In 1913, Allan and Malcolm Loughhead (who later changed their names to "Lockheed) built and flew the first Lockheed plane over San Francisco Bay. After several years of tinkering with designs, the Lockheed Corporation formed in 1932. This incorporation launched a frenzied round of reorganization, and a new direction for the company.

Recognizing that, while many aircraft design firms concentrated on the construction of combat aircraft and leisure planes, the Lockheeds were the first to develop larger cargo and passenger craft, a move that amassed them a fortune quickly.

Recently, Lockheed Corporation and Hughes Aviation Engineering have put aside their legal differences and have begun to share Hughes’ design savvy and advanced technology and Lockheed’s production and marketing resources. The result -- the successful Hughes-Lockheed Firebrand -- is no doubt the first of many winning designs to come from this aviation juggernaut.