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Lady Southern Cross

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 1:53 pm
by NS38th_Aristaeus
Hello all
I am currently reading yet another book on Amelia Earhart and it mentions a fellow by the name of Sir Kingsford-Smith who disappeared in the Burma area in 1936 while trying to break the London to Australia speed record. The name of his plane was the Lady Southern Cross.
Has this plane ever been found or searched for and does anyone know of the type of A/C?

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:21 am
by Daniel Leahy
According to "The Lockheed File" website, the "Lady Southern Cross" was a Lockheed Altair 8D Special, CN 152, VH-USB/G-ADUS.

It was last sighted over Rangoon on November 7, 1935 and is believed to have crashed into the Gulf of Martaban at approximately 0216 on November 8th.

In 1937 an undercarriage leg was washed ashore at Aye Island and later identified as having belonged to the "Lady Southern Cross". It is now displayed at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

These details are available from "The Lockheed File" at:
http://www.adastron.com/lockheed/altair/altair4.htm

The further remains of the aircraft and crew have never been recovered.

For more information on Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, visit:
http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/k-smith.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kingsford_Smith

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