserved at the
Museu Aeroespacial Museu Aeroespacial is a national aviation museum located in the West Side of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Pau ...
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *s/no. 1125 TAM69, in TAM – Transporte Aéreo Militar colors at the Bolivia Aeronautical Museum, El Alto, La Paz, Bolivia. * ex Argentine Navy ''6-P-104'', converted to L-188EW WAVE, retired in 1996; on display at the Museo de la Aviación Naval, Bahia Blanca, Argentina. * ex Argentine Navy ''6-P-106'', converted to L-188E Electron, retired in 1996; on display at the Museo de la Aviación Naval, Comandante Espora Air Naval Base, Bahia Blanca.


Accidents and incidents

Of the total of 170 Electras built, as of June 2011, 58 have been written off because of crashes and other accidents. * February 3, 1959: American Airlines Flight 320 en route from Chicago to New York City's LaGuardia Airport crashed on approach, 65 of 73 on board died. * September 29, 1959: Braniff International Airways Flight 542 crashed near Buffalo, Texas, en route to
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
from
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. All 29 passengers and five crew members died in the crash. The Civil Aeronautics Board blamed the crash on the "whirl-mode" prop theory and in-flight separation of a wing from the aircraft. * March 17, 1960: Northwest Orient Flight 710, en route from
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
to
Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, broke apart in flight over
Perry County, Indiana Perry County is a County (United States), county located in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 19,170. The county seat is Tell City, Indiana, Tell City. It is the hilliest co ...
, in the second "whirl-mode" crash. All 63 people on board died (57 passengers and six crew members). * September 14, 1960: An Electra operated as American Airlines Flight 361 caught its landing gear on a dike while landing at
LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...
. The aircraft came to rest upside down. There were no fatalities among the 76 occupants (70 passengers, six crew). * October 4, 1960: Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 crashed on takeoff from
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
's
Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...
; 62 of 72 on board died. The crash was eventually determined to be the result of bird ingestion into three of the four engines. * June 12, 1961: KLM Flight 823 crashed short of the runway on approach to
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
; 20 of the 36 on board died. * September 17, 1961: Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 crashed on takeoff from Chicago-
O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...
; all 37 on board died. The crash was eventually determined to be the result of mechanical failure in the aileron primary control system due to the improper replacement of the aileron boost assembly. * March 27, 1965: While on a training flight, a Tasman Empire Airways L-188 crashed while landing at Whenuapai airport in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. Although the aircraft was completely destroyed, all occupants escaped with only one minor injury. * April 22, 1966: American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D crashed into a hill on approach to Ardmore Municipal Airport in
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
; all five crew and 78 of the 93 passengers on board died. * February 16, 1967: Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 708 crashed while attempting to land at Manado-Sam Ratulangi Airport. A total of 22 of 92 passengers and crew on board died. The crash was eventually determined to be the result of an awkward landing technique resulting in an excessive rate of sink on touchdown. Marginal weather at the time of landing was a contributing factor. * May 3, 1968: Braniff International Airways Flight 352, en route from
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
to
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, disintegrated over Dawson, Texas. All 80 passengers and five crew members died. This was the deadliest aviation disaster in
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
at the time. The
National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...
found the
probable cause In United States criminal law, probable cause is the legal standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal and for a court's issuing of a search warrant. One definition of the standar ...
to be overstressing of the structure beyond its ultimate strength during attempted recovery from unusual aircraft attitude produced by
turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers with no disruption between ...
of a
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...
. * August 9, 1970: LANSA Flight 502 crashed shortly after takeoff from Quispiquilla Airport near
Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...
, Peru; 99 of the 100 people on board, plus two people on the ground, died. The co-pilot was the only survivor. * August 24, 1970 Universal Airlines L-188C N855U departed
Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in Davis County, Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adja ...
in
Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...
on an Air Force Logair flight to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. The aircraft departed without all its hydraulic systems in operation, leaving insufficient elevator authority, resulting in the aircraft nosing over into the ground. The aircraft was destroyed but the crew escaped with injuries. The investigation found fault with the captain and flight engineer for not following approved procedures and directives. * December 24, 1971: LANSA Flight 508, en route from
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
to Pucallpa, Peru, entered an area of strong turbulence and lightning and disintegrated in midair due to structural failure following a lightning strike and fire. Of the 92 people on board, 91 died. One passenger, Juliane Koepcke, survived when trees cushioned her fall into the rainforest. * March 19, 1972 Universal Airlines L-188C N851U was on a ferry flight from
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
to
Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in Davis County, Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adja ...
in
Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...
when it developed an engine overspeed issue, complicated by an inability to feather. The aircraft landed at Hill just after midnight, whereupon the engine exploded, destroying a large portion of the left wing and causing a substantial fire. The crew had minor injuries but the aircraft was a writeoff. The crew was cited in the investigation for improper procedures. * August 27, 1973: A Lockheed L-188A Electra passenger plane (HK-777) operated by Aerocondor was destroyed when it flew into the side of the Cerro el Cable mountain shortly after takeoff from Bogotá-Eldorado Airport (BOG), Colombia. All 36 passengers and six crew members died. * October 30, 1974: On approach to Rea Point Airfield on Melville Island, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut), Canada, Panarctic Oils Flight 416 crashed into the ice-covered sea some 3 km south of its destination after the pilot-in-command abruptly increased the rate of descent in apparent disorientation. All 30 passengers and two of the four crew members, including the pilot-in-command, died. * June 4, 1976: Air Manila Flight 702, an L-188A (RP-C1061), crashed just after takeoff from the Guam Naval Air Station; the 45 occupants and one person on the ground died. * On November 18, 1979, L-188 (N859U), operating a flight for the US military (Logair 3N18) from Hill Air Force Base, crashed near Salt Lake City airport, Utah. While climbing between 12,000 and 13,000 ft, all electrical power was lost; the crew requested an immediate descent. The aircraft attained a high airspeed and a high rate of descent and the aircraft disintegrated in flight; all three crew members died. The NTSB investigation stated the probable cause was a progressive failure of the aircraft electrical system leading to the disabling or erratic performance of flight critical flight instruments and lighting. As a result, the crew became disoriented and lost control of the aircraft. The crew's efforts to regain control of the aircraft imposed loads which exceeded the design limits and caused it to break up in flight. This was the third Universal Airlines Electra to be destroyed in connection with
Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in Davis County, Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adja ...
(inherited by Trans International from Saturn Airways). See August 24, 1970 and March 19, 1972. * January 8, 1981, a SAHSA L-188A in Guatemala City, killing all six crew members on board. *On 8 June 1983, Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8's number-four propeller separated from the aircraft and tore a hole in the fuselage over the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
causing a rapid decompression and loss of control. The pilots managed to land the aircraft safely at Anchorage, Alaska and all 15 passengers and crew survived. Since the propeller fell into the sea and was never recovered, the cause of the separation is unknown. * May 30, 1984, Zantop International Airlines Flight 931, a Lockheed L-188AF Electra (N5523) flying regularly scheduled cargo service from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) to Detroit-Willow Run Airport (YIP), crashed at Chalkhill, Pennsylvania; all three crew members and the sole passenger died. While cruising at FL220, at approximately 01:44 AM, the aircraft entered an unusual attitude shortly after a course change. During efforts to recover the aircraft the pilots imposed loads on the airframe that exceeded the aircraft's design limits and it broke apart at altitude. NTSB reported that in-flight problems with the aircraft's gyros likely provided conflicting attitude data to the flight crew at the time of the upset and this, combined with a lack of visual cues, were contributing causes of the accident. * January 21, 1985: Chartered Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashed after takeoff from Reno-Cannon International Airport en route to Minneapolis–St Paul Minnesota; 70 of the 71 people on board died. * September 12, 1988: A Tame Ecuador L-188A Electra, registration HC-AZY, crashed near Lago Agrio Airport shortly after takeoff; six crew and one passenger died. * September 4, 1989: A Tame Ecuador L-188C Electra, registration HC-AZJ, crash-landed at Taura AFB with no fatalities. * December 18, 1995: An overloaded 188C of Trans Service Airlift crashed near Cahungula, Angola, with the loss of 141 of the 144 occupants. This is the deadliest aviation disaster involving the Lockheed L-188 Electra. * February 8, 1999: An Air Karibu L-188 (9Q-CDI) after takeoff from
N'djili Airport N'djili Airport ( ), also known as N'Djili International Airport and Kinshasa International Airport (French language, French ''Aéroport international de N'Djili'' or ''Aéroport international de Kinshasa''), serves the city of Kinshasa and is ...
killing all seven crew members. The aircraft had been overloaded, and the flight engineer was serving as a co-pilot because no other co-pilots were present. A ground mechanic took the flight engineer's place. * October 16, 2000: An Air Spray Lockheed L-188 Electra (Tanker #88 C-FQYB) was destroyed in a fire at Air Spray’s maintenance facility in Red Deer, Alberta. Many other WW2 era planes were also consumed amidst the blaze. * July 16, 2003: An Air Spray Lockheed L-188 Electra (Tanker #86 C-GFQA) crashed and was destroyed near Cranbrook, British Columbia shortly after delivering the retardant load. Tanker 86 was seen to turn right initially, then entered a turn to the left. At 1221 MST, the Electra struck the terrain on the side of a steep ridge at about 3900 feet above sea level. The aircraft exploded on impact and the two pilots died. An intense post-crash fire consumed much of the wreckage and started a forest fire at the crash site and the surrounding area.


Specifications (Model 188A)


See also


References


Notes


Bibliography

* "2010 World Airliner Census". ''Flight International'', August 24–30, 2010, pp. 29–49.
"2011 World Airliner Census". ''Flight International''


''
Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...
'', February 13, 1959, p. 231. * Allen, Eric. ''Airliners in Australian Service, Volume 1.'' Weston Creek ACT: Aerospace Publications, 1995. . * Brimson, Samuel. ''Flying the Royal Mail: The History of Australia's Airlines''. Sydney, Australia: Dreamweaver Books, 1984. . * Eastwood, Tony; Roach, John. ''Turbo Prop Airliner Production List.'' West Drayton, Middlesex, UK: The Aviation Hobby Shop, 1990. . * . * Francillon, René J. ''Lockheed Aircraft since 1913''. London: Putnam, 1982. . * Hagby, Kay
''Fra Nielsen & Winther til Boeing 747'' (in Norwegian).
Drammen, Norway. Hagby, 1998. . * * Siegrist, Martin. "Bolivian Air Power — Seventy Years On". ''
Air International ''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd. History and profile The magazine was fir ...
'', Vol. 33, No. 4, October 1987. pp. 170–176, 194. . * * * * Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1961–62''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd., 1961.


Further reading

*


External links


Information, Pictures and Production List



Kiwanis Electra Memorial website

NTSB Report on 1968 Braniff N9707C Crash


a 1955 ''Flight'' article {{Authority control L-0188 Electra 1950s United States airliners Four-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Four-engined turboprop aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1957 Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear