History

Aircraft By Type

Aircraft Make & Model:

Lockheed 8A Sirius converted to 8C configuration

MTOW:

4,600 lb.

Range:

Speed:

173 mph

Seats:

Length:

27 ft., 10 in.

Wingspan:

42 ft., 9 in.

Height:

9 ft., 3 in.

Engines:

Pratt & Whitney Wasp C

HP or Thrust:

450 hp

No. flown by DL:

1 leased from Bowen Air Lines: registration NC167W (MSN 167)

RoutesFlown:

Ft. Worth, Texas, to Charleston, South Carolina (Air Mail Route 24)

Advantages:

Drawbacks:

First Delivery:

1935

First Scheduled Service:

1935

Reason Aquired:

To carry mail; not used by Delta for passenger service.

Last Retirement:

December 24, 1935

Reason Disposed:

Destroyed in accident at Birmingham, Alabama

Narrative: Lockheed 8A Sirius 1935

Low-wing monoplane manufactured in July 1930. Last of the fixed gear, wooden Sirius aircraft built by Lockheed. As of March 1935, converted to the "Sports Cabin" configuration with both a twin, hooded cockpit and a passenger cabin with space for two passengers

The converted Sirius was registered to Bowen Air Lines on April 2, 1935. It was leased to Delta later that year (date unknown) for mail service.

The Sirius crashed during a mail run on Christmas Eve in 1935, when the motor "cut out" while approaching the Birmingham airport at 5:20 a.m. Although hurt, the pilot R.B. Reinhart escaped without serious injuries and the cargo of Christmas mail was salvaged without damage. The Birmingham News reported that Delta officials said the Sirius was "a ship that had been placed in service temporarily pending arrival of a new plane."

Photos Credit

The two photos on this page are reproduced from the article "The Lockheed Sirius" by Richard Sanders Alexander, American Aviation Historical Society Journal, vol. 10:4, 1965.

More Information

Smithsonian.com: The first and most famous Lockheed 8 Sirius carried Charles and Anne Lindbergh on their famous "North to the Orient" survey flights
LockheedMartin.com: "Lucky Lindy and His Lockheed Sirius"

Pictures

Videos