USCG V188 - Milton's Lodestar

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Shortly after posting screenshots a few days ago, I found a color photo of V188 - I had to do an almost complete repaint.





Notes from A History of U.S. Coast Guard Aviation, by Arthur Pearcy

From 1936 to 1941 all USCG aircraft were an overall aluminum color with the top of the wing a chrome yellow along with the upper part of the tail surfaces. . . . the top 1/3 of the rudder was painted insignia blue, the bottom 2/3 being divided into five equal vertical stripes . . . . . the aircraft's model designation was placed in white on the blue section of the rudder . . . . the USCG emblem was placed on the forward part of the hull or fuselage . . . .



This Lodestar, V188, was delivered to the Coast Guard on 14 May 1940, the first of five purchased. It was used as an executive transport for the Commandant and the Secretary of the Treasury.




"On 26 December 1941, the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morganthau awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses to an officer and three enlisted men of the Coast Guard.
The Secretary stated:

On the late afternoon of 3 October 1941, Lt. Sinton was pilot of Coast Guard Lockheed R50-1 V188 with the Secretary of the Treasury on board, and while executing an instrument let-down to break through the heavy overcast preparatory to landing at New Hackensack, New Jersey, the aircraft crashed through treetops and was severely damaged. An imminent crash landing seemed certain, but the pilot and crew kept the damaged plane in the air, and after a flight of almost two hours in low visibility and darkness arrived over Philadelphia where clear weather prevailed. Because of the condition of the airplane, a dangerous landing at high speed was necessary, and it was successfully accomplished without injury to persons on board or further damage to the airplane. The courage of . . . . . . .

This was just one of the many citations for the Coast Guard and it's aviators."

After the war it was withdrawn from service, sold and registered in South Africa as ZS-BAJ in 1946. It was again sold and registered in the United States as N54549 on 13 March 1951. After almost seventy-three years, it was deregistered on 30 January 2013.



Textures have been uploaded.

Joe