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Model 12 Electra Junior
A Lockheed 12A, F-AZLL
Role	Civil and military utility aircraft
Manufacturer	Lockheed Corporation
First flight	June 27, 1936
Number built	130
Developed from	Lockheed L-10 Electra

The Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior was an eight-seat, six-passenger all-metal twin-engine transport aircraft designed for use by small airlines, companies, and wealthy private individuals. Developed as a scaled-down version of the Lockheed L-10 Electra, the prototype made its first flight on June 27, 1936.

Design and development

British Airways Ltd. ordered two Electra Juniors in 1939. Although ostensibly acquired for civilian purposes, these aircraft were modified for aerial photography and used by Sidney Cotton to track Axis military activity on the eve of World War II.

A modified Electra Junior was used by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) as a testbed for "hotwing" deicing technology.

A total of 130 Electra Juniors were built. At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, the Lockheed 12 had outsold the competing Beechcraft Model 18 by 2-1, and Lockheed had over two dozen unfilled orders. In order to concentrate on more vital and advanced wartime aircraft, Lockheed turned the unfilled orders over to Beechcraft, who eventually built many thousands of their Model 18.

Variants

Civil models

Model 12A

Powered by two 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior SB radial engines. Around 100 built.^[1][2]

Model 12B

Like 12A, but powered by two 440 hp (328 kW) Wright R-975-E3 Whirlwind radial engines.^[1][3] This was a normal civil model, but the only two built went to the Argentine Army.^[4]

Military models

U.S. Army Air Corps C-40

U.S. Army Air Corps C-40B with fixed tricycle landing gear

C-40

U.S. Army Air Corps five-passenger transport based on 12A. Three built. Redesignated UC-40 in January 1943.^[1][5]

C-40A

U.S. Army Air Corps transport based on 12A with mixed passenger/cargo interior. Ten built, plus one converted from C-40B. Redesignated UC-40A in January 1943.^[1][6]

C-40B

U.S. Army Air Corps 12A testbed for testing fixed tricycle landing gear. One built. Converted to a normal C-40A in 1940.^[1][7]

C-40D

Eleven civil 12As impressed by the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1942, with standard six-passenger interior. Redesignated UC-40D in January 1943.^[1][8]

JO-1

U.S. Navy five-passenger transport based on 12A. One built.^[1][9]

JO-2

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps six-passenger transport based on 12A. Five built.^[1][9]

XJO-3

U.S. Navy 12A testbed with fixed tricycle gear and arresting tailhook, used for carrier landing tests and airborne radar trials. One built.^[1][9]

R3O-2

One civil 12A impressed by the U.S. Navy in 1941. (This was an anomalous designation, since the Navy had already used R3O for the L-10 Electra.)^[9][10]

Model 212

Bomber trainer based on 12A with bomb racks and gun turret atop aft fuselage. 17 built, one prototype and 16 for the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force.^[1]

Model 12-26

Military transport version of the Model 212. 20 built for the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force.^[4]

Operators

Civilian

• Continental Airlines, which used them as their primary aircraft in the late 1930s.
• British Airways Ltd. (a front for the espionage of Sidney Cotton)
• National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)
• Brazilian Ministry of Aeronautics^[11]
• Santa Maria Airlines

Military

 Argentina

• Argentine Army

 Canada

• Royal Canadian Air Force^[11]

 Indonesia

 Netherlands

• Royal Netherlands Air Force

 Dutch East Indies

• Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force

 South Africa

• South African Air Force

 United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force^[11]

 United States

• United States Army Air Corps/United States Army Air Forces
• United States Marine Corps
• United States Navy

Survivors

• A C-40A/Lockheed 12 is on display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California
• CF-CCT is on display at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Ontario

Specifications (Model 12A)

General characteristics

• Crew: two, pilot and co-pilot
• Capacity: six passengers
• Length: 36 ft 4 in (11.07 m)
• Wingspan: 49 ft 6 in (15.09 m)
• Height: 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
• Wing area: 352 ft² (32.7 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,765 lb (2,615 kg)
• Loaded weight: 8,650 lb (3,924 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior SB radial engines, 450 hp (336 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 195 kn (225 mph, 362 km/h)
• Range: 695 nmi (800 mi, 1,287 km)
• Service ceiling: 22,900 ft (6,980 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,140 ft/min (427 m/min)
• Wing loading: 25 lb/ft² (120 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.10 hp/lb (0.17 kW/kg)

Popular culture

An Electra Junior appeared in the 1942 film Casablanca. Wartime security precautions prevented shooting at an airport at night, so a cardboard cutout stood in for a real airplane in many shots.

Two Electra Juniors appeared as stand-ins for Amelia Earhart's L-10E Electra in the NBC 1976 TV movie Amelia Earhart. Another Lockheed 12 appears in the 2009 movie Amelia.^[12]

See also

Related development

• Lockheed L-10 Electra
• Lockheed L-14 Super Electra
  

Comparable aircraft

• Barkley-Grow T8P-1
• Beechcraft Model 18
  

Related lists

• List of Lockheed aircraft
• List of military aircraft of the United States
  

References

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

• "A Smaller Lockheed 'Twin'" (PDF). Flight XXIX (1415): 148. February 6, 1936. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%200332.html.   Brief announcement and description of the Lockheed 12, published before the type's first flight.
• O'Leary, Michael (December 2001). "Shining Stars (Part Two)". Air Classics. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3901/is_200112/ai_n9011555/.   Another detailed history of the Lockheed 12. (Note the main article has unfortunately been mixed with a subarticle by the web site's scanning process.)
• "Junior Bomber". Air Classics. December 2001. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3901/is_200112/ai_n9011555/.   The Model 212 bomber trainer and other Lockheed 12s in the Dutch East Indies. (Mixed with the "Shining Stars" article by the web site's scanning process.)
• "Tri-gear experiments". Air Classics. December 2001. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3901/is_200112/ai_n9016853/.   Tricycle gear testing with the Lockheed 12.
• "Hot wing". Air Classics. December 2001. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3901/is_200112/ai_n9006393/.   NACA's use of a Lockheed 12 for "hot-wing" deicing testing.
• "Sidney's sky spies". Air Classics. December 2001. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3901/is_200112/ai_n9013201/.   Sidney Cotton's use of Lockheed 12s for spying on the Axis.
• Blankenburg, Kent (April 2000). "Lockheed's baby electra". Flight Journal. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3897/is_200004/ai_n8902729/.   A pilot report on the Lockheed 12 by the owner of a surviving example.
• Davisson, Budd (1989). "Lockheed 12A: Flying The Electra's Kid". http://www.airbum.com/pireps/PirepLockheed12A.html.   Another pilot report on the Lockheed 12, with a different perspective.