Currently, Lockheed is not yet the future Lockheed Martin, the world's number one arms dealer. Although it received quite a few orders during the war, there was still a considerable gap compared to Boeing.
During World War II, Lockheed indeed made a lot of money, producing nearly 20,000 aircraft for the military, including the famous P-38 "Lightning" twin engine fighter.
After World War II, the US military downsized significantly and cut war funding. A large number of aircraft were retired, and Lockheed's military orders plummeted. They tried to profit from civilian aircraft, producing the 'Constellation' series of planes.
The Constellation series performed well, but they faced stronger competitors, Boeing's B-377 Stratocruiser and Douglas's DC-6B. Over the past two years, Douglas received over a hundred orders for the DC-6B, while Lockheed's Constellation only got 17 orders.
