Aviation 101
Lockheed L.18-10 Lodestar
The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar first flew in Sept 1939 and was a modification of the Model 14 which had not been as well received as the Douglas DC-3, in production at that time. A total of 625 Lodestars were built, many being used by the US military during the war. Of these about nine intact aircraft still exist on display around the world.
| A Lockheed 37 Ventura at El Trompillo Santa Cruz |
| Three-view drawing of the L.18-10 |
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Facebook Page:
"Friends of Lloyd Aereo Boliviano"
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LAB Lockheed L.18-10 Aircraft Fleet
Histories and photos of four aircraft operated by Lloyd Aereo Boliviano
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CB-25
| CB-25 El Alto Photo: aviacionboliviana.net |
Lockheed L.18-10 Lodestar c/n 18-2088
History:
Built by Lockheed Aircraft Co. Burbank, CA 1941
Lockheed Aircraft Co. NC39402 1941
Dixie Air Lines " 1941
- leased ? from LAC
- ntu - not taken up by Dixie
Lockheed Aircraft Co. " 1941
- returned
Defense Supplies Corp. NX39402 1941
- distribution of surplus aircraft
LAB CB-25 18 Sep 1941
Destroyed in a fire at El Alto 21 Aug 1944
No additional information is available
The best source of information on the L.18-10 in Bolivia (in Spanish) is this article by AviacionBoliviana.Net : http://www.aviacionboliviana.net/civil/art_lockheedtwins.htm
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CB-26
| LAB CB-26 |
Lockheed L.18-10 Lodestar c/n 18-2098
History:
Built by Lockheed Aircraft Co. at Burbank, CA 1941
NEIAF - LT9-3 1941
- Netherlands East Indies AF- (NEI had two military aviation organizations: the Naval Air Service and the Army. Neither of these operated the Lockheed Lodestar; NEI Airlines operated 18 of them, as of Dec 1941). This aircraft was ordered but not flown or taken up (ntu).
Lockheed Aircraft Co. NC39403 Jun 1941
Netherlands (or Dutch) East Indies LT-903 1941
- the government of NEI purchased 29 Lodestar aircraft
- apparently this order was not delivered -ntu;
Yukon Southern Air Transport CF-BTY 1941
- two model 18-10s delivered new
- photo was taken in Jun 1941 of CF-BTY in YSAT markings
| CF-BTY in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada 15 Jun 1941 |
Defense Supplies Corp. ? 1941
LAB CB-26 30 Aug 1941
-wfu ?
- one source says destroyed in Sucre during civil unrest Sep 1949
- another source says destroyed at El Trompillo during a bombing attack 12 Sep 1949
| CB-26 in Cochabamba in 1946 Photo: LAB archive - Mario de la Reza |
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CB-27
| Capt. Luis Torres with one of the LAB Lockheed L-18-10s |
Lockheed L-18-10-27 c/n 2217
History:
Built by Lockheed Aircraft Co. at Burbank, CA 1942 - impressed into service with the US military because of WWII
- re-configured into military version C-57B troop transport
USAAF 43-3277 4 Sep 1942
- converted to L-18-08 civilian version
LAB CB-27 4 Mar 1943
- wfu 1947 ?
- possibly used for spares
Note: There is some confusion here; some sources indicate that CB-27 was c/n 2217, and that CB-28 was c/n 2169; other sources have those identities reversed. The same confusion exists between CB-25 and CB-26.
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CB-28
| The pilot, Capt. Luis Torres with LAB CB-28 |
Lockheed L-18-10 c/n 2169
History:
Built by Lockheed Aircraft Co. at Burbank, CA 1942
Defense Supplies Corp. NC33603 2 May 1942
- converted to L-18-08 / C-56D-LO Lodestar
USAAF 42-57223
- sent to Bolling Field, Washington DC 11 Jun 1942
- transferred to Gravelly Point, VA 4 Jul 1943
In commercial use ? Sep 1943
Observed in Brownsville, TX being ferried to Bolivia 28 Nov 1944
LAB CB-28 8 Dec 1944
Civil Unrest: According to AviacionBoliviana.Net, the Lockheed Lodestar CB-28 was the target of an air attack on 29 Aug 1949 in Sucre during a revolution. One engine caught fire and the aircraft was destroyed.
| Model 18 Lodestar |
Latest comments
Los K-8 llegaron a Bolivia recién en 2011,no en 1993. La pista podría ser la de Tarija.
FRIMO= Frigorífico Movima, empresa de carga de los años 70- 80
Thank you for creating this website on the LAB fleet. I am writing a book, set in 1996, flight Riberalto, Bolivia to La Paz Bolivia & my research led me here. It was incredibly informative & helpful!
Steeling my pictures from La Paz 1973 they have my copyright, no permission is ask