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| L-18 Lodestar C-56 / C-57 / C-60 / R5O |
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| C-60A Lodestar | |
| Role | Passenger transport |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed |
| First flight | September 21, 1939 |
| Introduced | March 30, 1940 |
| Primary user | United States Army Air Corps |
| Number built | 625 |
| Developed from | Lockheed L-14 Super Electra |
| Variants | Lockheed Ventura |
The Lockheed L-18 Lodestar was a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era.
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Design and development
The prototype of the Lockheed L-18, which first flew in 1939, was constructed from one of a batch of Lockheed L-14 Super Electras which had been returned to the manufacturer by Northwest Airlines after a series of crashes of L-14s. The fuselage was lengthened by 5 ft (1.5 m), enabling the fitting of two more rows of seats and hopefully making the aircraft more economical to operate. However, most US airlines were by then committed to purchasing the Douglas DC-3, and Lockheed found the Lodestar difficult to sell at home.
A total of 625 Lodestars of all variants were built.
Operational history
Overseas sales were a little better, with 29 bought by the government of the Netherlands East Indies. South African Airways (21), Trans-Canada Air Lines (12) and BOAC (9) were the biggest airline customers. Various Pratt & Whitney and Wright Cyclone powerplants were installed.
When the United States started to build up its military air strength in 1940-41, American operated, plus many new-build Lodestars were flown by the Army Air Force and U.S. Navy under various designations. Lend-lease aircraft were used by the RNZAF as transports.
After the war Lodestars returned to civilian service, mostly as executive transports such as Dallas Aero Service's DAS Dalaero conversion, Bill Lear's Learstar (produced by PacAero), and Howard Aero's Howard 250. A few of the latter were even converted to tricycle undercarriage.
Many of the New Zealand aircraft were later used for aerial topdressing.
A single Lodestar served with the Israeli Air Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Survivors
Around 10-15 are still airworthy in the USA alone.[citation needed] An example of a Lodestar converted for commercial use exists at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum in Houston, Texas.
Variants
US Army Lodestars
- C-56
- Powered by 760 hp Wright R-1820 engines, 1 aircraft built.
- C-56A / C-56B / C-56C / C-56D / C-56E
- Powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1690 engines. Total 25 aircraft built.
- C-57A
- Powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines, 1 aircraft built.
- C-57B
- Troop ship version powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines, 7 aircraft built.
- C-57C
- Repowered C-60A with Pratt & Whitney R-1830-51 engines, 3 aircraft built.
- C-57D
- Repowered C-57A with Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 engines, 1 aircraft built.
- C-59
- Powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet engines, 10 aircraft built. Transferred to RAF as Lodestar IA.
- C-60
- Powered by Wright R-1820-87 engines, 36 aircraft built. Transferred to RAF as Lodestar II.
- C-60A
- Powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines, 125 aircraft built. Ordered by the Army as troop-carriers.
- XC-60B
- C-60A with experimental de-icing equipment, 1 aircraft built.
- C-60C
- Proposed 21-seat troop transport aircraft, never built.
- C-66
- Powered by Wright R-1820-87 engines. 1 aircraft built, transferred to Brazilian Air Force.
US Navy Lodestars
- XR5O-1
- Powered by 1,200 hp (895 kW) Wright R-1820-40 engines, 1 aircraft built.
- R5O-1
- Powered by 1,200 hp (895 kW) Wright R-1820-97 engines. 3 aircraft built, one was transferred to the United States Coast Guard.
- R5O-2
- Powered by 850 hp (634 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1690-25 engines, 1 aircraft built.
- R5O-3
- Powered by 1,200 hp (895 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-34A engines. Originally 4-seater VIP transports, 2 aircraft built.
- R5O-4
- Powered by 1,200 hp (895 kW) Wright R-1820-40 engines. Impressed. 7-seater staff transports, 12 aircraft built.
- R5O-5
- Powered by 1,200 hp (895 kW) Wright R-1820-40 engines. Similar to the R5O-4 but had 14-seats. 14 aircraft built.
- R5O-6
- 35 USAAF C-60A-5-LOs transferred to the USN (US Marine Corps), equipped with 18 paratroop seats.
Operators
Military operators
- Royal New Zealand Air Force
- No. 40 Squadron RNZAF
- No. 41 Squadron RNZAF
Civil operators
- Union Airways of New Zealand (1945-1947)
- National Airways Corporation (post 1947)
- BOAC (9)
- Linea Aerea Nacional 1943-1953
- Cinta Chilean Airlines 1953-1959
Specifications (C-60)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
- Crew: Three
- Capacity: 14 passengers
- Length: 49 ft 10 in (15.2 m)
- Wingspan: 65 ft 6 in (20 m)
- Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.6 m)
- Wing area: 551 ft² (51.2 m²)
- Empty weight: 12,000 lb (5,440 kg)
- Loaded weight: 17,500 lb (7,940 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney Hornet S1C3-G, 1,050 hp (780 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 265 mph (426 km/h) at 13,300 ft (4,050 m)
- Range: 1,700 mi (2,740 km)
- Service ceiling: 25,400 ft (7,740 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,600 ft/min (490 m/min)
Armament
none
See also
Related development
Related lists
- List of airliners
- List of Lockheed aircraft
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)
- List of Royal New Zealand Air Force Aircraft
References
Notes
Bibliography
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