A brief history of Lockheed Martin: They repaired cars during the day and built planes in the evening; the company they founded is number one in the world warplane industry

Together with George Gates, Allan Loughead made the world's first two-pilot flight in 1910. In this two-pilot flight, Allan controlled the ailerons, while George controlled the rudder and elevator.

The Alco Hydro-Aeroplane company completed the production of its first aircraft in 1913. This aircraft, called the G model, flew over the San Francisco Bay at the international Panama-Pacific exhibition held in 1915. Flight tickets were sold to more than 600 customers and the flights were completed without any problems. By earning money in this way, they tried to realize the projects of their dreams.

In 1916 the company was renamed Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing. With the name change, the company moved to the city of Santa Barbara. Jack Northrop, who was 20 years old in these years, started to work as a draftsman in this company. In the garage in Santa Barbara, they worked hard to develop the 10-seater F1 model. These development activities set an example for the design of new models. But they did not get the reward of this hard effort. The sale of the F-1 model to the navy did not take place. Because the rival company was able to produce its product faster and deliver it to the navy.

Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing was forced to close its doors in 1920. Unfortunately, the Model S-1, which was quite a revolutionary aircraft for its time with the monolithic structure they developed, could not hold on to the market. They went bankrupt because they could not realize the sales they had foreseen. In 1926 a new venture emerged. Allan Loughead, John Northrop, Kenneth Kay and Fred Keeler Loughead together formed Loughead Aircraft Corporation. John Northrop was appointed chief engineer in the newly formed company. The company first developed "Vega" in a garage in Hollywood. This aircraft could reach high speeds and carry five people. The fact that it had a single wing and was made of wood was among its defining features. It achieved great success in its time and broke sales records.

In addition, the sale of these Vega planes to one of the leading publishers, Francisco Examiner, increased the company's reputation. In 1928, George Hubert Wilkins made the first successful North Pole and South Pole flight in history with the "Golden Eagle". Northrop left Loughead Aircraft Corporation in 1928 and after working elsewhere for a while started his own company. Fred E. Keeler was chairman of the company and also a major shareholder. Keeler sold the firm to the Detroit Aircraft Corporation in 1929. This small company was swallowed up by the market giant called Detroit Aircraft Corporation. Loughead, whose expectations did not come true, withdrew from this business and sold his shares.

Meanwhile, in 1934, the Loughead brothers decided to change their apparently different surname to "Lockheed" because it was mispronounced. Allan Lockheed, undeterred by his unfavorable aviation adventures, founded a new company, Alcor Aircraft, in 1937. But an unfortunate test flight caused the company to close in a very short time. Afterwards, Allan founded another company, but that company, unfortunately, did not succeed.

After World War II, he decided to continue his career as a real estate broker. His passion for aviation enabled him to maintain his connection with the industry and he chose to work as an aviation consultant simultaneously with his new job. He remained in unofficial liaison with Lockheed Aircraft Corporation until his death in 1969.

The road to Lockheed Martin Corporation

On the other hand, investors were able to revive the Loughead Aircraft company by buying Loughead shares. In 1934, the company took its place in aviation again with the aircraft they developed using metal materials with 2 engines and started to make money. Close to World War II, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation was able to establish a close relationship with the American military. This strong bond established in those years continues to this day.

As a result of these relations, they produced the first twin-engine P-38 Lightning aircraft. The aircraft performed very well, making its first flight in 1939. Approximately 10,000 of these aircraft were produced. During the war years, the production of the aircraft continued. In 1943, under the leadership of aeronautical engineer and designer Clarence L. (“Kelly”) Johnson, they developed a highly classified and tech-savvy fighter aircraft based on the British De Havilland jet engine. The P-80 Shooting Star became the first American jet aircraft and was put into service in 1945. 1,715 of these aircraft were produced.

While these activities continued with different models and the company was getting stronger, in 1993, General Dynamics company transferred all the rights of the F-16 fighter jet to Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. The F-16 aircraft is a single-engine, supersonic and multi-purpose fighter aircraft. It also draws attention as it has proven itself in the operational environment, has high maneuverability and is the 3rd most produced fighter aircraft in the world. It still continues to be used in many countries of the world with its production number of more than 4,600.

Shortly after this acquisition, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation merged with another world giant, Martin Marietta, in 1995 and took its current name, Lockheed Martin Corporation. In 2015, it acquired Sikorsky, the largest US military helicopter company, from UTC. In the world ranking of Defense news magazine, it was the world's number 1 defense and aerospace company in 2019.

In the rise of Lockheed Martin, the American Air Force's needs were met from its own country, so the firm became stronger and became a world-class firm.