"Thirty Years of Lockheed Vegas, Revisited

Thirty years ago this year [written in 1957] the first of a long line of superb aircraft bearing the Lockheed name made its debut in Los Angeles. This was the high-wing, strutless, monocoque-fuselage Vega. Developed from this aircraft was the mail-carrying Air Express, the streamlined Sirius and Altair and the hard-working passenger carrier, the Orion. The Vega was, however, the most famous of the wooden Lockheeds. It spread the name throughout the world of what is today one of the giants of the American aircraft industry. Mated with the
famous Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, the Lockheed Vega probably made more pioneering and historically important flights than any other single model of aircraft. This was due to its clear superiority of design and the craftsmanship incorporated into its construction. Today, there are about a half-dozen[1] Vegas still in existence. They bear testimony to the ruggedness of this aircraft. The following report is concerned with a detailed history of the Lockheed Vega. It tells better than any description the fantastic history of one of America’s most famous typos of aircraft.

It will be found that a large number of these aircraft found their way into our neighboring country, Mexico. In 1929, the American owned and founded Corporation Aeronautica de Transportes (CAT) had the world’s fastest airline. It was equipped with some of the first Wasp-Vegas. That they performed so well during the years of hangar-less life in the sun and dust of Torreon is a remarkable fact. This subject also suggests that the aeronautical history of Mexico should be given much greater consideration. Aviation has played as great a role in Mexico as the bush plane has in Canada and Alaska, yet practically no attention has been given to recording these events. The role of the Vega in Mexico is, therefore, treated rather fully below.

Mention must also be made of one of Mexico’s aviation pioneers, Mr. Gordon Barry. He went down to Mexico in a CAT Vega with Harold Bromley in 1929. He was employed as a mechanic. After the CAT failure, Barry went to Mazatlan where he was employed as a pilot for the San Luis Mining Co. in the rugged mountains of Tayoltita, Durango. Tayoltita had no roads or any other communications and during the rainy season. Only burros could get in. The
mining company constructed a rude airstrip and purchased several aircraft to carry gold and silver bars to Mazatlan and return with mail, food and other necessities. These aircraft were Lockheeds.

As Barry became familiar with the needs of Mexican mining firms, he decided to found his own airline. This was Lineas Aereas Mineras (LAMSA), or Mining Air Line. Practically his entire fleet was composed of Wasp-Vegas. As LAMSA grew, it spread all over Mexico duplicating the old CAT routes, but continued to use the Vega. The full story of Gordon Barry’s contribution to aviation as well as industrial growth in Mexico has never been told as it should be.[2] It is hoped that the following remarks on his aircraft will at least indicate the direction that later investigators must take.
Model designations are given little treatment in the following report. This is due to two considerations. In the first place, information concerning the standard production types is readily available to the informed student of aircraft in . . .