Recently restored by Air Leasing is this beautiful example of a Lockheed 12A Electra Junior. This was its second flight postrestoration which took place on Monday 24th April 2023.

The history of this particular airframe is extraordinary: It was the last Britishregistered aircraft to leave Germany before the outbreak of the Second World War and was used by an Australian businessman, Sidney Cotton, to take photos of the increasing German militarisation in the lead up to the war.

Sidney Cotton was an inventor, photographer and aviation pioneer. in 1939, he was recruited by the head of MI6, Fred Winterbotham, on what was essentially Britain's first proper aerial photoreconnaissance mission. Cotton equipped his Electra with three F24 cameras which were secretly hidden behind panels that could be slid open and operated by a button underneath the pilot's seat. The idea was that Cotton would fly over as many of Germany's military establishments as possible photographing them whilst pretending to promote his business and looking for locations to produce his next film.

Because the Electra was a highlycapable modern aircraft for its time (and because it was American), it caught the attention of Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring as well as Hermann Goring. On one occasion, Cotton organised a 'joyride' for Kesselring. The Luftwaffe officer took the controls of GAFTL and flew over multiple German military establishments, all whilst Cotton was sitting operating the cameras from underneath his seat!

Following the outbreak of the war, Sidney Cotton was commissioned into the RAF as an acting Wing Commander and was tasked with setting up the RAF's Photographic Development Unit at Heston Aerodrome in West London.
With his knowledge and experience gained from flying over Germany many times, Cotton greatly improved the RAF's photo reconnaissance capabilities and before too long the PDU were equipped with their first aircraft, the Bristol Blenheim.

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