Dec 04, 2023
In 1951, Lockheed’s chief engineer, Hall Hibbard, asked a 41-year-old Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson to come into his office. Johnson had made a name for himself during World War II for delivering the first XP-80 jet fighter prototype in 143 days, and Hibbard wanted his advice on Lockheed’s newest aircraft design proposal: the Model 82 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop transport. Johnson, who believed speed was the key to aviation’s future, blurted out: “Hibbard, if you send that in [to the Air Force,] you’ll destroy the Lockheed Company.”
Aerospace