Lockheed Corporation
Anthony LeVier | |
Number of employees | 90,000[2] |
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The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and merged in 1995 with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but otherwise-unrelated Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company, which was operational from 1912 to 1920.
History
Origins
On December 13, 1926, Allan Loughead,
The Great Depression ruined the aircraft market, and Detroit Aircraft went bankrupt. A group of investors headed by brothers Robert and Courtland Gross, and Walter Varney, bought the company out of receivership in 1932. The syndicate bought the company for a mere $40,000 ($858,000 in 2023). Ironically, Allan Loughead himself had planned to bid for his own company, but had raised only $50,000 ($824,000), which he felt was too small a sum for a serious bid.[6]
In 1934,
The first successful construction that was built in any number (141 aircraft) was the
Prewar production
The Lockheed Model 14 formed the basis for the Hudson bomber, which was supplied to both the British Royal Air Force and the United States military before and during World War II.[7][8] Its primary role was submarine hunting. The Model 14 Super Electra were sold abroad, and more than 100 were license-built in Japan for use by the Imperial Japanese Army.[9]
Production during World War II
At the beginning of World War II, Lockheed – under the guidance of
The Lockheed Vega factory was located next to Burbank's
Lockheed ranked tenth among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts.[17] All told, Lockheed and its subsidiary Vega produced 19,278 aircraft during World War II, representing six percent of war production, including 2,600 Venturas, 2,750 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers (built under license from Boeing), 2,900 Hudson bombers, and 9,000 Lightnings.[18]
Postwar production
During World War II, Lockheed, in cooperation with
Once the Constellation (nicknamed Connie) went into production, the military received the first production models; after the war, the airlines received their original orders, giving Lockheed more than a year's head-start over other aircraft manufacturers in what was easily foreseen as the post-war modernization of civilian air travel. The Constellations' performance set new standards which transformed the civilian transportation market. Its signature tri-tail was the result of many initial customers not having hangars tall enough for a conventional tail. Lockheed produced a larger transport, the double-decked
The company sought to purchase Convair in 1946, but the sale was blocked by the SEC.[19][20]
Skunk Works
In 1943, Lockheed began, in secrecy, development of a new jet fighter at its Burbank facility. This fighter, the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, became the first American jet fighter to score a kill. It also recorded the first jet-to-jet aerial kill, downing a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 in Korea, although by this time the F-80 (as it was redesignated in June 1948) was already considered obsolete.[21]
Starting with the P-80, Lockheed's secret development work was conducted by its Advanced Development Division, more commonly known as the
Projects during the Cold War
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. (July 2015) |
In 1954, the
During the 1960s, Lockheed began development for two large aircraft: the
Loan guarantee
Drowning in debt, in 1971 Lockheed (then the largest US defense contractor) asked the US government for a loan guarantee, to avoid insolvency. Lockheed argued that a government bailout was necessary due to the company's value for U.S. national security.[22] On May 13, 1971, the Richard Nixon administration sent a bill titled "The Emergency Loan Guarantee Act" to Congress requesting a $250 million loan guarantee for Lockheed and its L-1011 Tristar airbus program.[23] The measure was hotly debated in the US Senate. The chief antagonist was Senator William Proxmire (D-Wis), the nemesis of Lockheed and its chairman, Daniel J. Haughton.[22] Some of the debate in Congress developed over what conditions should be attached to the bailout. Senator Alan Cranston demanded that the management be forced to step down, lest it set a precedent rewarding wasteful spending. Others argued that the company should be allowed to go into bankruptcy citing the recent decision to leave Penn Central railroad to that fate, and the fact that the airbus program at issue was commercial rather than military.[23]
Naval scholar Thomas Paul Stanton notes that the opposition to the bill held it was "the beginning of the socialization of the American aircraft and aerospace industry."[24] Proponents responded by claiming "this socializing process had taken place many years before", and some witnesses before Congress discounted "the very notion of 'free enterprise'."[24] Treasury Secretary Connally pointed to the faltering economy and worries about unemployment while testifying "the time has come within the United States when we have to look at things differently. Free enterprise is just not all that free."[24] Questions arose whether letting Lockheed fail would be bad for the market due to decreased competition or good by screening out inefficient competitors and mismanagement.[24] Lockheed's competitors, McDonnell Douglas and General Electric (collaborators on the DC-10) strongly opposed the bill and they feared the government would steer contracts to Lockheed to insure loan payments.[24] Admiral Hyman G. Rickover condemned the bill saying it represented "a new philosophy where we privatize profits and socialize losses."[24] The New York Times editorial board held that the Nixon administration was violating its own free enterprise principles by advocating for the loan.[23] (Later, historian Stephen J. Whitfield viewed the passage of the loan guarantee as a support for the argument that America was shifting away from Lockean liberalism.[25])
Following a fierce debate, Vice President
Lockheed finished paying off the $1.4 billion loan in 1977, along with about $112.22 million in loan guarantee fees.[27]
Bribery scandals
The Lockheed bribery scandals were a series of illegal
The scandal caused considerable political controversy in
Attempted leveraged buyout
In the late 1980s,
Merger with Martin Marietta
Merger talks between Lockheed and
The company's executives received large bonuses directly from the government as a result of the merger. Norman R. Augustine who was at the time CEO of Martin Marietta received an $8.2 million bonus.[37]
Both companies contributed important products to the new portfolio. Lockheed products included the
Timeline
- 1912: The Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Companyestablished.
- 1916: Company renamed Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company.
- 1926: Lockheed Aircraft Company formed.
- 1929: Lockheed becomes a division of Detroit Aircraft.
- 1932: Robert and Courtland Gross take control of the company after the bankruptcy of Detroit Aircraft. The company is renamed Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, reflecting the company's reorganization under a board of directors.
- 1941: Lockheed P-38 Lightning is introduced, one of the most successful fighters of World War II, and the namesake to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
- 1943: Lockheed's Skunk Works founded in Burbank, California.
- 1954: First flight of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
- 1954: Maiden flight of the Lockheed U-2.
- 1961: Grand Central Rocket Company acquired as Lockheed Propulsion Company.
- 1962: First flight of the A-12 Blackbird.
- 1964: First flight of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.
- 1970 First flight of the L-1011 TriStar.
- 1976: The Lockheed bribery scandals.
- 1977: Company renamed Lockheed Corporation, to reflect non-aviation activities of the company.
- 1978: The company's Bob Hope Airport in 2003).[38]
- 1981: First flight of the F-117 Nighthawk.
- 1985: Acquires Metier Management Systems.
- 1986: Acquires Sanders Associates electronics of Nashua, New Hampshire.
- 1991: Lockheed, F-22 Raptor.
- 1992: All aerospace-related activities end at the Burbank facility.
- 1993: Acquires General Dynamics' Fort Worth aircraft division, builder of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
- 1995: Lockheed Corporation merges with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin.
Divisions
Lockheed's operations were divided between several groups and divisions, many of which continue to operate within Lockheed[39]
Aeronautical Systems group
- Lockheed-California Company (CALAC), Burbank, California.
- Lockheed-Georgia Company (GELAC), Marietta, Georgia.
- Lockheed Advanced Aeronautics Company, Santa Clarita, California.
- Lockheed Aircraft Service Company (LAS), Ontario, California.
- Lockheed Air Terminal, Inc. (LAT), Burbank, California, now Bob Hope Airport and owned by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.
Missiles, Space, and Electronics Systems Group
- Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Inc., Sunnyvale, California.
- Lockheed Propulsion Company, Redlands, California.
- Lockheed Space Operations Company, Titusville, Florida.
- Lockheed Engineering and Management Services Company, Inc., Houston, Texas.
- Lockheed Electronics Company, Inc., Plainfield, New Jersey.
Marine Systems group
- Lockheed Shipbuilding Company, Seattle, Washington.
- Lockport Marine Company, Portland, Oregon.
- Advanced Marine Systems, Santa Clara, California.
Information Systems group
- Datacom Systems Corporation, Teaneck, New Jersey.
- CADAM Inc., Burbank, California.
- Lockheed Data Plan, Inc., Los Gatos, California.
- DIALOG Information Services, Inc, Palo Alto, California.
- Metier Management Systems, London, England.
- Integrated Systems and Solutions, Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Product list
A partial listing of aircraft and other vehicles produced by Lockheed.
Airliners and civil transports
- Lockheed Vega
- Lockheed Model 10 Electra
- Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior
- Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra
- Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar
- Lockheed Constellation, airliner
- Lockheed L-049 Constellation, first model of the Lockheed Constellation
- Lockheed L-649 Constellation, improved Lockheed Constellation
- Lockheed L-749 Constellation, further improved Lockheed Constellation
- Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, largest produced model of the Lockheed Constellation
- Lockheed L-1649 Starliner, last model of the Lockheed Constellation
- Lockheed Saturn
- Lockheed L-188 Electra
- Lockheed JetStar, business jet
- wide-bodyairliner
Military transports
- Lockheed C-69/Lockheed C-121 Constellation, military transport versions of the Constellation
- YC-121F Constellation, experimental turboprop version
- Lockheed R6V Constitution, large transport aircraft
- AC-130 gunship) (other variants)
- Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, long-range jet transport
- Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, heavy transport
- Flatbed, military transport project, canceled
Fighters
- Lockheed P-38 Lightning, twin-engine propeller fighter
- Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the United States Air Force's first operational jet fighter
- Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, trainer jet
- Lockheed F-94 Starfire, all-weather fighter'
- Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, interceptor and later a multi-mission fighter, the 'missile with a man in it'
- Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, stealth fighter attack aircraft
- General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, multirole fighter (Originally General Dynamics)
- Lockheed F-22, air superiority stealth fighter
- Lockheed F-35, air superiority and strike missions
Patrol and reconnaissance
- Lockheed Hudson, maritime patrol/bomber
- PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon, Maritime patrol/bomber
- PO-1W/WV-1 Constellation, AWACS version of the Constellation
- EC-121/WV-2 Warning Star, AWACS version of the Super Constellation
- Lockheed P-2 Neptune, maritime patrol
- Lockheed P-3 Orion, ASW patrol
- Lockheed CP-140 Aurora, Maritime patrol aircraft
- Lockheed U-2/TR-1, reconnaissance
- Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, reconnaissance (A-12) (M-21) (YF-12)
- Lockheed S-3 Viking, patrol/attack
- YO-3A Quiet Star
Helicopters
- Lockheed CL-475, rigid-rotor helicopter
- XH-51A/B (Lockheed CL-595/Model 286), compound helicopter testbed
- Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne, prototype attack compound helicopter
Missiles
- UGM-27 Polaris
- UGM-73 Poseidon
- UGM-89 Perseus
- Trident
- High Virgo
Space technology
- Lockheed X-7
- Lockheed X-17
- Lockheed L-301 (aka X-24C)
- Lockheed Star Clipper
- Corona
- RM-81 Agena
- Apollo Launch Escape System
- Hubble Space Telescope
Sea vessels
- Sea Shadow
Rail vehicles
- Odakyu Type 500 monorail for Mukōgaoka-Yūen Monorail (as Nihon-Lockheed Monorail, with Kawasaki Heavy Industries)
- Himeji Monorail Type 100/200 (as Nihon-Lockheed Monorail, with Kawasaki Heavy Industries)
See also
References
Notes
- ^ Lockheed Corporation 10-K Annual Report Filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- ^ History and Culture - The River Project
- ^ "Lockheed Martin History". Lockheed Martin. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- Davis-Monthan Airfield Register. Archived from the originalon March 1, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
- ^ "Lockheed, Allan Haines – National Aviation Hall of Fame". National Aviation Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ Parker 2013, p. 59.
- ^ Herman 2012, pp. 85–86.
- ^ Parker 2013, pp. 59, 71.
- ^ Lockheed was delivering airplanes to Japan until May 1939.
- ^ Bodie 2001, p. xvi.
- ^ a b Parker 2013, pp. 59–76.
- ^ Herman 2012, p. 287.
- ^ Parker 2013, pp. 59, 75–76.
- ^ "World War II-Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant Camouflage." Amazing Posts, August 16, 2008.
- ^ "How to Hide an Airplane Factory." Archived January 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Thinkorthwim.com, August 19, 2007; retrieved September 30, 2011.
- ^ "California Becomes a Giant Movie Set." Flat Rock, July 16, 2009.
- ^ Peck and Scherer 1962, p. 619.
- ^ Time Magazine, January 14, 1946.
- ^ "Lockheed-Consolidated Merger Would Create New Aircraft Giant". Aviation News. Vol. 6, no. 12. September 16, 1946. p. 7. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ "B-36 Procurement Investigation Slated". Aviation Week. Vol. 50, no. 23. June 6, 1949. p. 13. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ Baugher, Joe. "Lockheed P-80/F-80 Shooting Star." USAF Fighter, July 16, 1999. Retrieved: June 11, 2011.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c "The Lockheed Loan". The New York Times. May 14, 1971.
- ^ a b c d e f g Thomas Paul Stanton (1977). "An Assessment of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation and the Emergency Loan Guarantee Act" (PDF). Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive.
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- ^ "Lockheed Loan". The New York Times. May 7, 1972.
- ^ Stanton, T.P. "An Assessment of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation and the Emergency Loan Guarantee Act." Archived January 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, 1977.
- ^ "Fragen zur politischen Biographie". Franz Josef Strauß (in German). Archived from the original on January 21, 2010.
- ^ "Monday, August 18, 1975." Time magazine, August 18, 1975. Retrieved: September 30, 2011.
- ISBN 0-8161-3349-2, p 24
- ^ Lindsey, Robert (February 14, 1976). "2 Lockheed Officials Quit; Haack Is Interim Chairman". N.Y. Times.
- ^ Hayes, Thomas. "Lockheed Fends Off Simmons", The New York Times, March 19, 1991.
- ^ Richard W. Stevenson, "Simmons Is Considering Possible Lockheed Bid", The New York Times, February 1990.
- ^ "Simmons to Lift Lockheed Stake." The New York Times, November 22, 1989.
- ^ Norris, Floyd (August 31, 1994). "A 'merger of equals,' with Martin Marietta the most equal". The New York Times.
- ^ "Martin Marietta-Lockheed merger is approved". The New York Times. March 16, 1995.
- ^ Diamond, John. "Audit Recommends Slashing Pentagon Incentive Pay for Defense Execs". AP NEWS. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
- ^ History of Burbank, The Changing Face of the City Archived December 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, City of Burbank Website,
- ^ Francillon 1987, pp. 47–49.
Bibliography
- Allen, Richard Sanders. Revolution in the Sky. Brattleboro, Vermont: The Stephen Greene Press, 1964. LOC 63-20452.
- Baker, Nicholson. Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. ISBN 978-1-41657-246-6.
- ISBN 0-312-19237-1.
- Bodie, Warren M. The Lockheed P-38 Lightning: The Definitive Story of Lockheed's P-38 Fighter. Hayesville, North Carolina: Widewing Publications, 2001, 1991. ISBN 0-9629359-5-6.
- Francillon, René J. Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 978-0-87021-897-2.
- Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II. New York: Random House, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4000-6964-4.
- Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works: The Official History, Updated Edition. Arlington, Texas: Aerofax, 1995. ISBN 1-85780-037-0.
- Parker, Dana T. Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II. Cypress, California: Dana T. Parker Books, 2013. ISBN 978-0-9897906-0-4.
- Peck, Merton J. and Frederic M. Scherer. The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis. Boston: Harvard Business School, 1962.
External links
- Allan and Malcolm Loughead (Lockheed) Their Early Lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains
- Lockheed Brothers from PBS
- The Jetmakers
- Lockheed Martin: Our History
- Camouflaged plant during WW II
- Lockheed Monorail by Kim Pedersen
- Lockheed Aircraft Corporation Photographs from the Atlanta History Center
- Joe B. Gabriel Digital Image Collection from the Kennesaw State University Archives.