Originally Posted by
dduxbury310
Down in New Zealand in late 1930s, Union Airways decided to copy the then-current American Airlines scheme on their new Lockheed 10A Electras (polished bare metal overall, with "lightning" flashes applied along fuselage sides in red with black edging, paint possibly applied at factory!)
It was actually the Lockheed "house" scheme at delivery. Here's the same on a Bata Shoes of Czechoslovakia aircraft, an international trader who ran their own flight department in the 1930s. In fact OK-CTB in the picture was frame number 1091, and the first Union Airways one ZK-AFC was 1092, both delivered April 1937 and thus likely both in the Lockheed paint shop at the same time. After assembly overseas deliveries of Lockheeds at this time were dismantled again and shipped by sea.
Lockheed L–10 Electra | Airplanes on canvas.cz (letadlanaplatne.cz)
It was very much a livery fashion of the time, used by various operators. Incidentally, American actually never bought the Lockheed twins, they went straight from Curtiss Condor biplanes to Douglas DC-2s.