1932-1936

 


 

The Lockheed 9 Orion was another successful plane built during this period. The Orion, which featured a retractable landing gear, was a wooden monoplane that could carry a pilot and up to six passengers. The first Orion flew in early 1931. A number of U.S. airlines used it and it also flew in the Spanish Civil War on the Republican side. An Orion-Explorer, constructed from Orion and Explorer parts, crashed in Alaska on August 15, 1935, killing Wiley Post and Will Rogers.
Swissair was the first european to introduce this american plane to its fleet. It was one of the fastet comercial airplanes in its time, achieving max. speeds of up to 360 km/h and a cruising speed of 293 km/h. Swissair used it for express routes such as Zurich - Paris, Basle-Zurich-Vienna, or Zürich-Stuttgart-Leipzig-Berlin , but only for a few years until moderner planes, such as the DC-2, became available.

 

Manufacturer
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, CA (USA)
Span
13.04 m
Length 
8.55 m
Height 
2.90 m
Power (HP)  
575
Cruising Speed
290 km/h
Passengers
4
Range
900 km
Area of Operation
Europe (e.g. Basle-Zurich-Munich-Vienna Express Route)

 

CH-167 / HB-LAH

Lockheed 9B Orion

# 189

07.04.1932

11.11.1936

 Delivered new to Swissair in 1932. Sold to republicans in the spanish civil war in 1935/36. Whereabouts thereafter unknown.
Is not the one in the swiss transport museum (see below).

CH-168 / HB-LAJ

Lockheed 9B Orion

# 190

07.04.1932

29.10.1936

 Delivered new to Swissair in 1932. Sold to republicans in the spanish civil war in 1935/36. Whereabouts thereafter unknown.


non Swissair
 

CH-167 #2

Lockheed 9B Orion
(formerly a Lockheed 8 Altair)

# 180

 

The CH-167 in the swiss transport museum nowadays or seen on these pictures is not the one flown by swissair, but the only existing Lockheed Orion today!
It was first built as an Lockheed 8 Altair and flew for Transcontinental & Western Air, until it had a crash landing on october 10th, 1931 in COlumbus, Ohio. It was then repaired and modified to a Lockheed 9C Orion at the Lockheed plants in Burbank. The Aircraft was then owned by Shell until she suffered severe damage on mai 7th, 1936. After beeing repaired she then had a series of different owners, until she was put on display at Orange County Airport. In 1976 the aircraft -which was in a pretty bad shape by now- was bought by the Swiss Transportation Museum and restored in old Swissair colors with Reg.# 167. She can still be seen there today.

 
technical view
technical drawing
    
       
       

 

 

 

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last update January 2009