Roscoe Turner Lockheed Air Express NC-3057
8x10 Photo Pair
The Lockheed That Flew Gilmore the Lion, 1979 MDC PrintDESCRIPTIONA two-photo lot documenting Roscoe Turner\'s Lockheed \"Ring-Free Express,\" registration NC-3057, photographed inside an open hangar with onlookers gathered around the aircraft. The first photo shows the nose and forward fuselage, with a small placard on the cowl reading \"Bendix Equipped and H.T. Spark Plugs,\" and continues along the fuselage to the tail, where the \"Roscoe Turner\'s Ring-Free Express\" logo and the NC-3057 registration are clearly visible beneath the cockpit. The second photo is a candid shot from the same hangar setting, showing two men in overcoats and hats in conversation with an aviation company sign visible behind them. The individuals are not identified.This particular airframe has a documented history worth knowing. Built by Lockheed in 1929 as a Model 3 Air Express, it first served as a company demonstrator, then briefly flew for General Tire and Rubber Co., before joining the Gilmore Oil Company fleet, complete with a special compartment built to carry a lion cub named Gilmore. In that livery, Roscoe Turner flew this exact aircraft to an east to west transcontinental speed record in May 1930, and followed it that July with a nonstop flight from Delta, British Columbia, to Agua Caliente, Mexico, in a single day, with the lion cub aboard both times. Turner purchased the plane outright in 1932, and once Gilmore\'s sponsorship ended it was repainted and renamed \"Ring-Free Express\" under MacMillan Motor Oil, the identity captured in these photos. The aircraft remained in that scheme through 1933 to 1935 before being damaged in a 1935 accident at Cleveland. It was eventually dismantled in 1940, with the wing sold to Hollywood stunt pilot Paul Mantz for movie work.Both prints are official company reprints, stamped \"MDC ST. LOUIS OCT 2 1979\" on the verso, noting the negatives were not filed with the print. The reverse also carries a typed mailing label addressed to Donald and Barbara Aitken of Irvine, California, part of the documented paper trail on this collection. These were produced from McDonnell Douglas Corporation\'s archival negative library in 1979 and are sold as company reprints, not as period-original press photographs. The images have been archivally scanned at 600dpi and the scans are available upon request.A strong pairing for collectors of Roscoe Turner, Golden Age air racing, or Lockheed aviation history, with a genuine, verifiable connection to two of the most famous record flights of the era.Every effort is made toward fact checking and provenance, including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you\'re unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I\'ll make it right. Orders placed before Noon CDT will ship same day Ground Advantage with tracking so you know exactly when it will arrive. Returns accepted on all items exceeding $25 in cost. Rigid, professional packaging on all shipments sealed and protected in acid free protectors. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONTwo 8x10 official company reprints, both showing clean, well-defined images with good contrast. No major creases, tears, or heavy surface wear are visible in the scans. The verso of the aircraft photo carries the MDC St. Louis stamp and the Aitken mailing label, both period handling marks rather than damage. Please review all photos closely, as they are part of the condition description. Sold as a pair, as pictured.
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