|
LOCKHEED VEGA Model 5 NC433E
BARELY THREE YEARS OLD
This airplane is a Lockheed Vega Model 5 (S/N 49; ATC #93)
manufactured February 1929 by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation,
Burbank,
CA. It left the factory with a Pratt & Whitney
Wasp engine (S/N 1096) of 450 HP. It was a six-place
airplane.
It sold on June 8, 1929 to G. Ray Boggs, Nevada Airlines,
Inc., Los Angeles,
CA. It was flown on Nevada Airlines
routes in California and Nevada (image, above). As
the Great Depression deepened, it was repossessed by Lockheed
on July 5, 1930. The
NASM record implies that later in 1930 Lockheed sold it to
Braniff Airways, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK. I’ll
bet it was October or November, because we find NC433E landing
at Tucson on November 9, 1930. It was flown solo by
Maurice Marrs. He was eastbound from Los Angeles to
Oklahoma City, probably ferrying the airplane to Braniff.
As of November 30, 1930, Braniff had the airplane modified
with a larger vertical stabilizer and rudder. It
became a Vega model 5C, a seven-place airplane. It
was painted red, with tail surfaces, wheel pants and trim
in white. NC433E shows up in the pilot log of R.W. Henderson on August 5, 1931 while in service with Braniff. Please direct your browser to his page and examine Logbook #1, PDF page 21.
NC433E suffered an accident at Kewanee, IL on December 5,
1931. During a forced landing (no reason given) the
airplane struck a barn and was demolished. Two passengers
were killed, and the pilot and three other passengers were
injured.
---o0o---
THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 04/15/06 REVISED: 09/03/06, 10/16/06, 10/18/11
|
