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41-583: A pair of F-14s at the museum were seized by the U.S. Navy in 2007 over concerns that the aircraft were not sufficiently demilitarized before being acquired. On 15 June 2024, a twin-engine Lockheed 12 Electra owned by the museum crashed on take-off during a Father's Day event. Two people, including the operator of the museum Frank Wright, were killed. According to the FAA , the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate

82-466: A .303 in (7.696 mm) caliber machine gun in an unpowered, partly retractable gun turret on top of the fuselage, a second .303-caliber machine gun fixed in the nose, and bomb racks under the wing center section that could hold eight 100 lb (45 kg) bombs. The other 20 aircraft were transport versions. Several Lockheed 12s were used as technology testbeds. The U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) bought two, adding

123-570: A 27% lesser total displacement. The Wasp Junior used many parts from the Wasp and even had the same mounting dimensions, allowing an aircraft to easily use either the smaller or the larger engine. The first run of the Wasp Junior was in 1929, and sales began in 1930. The initial version, the Wasp Junior A , produced 300 hp (224 kW). The U.S. military designated the Wasp Junior as

164-554: A Model 12M, powered by 290 hp (220 kW) Menasco six-cylinder inline engines , neither of these versions reached production. Even though the Lockheed 12 had won the government's feeder airliner competition, most of the airlines rejected it, and very few Lockheed 12s were used as airliners. One notable airline user was the newly renamed Continental Air Lines , which had a fleet of three Lockheed 12s that ran on its route between Denver , Colorado , and El Paso , Texas , in

205-476: A center vertical fin to each of them to test stability improvements. One of the NACA Lockheed 12s was used to test "hot-wing" deicing technology, in which hot exhaust air from the engines was ducted through the wing's leading edge to prevent ice accumulation. Three other Lockheed 12s were used to test tricycle landing gear . These had their normal landing gear replaced by a non-retracting version with

246-491: A large nosewheel and with the main wheels shifted further back on the engine nacelles. (The tailwheel from the normal conventional gear was retained. ) The gear was non-retractable because there wasn't room within the structure to stow it in retracted position. Streamlined fairings were placed on the gear to reduce drag. One of the tricycle gear Lockheed 12s went to the U.S. Navy as the XJO-3 and performed carrier landing tests on

287-512: A round-the-world flight attempt. Mattern filled the 12A's cabin with fuel tanks and removed the cabin windows and door; the crew would enter the aircraft via a cockpit hatch. The aircraft was denied a U.S. permit for the flight following the Earhart incident, but was then pressed into action in September 1937 in a long range search effort for Sigizmund Levanevsky , who crashed somewhere between

328-524: Is an eight-seat, six-passenger all-metal twin-engine transport aircraft of the late 1930s designed for use by small airlines, companies, and wealthy private individuals. A smaller version of the Lockheed Model 10 Electra , the Lockheed 12 was not popular as an airliner but was widely used as a corporate and government transport. Several were also used for testing new aviation technologies. After Lockheed had introduced its 10-passenger Model 10 Electra,

369-704: The Boeing-Stearman Model 75 , which originally used other engines, have had them replaced with the Wasp Junior to provide more power or for easier maintenance, since parts for the Wasp Junior are readily available. Some museums which have Wasp Junior engines on display: Data from FAA type certificate data sheet for the Wasp Junior SB; dimensions from Pratt & Whitney (1956), p. A2. Related development Comparable engines Related lists The following Federal Aviation Administration type certificate data sheets, all available from

410-598: The P-51A Mustang , Curtiss P-40 Warhawk , Lockheed P-38 Lightning , P-47M Thunderbolt , North American B-25 Mitchell , Douglas SBD Dauntless , Curtiss SB2C Helldiver and Grumman F6F Hellcat . Many of them were built in Southern California. Aircraft collection Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior The Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior , more commonly known as the Lockheed 12 or L-12 ,

451-582: The Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company from the 1930s to the 1950s. These engines have a displacement of 985 in (16 L); initial versions produced 300 hp (220 kW), while the most widely used versions produce 450 hp (340 kW). Wasp Juniors have powered numerous smaller civil and military aircraft, including small transports, utility aircraft, trainers, agricultural aircraft, and helicopters. Over 39,000 engines were built, and many are still in service today. Pratt & Whitney developed

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492-552: The R-985 , with various suffixes denoting different military engine models. However, Pratt & Whitney never adopted the R-985 designation scheme for its civilian Wasp Juniors, identifying them simply by name and model (e.g. "Wasp Junior A"). Pratt & Whitney followed the Wasp Junior A with more powerful models in the "A series". These had higher compression ratios , greater RPM limits, and more effective supercharging, and they led to

533-578: The USS ; Lexington to study the suitability of a twin-engined tricycle-gear aircraft for carrier operations. Another went to the U.S. Army as the C-40B, and still another was retained by Lockheed for its own testing; both of these were eventually converted back to the normal landing gear configuration. Milo Burcham flew a Lockheed 12A in the 1937 Bendix Trophy Race from Burbank , California to Cleveland , Ohio . This 12A had extra fuel tanks in

574-672: The Wasp Junior T1B2 , had improved performance at low level, being able to sustain 450 hp (340 kW) up to 1,500 ft (460 m) while still matching the SB's power at high altitudes. The SB and T1B2, and later versions of these with similar performance, were the most popular Wasp Junior models. One later development of the T1B2, the Wasp Junior B4 , was especially designed for vertical mounting in helicopters. During

615-625: The "B series". The first B series model was the Wasp Junior TB , which could maintain 420 hp (310 kW) at sea level and could reach 440 hp (330 kW) for takeoff. The TB was tuned for best performance at sea level; it was soon joined by the Wasp Junior SB , which was tuned for best performance at altitude and could sustain 400 hp (300 kW) at altitudes up to 5,000 ft (1,500 m), with 450 hp (340 kW) available for takeoff. A still later model,

656-767: The 1930s. It was selected for the Lockheed Model 10A Electra twin-engined airliner, as well as for other small twin-engined civil transports like the Lockheed Model 12A Electra Junior , the Beechcraft Model 18 , and the Grumman Goose amphibious aircraft . It was also used in single-engined civilian utility aircraft like the Beechcraft Staggerwing , the Howard DGA-15 , and the Spartan Executive . As World War II arrived,

697-618: The British Avro Anson and Airspeed Oxford twin-engined trainers. The demands of World War II led to the production of many thousands of Wasp Juniors. Until the end of the war, the Wasp Junior's closest competitor was Wright Aeronautical 's R-975 Whirlwind . However, during the war, the Wasp Junior was far more widely used in aircraft than the R-975, and Wright ceased production of the R-975 in 1945. After World War II, many military-surplus aircraft with Wasp Junior engines entered

738-562: The Electra 10E used by Amelia Earhart in her round-the-world flight attempt. Two played this role in the NBC 1976 TV miniseries Amelia Earhart , and another did so in the 2009 movie Amelia . Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Pratt %26 Whitney R-985 The Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior is a series of nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aircraft engines built by

779-551: The Electra and the Boeing 247 , the Model 12's main wing spar passed through the passenger cabin; small steps were placed on either side of the spar to ease passenger movement. The cabin had a lavatory in the rear. Although the standard cabin layout was for six passengers, Lockheed also offered roomier, more luxurious layouts for corporate or private owners. The new transport had its first flight on June 27, 1936, three days before

820-437: The Electra's twin tail fins and rudders, which were becoming a Lockheed trademark. The landing gear was a conventional tail-dragger arrangement, with the main wheels retracting backwards into the engine nacelles ; as was often the case with retractable gear of the period, the wheel bottoms were left exposed in case a wheels-up emergency landing was necessary, or the pilot simply forgot to deploy his novel landing gear. As in

861-523: The French airliner in the climactic final scene from the 1942 film Casablanca . (The aircraft carries the Air France seahorse logo , although Air France did not actually operate the type 12A). A "cut-out" stood in for a real Lockheed 12 in many shots. No real aircraft appeared in the movie. Half and quarter scale models were used instead. Lockheed 12s have also appeared in movies as stand-ins for

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902-607: The Model 12 Electra Junior, around a scaled down Electra. It would carry only six passengers and two pilots but would use the same 450 hp (340 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior SB radial engines as the main Electra version, the 10A. This made it faster than the Electra, with a top speed of 225 mph (362 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m). Like the Electra, the Model 12 had an all-metal structure, trailing-edge wing flaps , low-drag NACA engine cowlings , and two-bladed controllable-pitch propellers (later changed to constant-speed propellers ). It also had

943-649: The North pole and Barrow, Alaska . "The Texan" was outfitted as a luxury transport afterward, and lost in a hangar fire in January 1938. Lockheed built a total of 130 Lockheed 12s, ending production in 1941. With the arrival of World War II, Lockheed concentrated its production efforts on more advanced military aircraft, such as the Hudson bomber and the P-38 Lightning twin-engined fighter. The Lockheed 12's market

984-537: The R-985 Wasp Junior as a smaller version of the R-1340 Wasp to compete in the market for medium-sized aircraft engines. Like its larger brother, the Wasp Junior was an air-cooled, nine-cylinder radial, with its power boosted by a gear-driven single-speed centrifugal type supercharger . Its cylinders were smaller, however, with a bore and stroke of 5 + 3 ⁄ 16  in (132 mm), giving

1025-620: The U.S. military chose the Wasp Junior for the Vultee BT-13 Valiant and North American BT-14 basic training aircraft and for the Vought OS2U Kingfisher observation floatplane . Military versions of existing Wasp Junior-powered civilian aircraft were also produced, such as the military derivatives of the Beech 18, Beech Staggerwing, Grumman Goose, and Howard DGA-15. The Wasp Junior also powered some versions of

1066-508: The aircraft by its model number, as the Lockheed 12. The original Lockheed 12 version, with Wasp Junior engines, was the Model 12A . Almost every Lockheed 12 built was a 12A or derived from the 12A. There was also a Model 12B , using 440 hp (330 kW) Wright R-975-E3 Whirlwind radials, but only two of this model were built. Although Lockheed had also announced a Model 12F, powered by Wright R-760 Whirlwind seven-cylinder radials, and

1107-431: The cabin, allowing it to save time by making the entire 2,043 mi (3,288 km) trip non-stop. The 12A came in fifth at an average speed of 184 mph (296 km/h); this was an impressive performance, since the first and fourth-place winners were both privately owned Seversky P-35 fighters. Another Lockheed 12A, owned by Republic Oil Company and named The Texan , was modified by aviator Jimmie Mattern for

1148-676: The civilian market. New designs based on the Wasp Junior were also introduced, such as the Sikorsky H-5 helicopter, the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver , and Max Holste Broussard bush airplanes , and agricultural aircraft such as the Snow S-2B and S-2C , Grumman Ag Cat , and Weatherley 201 . Pratt & Whitney ceased production of the Wasp Junior in 1953, having built 39,037 engines. Many Wasp Junior engines are still in use today in older bush planes and agricultural planes, as well as in antique aircraft. Some antique aircraft, such as

1189-435: The company decided to develop a smaller version which would be better suited as a " feeder airliner " or a corporate executive transport. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Air Commerce had also sensed the need for a small feeder airliner and announced a design competition for one. In order for a candidate to qualify for the competition, a prototype had to fly by June 30, 1936. Lockheed based its candidate, which it named

1230-471: The competition deadline, at 12:12 PM local time, a time deliberately chosen for the Model 12's number. As it turned out, the other two competition entries, the Beechcraft Model 18 and the Barkley-Grow T8P-1 , weren't ready in time for the deadline, so Lockheed won by default. The "Electra Junior" name did not catch on in the way that the original Electra's name had. Most users simply referred to

1271-618: The high-revving engine to drive a propeller at suitable speeds, hence the "-G" suffix. Aviator Jacqueline Cochran flew a special Model D-17W Beechcraft Staggerwing with this engine in 1937, setting a speed and altitude record and placing third in the Bendix transcontinental race . However, the SC-G never got past the experimental stage. Early versions of the Wasp Junior were used in various small civilian and military utility aircraft, but only in limited numbers. The type became more popular later in

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1312-568: The incident. Yanks Air Museum houses one of the largest and most historically significant collections of American aircraft including the World War II fighters, dive and torpedo bombers. The aircraft collection begins with the 1903 Wright Flyer (only replica in collection) and continues through the 1980s era represented by the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet. The collection exceeds 190 aircraft, with some being

1353-399: The last survivors of their type. Yanks restores all aircraft to airworthy condition, and in the restoration of these rare aircraft only original factory specifications and materials are used. The Chino facility encompasses 176,000-square-foot (16,400 m) under roof and covers 10 acres (40,000 m). In addition to the display hangars, public access is permitted, on a supervised basis, to

1394-580: The late 1930s. Another was British West Indian Airways Ltd. , which flew the Lockheed 12 on Caribbean routes in the Lesser Antilles during the mid-1940s. The Lockheed 12 proved much more popular as a transport for company executives or government officials. Oil and steel companies were among the major users. A number were purchased as military staff transports by the United States Army Air Corps , which designated

1435-572: The main restoration hangar and boneyard where historic aircraft are in various stages of restoration. Some of the aircraft will not be flown due to their rarity, but are restored to fully airworthy condition. Work is now underway to create a second Yanks Air Museum facility in Greenfield, California . The facility will include 440 acres (1.8 km), the campus will be centered on the new 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m) museum facility. An active airport will support both museum flight operations and

1476-479: The mid-1930s, Pratt & Whitney developed a still greater improvement of the Wasp Junior, the "C series", with an even higher compression ratio and RPM limit. The only type produced in this series, the Wasp Junior SC-G , could sustain 525 hp (391 kW) at an altitude of 9,500 ft (2,900 m) and could produce 600 hp (450 kW) for takeoff. It also included reduction gearing to allow

1517-573: The months preceding World War II. One of these G-AFTL has recently been returned to flight in the UK with its most recent display being at IWM Duxford Flying Days: The Americans on 28 July 2023. The main military user of the Lockheed 12 was the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force , which bought 36. Sixteen of these were the Model 212 , a version created by Lockheed for training bomber crews, which had

1558-579: The museum reached an agreement with the county. The county then granted the museum a second extension on construction in 2008. After further delays, the museum announced it was restarting work on the project in 2019. A total of 190 aircraft are displayed, covering the period from 1903 through 1984 including the Inter-War period that includes the Ryan Brougham , American Eagle A-101 and Swallow TP . Rare types on display from World War II include

1599-456: The private aviation needs of museum visitors and local aviators. Other features include an advanced-technology education center, a hotel and spa, winery, restaurants, service facilities, shops and a recreational vehicle park. The project was announced in March 1992 and an environmental impact statement was presented to the county planning commission in 1997. However, it was delayed until 2002 when

1640-801: The type as the C-40 , and by the United States Navy , which used the designation JO , or in one peculiar case, R3O-2 . With the arrival of World War II , many civilian Lockheed 12s were requisitioned by the U.S. Army and Navy, Britain's Royal Air Force , and the Royal Canadian Air Force . Two civil Lockheed 12s ordered by British Airways Ltd. were actually intended for covert military reconnaissance flights. Sidney Cotton modified these aircraft for aerial photography and in civilian guise, overflew and surreptitiously photographed many German and Italian military installations during

1681-402: Was left to the Beechcraft Model 18 , thousands of which would eventually be produced. A number of Lockheed 12s have survived to the present day, mostly in private hands. Several of these are still flying. All of these were based on the Model 12A and used the same engines. Data from Lockheed Aircraft since 1913 General characteristics Performance A Lockheed 12 appeared as

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