Lockheed Martin 10 E

Sitting In the corner of the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, one will find a retired Lockheed Martin 10 Electra twin engine, all metal plane. The polished metal finish, reflects the incoming sunlight from the surrounding windows. Standing close enough, one can see a distorted reflection of themselves. The Model 10-E looks like a perfect replica or a model plane that someone put together, but on a Life size scale.

These planes were produced in the 1930’s. There were only 149 made. The Model 10-E is actually the model that Amelia Earhart, disappeared in, back in 1937. This particular plane was flown by Northwest in World War II, for a couple years. It is hard to tell now by looking at it, but it was actually called into service. It was acquired by the US. Army Air Force. When the Army Airforce acquired it, the shiny chrome was painted over and the traditional olive drab camouflage was painted on. After that, it became a UC-36A, USAAF serial number 42-57213.

After the war’s end, this plane spent a short time with the Brazilian Air Force and eventually was restored to what you see in this picture. In 1994, a pilot by the name of Linda Finch made a journey around the globe, replicating the path of Amelia Earhart, in this very plane.



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