Lockheed C-56 Lodestar (8374)

This aircraft is one of 29 Model 18 Lodestars ordered by South African Airways in the late 1930s. War broke out before they were delivered in 1940-41 and all but one went straight to the South African Air Force where they were used as intermediate range personnel transports, carrying 14 passengers and a crew of 3. The Lodestars were assigned to 5 Wing based at Air Force Station Germiston. It was returned to South African Airways in 1944, registered as ZS-ASU and named "Piet Retief." It was withdrawn from SAA service in October 1950 and sold to East African Airways. The USAAF operated Lodestars during World War II, some taken over from civil airlines as C-56 and C-57, some purchased new as C-60s. The US Navy also purchased some under designation R-50. The aircraft at Castle Air Museum displays WWII markings of the South African Air Force.