CR-AAZ Lockheed 14-H2 Super Electra
(c/n 1511)
According to Lockheed, this aircraft is
reputed to be CR-AAZ. That being the case, it would have
been
the last civil Lockheed Model 14 built. DETA had two others
in the immediate post WW II
period: CR-AAV and CR-AAX (c/ns 1507 and 1508
respectively). The Divisao de Exploracao
dos Transportes Aereos (DETA) was formed
in 1937 to provide air transport within Portuguese
East
Africa. Its initial fleet comprised of D.H.Hornet Moths and
Dragonflies. These were replaced
in 1939 with
three Ju 52/3mWs. The Lockheed 14s were delivered in 1940.
Three DC-3s were
added in
1946. The airline flew principally from Lourenco Marques to
Johannesburg, South Africa
and to
Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. I have recently (August
2009) received some historic images
seen below from Mike
Gormly. His father worked in South Africa and
Mozambique in those pre-
war
years. These show CR-AAZ being delivered "off the boat", along
with a shot of some worthies
(none of whom, Mike adds, resembles his dad) standing alongside the
finished product.