Shining stars

Air Classics, Feb 2002 by Price, Al

Your recent article on the Lockheed 10 Electra in Volume 37, Number 11, prompts me to provide you with some historical background on the Lockheed 10A pictured on page 23 of that issue. The aircraft pictured there (c/n 1091) is registered as N241M and is still in flying status. I first had the privilege of checking out in the aircraft in 1978 and continued to fly it until 1996.

Electra 1091 was manufactured in April 1937. The original purchaser of the aircraft was the Bata Shoe Company, located in Zlin, Czechoslovakia. The current owner of the aircraft is Dr. James Almand, who resides in Grand Prairie, Texas. He first became aware that the aircraft was available from a sale notice in Trade-A-Plane. The aircraft was located in Laredo, Texas, following an aborted flight as a result of an inflight engine failure by a person or persons unknown. The pilots landed at Laredo, left the aircraft sitting on a taxiway and fled into the night. N241M was advertised for sale by the lien holder. Doctor Almand offered to buy the aircraft at a sale price based on the scrap metal weight of the aircraft. His offer of $7500 was accepted and he undertook the task of returning the aircraft to flying condition.

Following his acquisition of N241M, he conducted extensive research into the history of the aircraft. In May 1975, he received a letter which documented an interesting phase in the life of the aircraft. The Chief Pilot for the Bata Shoe Company was a Mr. Jan Serhant who took delivery of the aircraft in Burbank, California, in 1937. Following the delivery to that company, the aircraft was flown around the world as a promotional stunt. After the round-theworld tour, the aircraft operated from its base in Czechoslovakia.

The above mentioned documentation provides the following sequence of events:

On 13 March 1939, immediately preceding the occupation of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939 by the Germans (under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler), personnel associated with the Bata Shoe Co. (Jan Serhant, Chief Pilot; Frank Janak, Second Pilot and Mechanic; a Mr. Dolezal, Navigator; and John Tusa who was appointed as General Manager of the British Bata Shoe Co. in East Tilbury, England, a passenger) received the Bata Shoe Co. order to fly to Poland. When the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939, orders to the flight crew were received for them to fly to Yugoslavia. On 17 March, they were ordered to fly to Italy. On 19 March, orders were received to fly to Paris. The flight across the Alps was described as "difficult" by the flight crew. When they arrived in the vicinity of Paris, the airport put the Lockheed in 17th place for landing. At that time the aircraft was flying on reserve fuel. The crew requested an emergency landing strip and permission was granted. Both engines quit due to fuel starvation when the aircraft touched down. From Paris, on 23 March, orders were received to proceed to London. While in England, the aircraft and crew were placed into the service of the British government and flew for about one month between London, Amsterdam and Paris.

In May 1939, the crew was directed by Bata management to dismantle the aircraft and send it by ship from England to the United States. After removal of the wings, in preparation for shipment, a chain on the crane being used to lift the fuselage aboard ship broke and the aircraft was almost lost. However, it landed safely aboard and reached the United States several days later. The aircraft was subsequently reassembled by Lockheed and was delivered to Canada for service in that country. Chief Pilot Jan Serhant and Mr. Dolezal returned to England, joined the Royal Air Force, and served with distinction during the war. Frank Janak went to Canada to serve in the Engineering Division of the Bata Shoe Company of Canada Limited, involved in the production of war material. In May 1975, Frank Janak, who had retired, was living in Ontario, Canada.

Following World War Two, the aircraft was owned by numerous companies and individuals, one of whom was child movie star Margaret O'Brien. The restoration of the aircraft to its current condition required the labors of several individuals, most notably Mr. Matthew W. Wright, Sr., now deceased. The aircraft is currently based at the Denton, Texas, Municipal Airport. The paint scheme and markings seen on the aircraft are the same as when it was operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Editor's Note: Mr. Price's information on this historic aircraft is most interesting and we can also add a bit more to the story. After being sold surplus it went through several owners and after Margaret O'Brien purchased the plane on 14 August 1957, it was leased to Price Air Lines but on a flight it ran out of fuel and made a forced landing on the Brewer Island mud flats in San Francisco Bay on 27 September 1957 while en route to San Francisco from Reno, Nevada. The Lockheed was recovered and repaired and then went to Fast-Way Air Inc. on 26 March 1959. It was once again damaged at Long Beach, California, on 2 March 1962 during an instructional solo flight. Once again repaired, it was sold to Midwest Airways Inc. on 18 April 1962 but was damaged again on 23 May 1962 at Mercury, Nevada. The plane was on an air taxi flight and the accident was attributed to pilot error. Repaired yet again, it was then crashed on landing at an unknown location during June 1962 and the insurance company reported the plane as a total loss. However, it must not have been and was repaired and then leased to James van Heusen (who had been a partner in the craft when it was owned by Margaret O'Brien) who used it with his Navajo Airlines. During September 1963, the plane was registered N241M and on 21 April 1964 the airframe was fitted with Beech D18S cowlings. The Lockheed then went through numerous other owners until being purchased by Dr. Almand. Certainly it can be classified as a survivor!