Lockheed L-188 Electra

The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed and first flown in 1957, the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. It is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with four wing-mounted Allison 501-D13 turboprops, a cockpit crew of three and room for 66 to 80 passengers in a mixed-class layout. Its power, large propellers and Fowler flaps gave airfield performance on short runways and at high altitude that many jets could not match. Launched as the Model 188 with an order for 35 from American Airlines on 8 June 1955, then 40 from Eastern Air Lines, the prototype flew on 6 December 1957 and Eastern put the first aircraft into service on 12 January 1959. After two fatal crashes traced to a design defect, which needed expensive modifications, no more were ordered, and many Electras became freighters. The airframe was the basis of the P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.