In Search of Perfection: Lockheed Aircraft

The Lockheed brothers, early aviation engineers, developed an interest in flight shortly before the First World War. Allan Lockheed believed that airplanes would soon become the fastest and safest mode of transportation in the world. But within a few decades, the world was already bracing for another global conflict — World War II. Automakers shifted gears to making tanks and armored vehicles, while aviation pioneers began competing to build the most capable military aircraft, the new driving force of 20th-century warfare. Among those caught up in this rapid arms race was Lockheed, though by that time the company was no longer run by its founders. The challenging times compelled the company to enter the defense industry.