Lockheed-Azcarate (LAZA) L-60G Turbo Porter 
a/c 142, 2nd Marine Company (2MC), Haitian Navy, Ouadi Doum, Chad, December 1979

A 1957 Lockheed market review identified a requirement for an 8 to 10 seat STOL transport. The resulting L-60 Porter project was intended to address civilian and foreign military needs. To meet market price expectations and to avoid US wartime restrictions on private aviation manufacturing, Lockheed looked to foreign partners for production. The first licensing agreement was with the Mexican government, which entered into a joint venture to form Lockheed-Azcarate (LAZA) to make the L-60.  After delivering 14 piston engined LAZA L-60A Porters for the Mexican Air Force, all subsequent airframes were turboprop powered Turbo Porters. 1,347 LAZA Porters and Turbo Porters were built for civilian and military operators. There were 3 Turbo Porter series built, the L-60G, C and T, depending on the turboprop installed. A second licensing deal was concluded with the South African government, which formed Atlas Aircraft Corporation to make the type as the Atlas C4M Kudu. The choice of nomenclature was an attempt by Lockheed to publicly distance itself from involvement with the increasingly isolated apartheid 
government of South Africa and, subsequently, the neutral socialist government of Anzania. 




Porter, Turbo Porter and Kudu military roles included light STOL transport, paratrooper infiltration and cargo airdropping, artillery spotting, visual and photographic reconnaissance, forward air control, casualty evacuation, light attack, cannon-armed side firing gunship, signals intelligence and radio relay, armed coastal patrol and search and rescue. 



Turbo Porters and Kudus were flown by many conflicting and controversial operators. In southern Africa the Portuguese Empire and Rhodesia used L-60As, while their enemies in Anzania and Namibia flew Kudus. India and Pakistan both used Turbo Porters, with a dogfight between opposing L-60Cs being documented during their war in 1971. Iran and Iraq flew near identical L-60A Turbo Porters throughout their 10 year war in the 1980s. Peru marked their L-60Cs with yellow bands during its 1981 conflict with L-60G operator Ecuador. Air America, Christian Fellowship Aid and Southern Air Transport flew clandestine Turbo Porters on counterinsurgency contracts for the CIA.



Perhaps the most secretive operator was the 2nd Marine Company (2MC) of the Haitian Navy. Obligated to provide personnel to the UN's Common Defence Effort, the government of dictator François "Pappa Doc" Duvalier offered 2MC for operations in Francophone Africa. Effectively a front organisation for Haiti's corrupt and murderous Tonton Macoute paramilitary, 2MC deployed to Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa in 1964. Initially tasked with conducting commando raids along the Red occupied Atlantic coast of North Africa, they were equipped with small boats, trucks and 4x4s. Despite reports of "anti-social behaviour" and "associations with black marketeers," Haiti's 2MC became a go-to unit for the UN African Command's dirty work. As one former senior UN officer told investigative journalist Seymour M. Hersh in 1970, "2MC has no qualms, gets the job done and is practically self funding." In short, they were African Command's goon squad.



Haiti's President for life died in April 1971. He was replaced by "Baby Doc" Jean-Claude Duvalier. The new President saw the Tonton Macoute's leader, Luckner Cambronne, as a threat. Cranbourne was dismissed, exiled and replaced by Roger Lafontant as Minister of the Interior and National Defense. Wanting to depict himself as a nicer dictator than his father, Baby Doc had Lafontant transform 2MC into "a less illegal entity" according to Hersh. Lafontant reformed 2MC, from a death squad into an airmobile covert action force. 



6 LAZA L-60G Turbo Porters were acquired by the Haitian Navy in 1973, 2 of which were subsequently deployed to Africa for use by 2MC in 1974. One of the African based Turbo Porters was destroyed in a crash in Mauritania during 1977 and replaced with the plane modelled here. 4 UH-1N Twin Huey helicopters also joined the unit in 1974, along with a single Mooney C-10F Hopi. The missions of 2MC are still classified, but the Marine unit's aviation assets were seen at places as far inland as Chad, Rwanda and Burundi. 



This 2MC operated LAZA L-60G Turbo Porter, a/c 142, is modeled as photographed at Ouadi Doum, Chad, in December 1979. Painted in a striking maritime camouflage, the aircraft appeared incongruous in the desert environment of northern Chad. Officially providing "training and intelligence assistance" 2MC was likely supporting UN operations against Red and Libyan backed insurgents active in the area. 2MC remained in Africa until the UN's final withdrawal in September 1980. 142 was found abandoned at Bahir Dar Airport in Ethiopia following the African Revolutions of 1980.

Before everyone points out the clear Zenrat influence on the paint job, let me agree and then point out that the camouflage design was inspired by an AI image generator. I asked for a Turbo Porter in a maritime camouflage, found something inspiring and changed the colours a bit.

What's not to like about a Turbo-Porter in ANY colour scheme!   

I've got the amazing Austrian IPMS sponsored kit in The Loft, which has a MIND BOGGLING decal sheet which almost covers the entire airframe in colour! I must build it one day....................

Very nice, I have a soft spot for turbo porters also, and this is right up my street. Excellent back story as ever Comrade. 

Nice and exotic idea.    I did a Haitian P-47 many moons ago.

Very nice ! Like Kit says, who doesn't like a Turbo Porter in any scheme !

That is really nice sir     

Cool camos as always, Comrade.

I resemble those remarks Glen...

 

Good job.   

Is that the Dora Wings kit?  I have a couple of them.  How did it build?

Quote from: zenrat on January 04, 2026, 04:36:02 AMI resemble those remarks Glen...

 

Good job.   

Is that the Dora Wings kit?  I have a couple of them.  How did it build?

It is the Dora kit. Aside from my own errors, it went together well. Watch out for the underwing planels, it's easy to get them wrong and the landing gear struts that attach near the cabin doors aren't in the instructions. It has lots of PE parts that l ignored. Otherwise, an easy build.

Quote from: comrade harps on January 04, 2026, 09:08:14 PM

Quote from: zenrat on January 04, 2026, 04:36:02 AMI resemble those remarks Glen...

 

Good job.   

Is that the Dora Wings kit?  I have a couple of them.  How did it build?

It is the Dora kit. Aside from my own errors, it went together well. Watch out for the underwing planels, it's easy to get them wrong and the landing gear struts that attach near the cabin doors aren't in the instructions. It has lots of PE parts that l ignored. Otherwise, an easy build.

Good to hear.   

I've been keen on the Porter since I watched the scene where one lands on the side of a mountain in the Air America movie.

Nice one Comrade - great cammo and I like a "dirty" backstory.

Quote from: PR19_Kit on January 02, 2026, 04:57:40 AMI've got the amazing Austrian IPMS sponsored kit in The Loft, which has a MIND BOGGLING decal sheet which almost covers the entire airframe in colour! I must build it one day....................

I've got one of those as well. I don't remember the decals sheet being that big, but anyway, mine's going British Antarctic Survey one of these decades.