Lockheed Starliner ZS-DVJ,
remembered by Erik Eriksson


Photos provided by Erik Eriksson

ZS-DVJ landing on Warmbad (Transvaal, South Africa), date unknown.

It must have been adventurous to land "the Queen of the Skies" on such primitive airfields !

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Photo courtesy © South African Airways Museum Society

ZS-DVJ reappears when the dust settles !

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Ralph Pettersen (of Connie Survivors) suggested: " the date of the pictures at Warmbad is probably October 9th, 1971, the day of the last flight of this great aircraft."

Photo courtesy © South African Airways Museum Society.

Colour instamatic photos, probably taken around 1972 or 1973.

History of ZS-DVJ c/n 1042
  • Current registration - ZS-DVJ
  • Delivered to Lufthansa January 1958 as L1649A D-ALOL
  • Leased to World Airways October 1962 to February 1964 as N45520
  • To Trek Airways April 24, 1964 as ZS-DVJ
  • Leased to South African Airways May to September 1965
  • To Safari Travel Ltd and leased to Luxair May 18, 1967 as LX-LGX
  • Returned to Trek Airways June 1968 as ZS-DVJ
  • Retired by Trek April 1969 and stored at Johannesburg, South Africa
  • To W.J. Pelser July 27, 1971 and certificate renewed for a one-time flight to Wonderboom Airport, Warmbad South Africa on October 9, 1971
  • Plans for cafe did not materialize
  • To Die Afrikaanse Taal-en Kultuurvereniging 1973 and displayed at Klein Kariba, near Warmbad by April 1974
  • Later used as boardroom at factory near Klein Kariba
  • To South African Airways for preservation in 1978
  • Dismantled May 1979 and transported, by road, to Johannesburg Airport arriving on May 23, 1979
  • To allow for ground shipment, the one-piece wing was cut off the aircraft, which precludes it from flying again
  • Restoration began February 1984 and was completed in time for SAA's Open Day on April 30, 1988
  • On display at the SAA Museum at Jan Smuts International Airport, Johannesburg in Trek Airways color scheme
  • Painted by SAA in Trek Airways colors in February 2004
  • The museum plans to move the aircraft, by road, to Rand Airport in Germiston, South Africa

Source: www.conniesurvivors.com/ZS-DVJ.htm as per May 2005.

The TREK-titles of Trek Airways can still be read on the tail.
Erik Eriksson wrote: "These are photos of where the plane was parked, sadly, on its sandy landing strip. The exact locality I think was called Klein (=Little) Kariba, which used to be what they call in South Africa a "pleasure resort" a kind of a motel style holiday resort with a few pools, tennis court, horse riding etc.
I went back there a few years ago to check things out, but of course no-one knows anything and what used to be the Little Kariba pleasure resort has now become a Christian Convention centre. No more pleasure and no more runway (that I could see)."

Runway in the bush An impression of the runway "in the bush"; this is looking in the direction the plane would have come in from....
There were, of course, no runway lights nor maybe even a windsock; I imagine the Starliner had to circle before landing to check for animals on the runway !

Thanks Erik, for sharing these images


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Created: 16-5-05 Updated: 22-5-05