RON DUPAS COLLECTION
No. 254. Lockheed 18-56-23 C-60A Lodestar (N4000 c/n 18-2431) Swiftlite Aircraft Corporation
No. 254. Lockheed 18-56-23 C-60A Lodestar (N6000 c/n 18-2537) Columbia Gas System
Photographed at Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, ca. 1959, by Ron Dupas

Lockheed 18-56 Lodestar

01/22/2007. Remarks by Jack McKillop: "The aircraft pictured on the right (N4000) was delivered to the USAAF on April 27, 1943 as a C-60A-5-LO, s/n 42-55970, this aircraft was transferred to the RFC for sale to the public on February 10, 1945. It was sold to the Defense Plant Corp., Washington, D.C., USA, and registered NC33328 on February 21, 1945. Three days later, it was sold to the Grumman Engineering Aircraft Corp. of Bethpage, Long Island, New York, and registered NC7111 on March 12, 1945.

It was subsequently sold to The Standard Oil Co. of Kansas on April 16, 1946, the Ford Motor Co. on May 6, 1947 and the General Motors Corp. on June 10, 1949; GM reregistered the aircraft N5113. It was sold to Swiflite Aircraft Corp. of Jersey City, New Jersey, on February 10, 1950 but operated by Cities Services Gas Co; it was reregistered N4000 six days later and subsequently registered N400F on March 29, 1962. It was owned by several companies and individuals between 1962 and 1973 and was later exported to Mexico. It's fate is unknown.

The aircraft pictured on the left (N6000) was delivered to the USAAF on August 2, 1943 as a C-60A-5-LO, s/n 42-56044 and was transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force under Lend-Lease and designated Lodestar Mk.I s/n A67-4 and assigned civil registration VH-RAD. This Lodestar was struck off charge in 1947 and sold to Union Airways of Wellington, New Zealand, and registered ZK-AOS and named 'Kea'. On April 1, 1947, Union Airways and several other domestic airlines were amalgamated into the New Zealand National Airways Corp. (NZNAC) and NZNAC operated a total of ten Lodestars which were gradually replaced by Douglas DC-3s.

This aircraft was sold to Costine and Co., an aircraft dealer in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on November 15, 1951 and registered N6000. Costine sold it to Columbia Gas System who reregistered it N60C in 1957. It was subsequently sold to several companies and individuals until the US registration was cancelled in July 1972. Somehow, it got to Paraguay and was last reported derelict there in April 1974. Its fate is unknown."


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