Built as a Lockheed 12A Junior Electra at Lockheed Burbank - 1939

Powered by Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior SB engines

Entered onto the U. S. Aircraft Register as NC18977 - December 1939

Registered to Pittsburgh Steel Company

Accepted by the Pittsburgh Steel Company - December 14, 1939

Impressed by the United States Army Air Force as a Lockheed UC-40D-LO - March 14, 1942

Allocated U. S. serial number 42-38348

Transferred to Royal Air Force under the lend / lease agreement - July 27, 1942

Allocated the RAF serial number LA623

Issued to No 24 Squadron, Hendon - September 5, 1942

Operated by Metropolitan Communications Squadron, Hendon - September 1, 1944

Operated last operational mission Hendon - Ronaldsway - Long Kesh - Hendon - September 7, 1945

Pilot-in-command - Flight Lt Morgan

Withdrawn from use and stored

Deemed surplus to requirements and was struck-off-charge - November 17, 1945

Entered onto the British Aircraft Register as G-AGWN - February 19, 1946

Registered to Sidney Cotton t/a Aeronautical and Industrial Research Corporation

Converted to civilian standards by Short Bros at Belfast and acquired Short Conversion Number SH.50C

Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA 269) issued - May 21, 1947

Sold to Skyways Ltd - May 1947

Sold to The Zinc Corporation for use as a corporate aircraft in Europe - June 1950

Ferried Europe - Australia - 1952

Arrived Melbourne (Essendon) Airport for overhaul by Ansett - April 10, 1952

Modified with the fitment of additional long range fuel tanks and configured for 2 crew and 4 passengers

Aircraft was named 'Silver Star'

Application to register the aircraft as VH-BHH were made - April 18, 1952

Test flown at Melbourne Essendon Airport by Len Diprose - October 24, 1952

Test flown at Melbourne Essendon Airport by Len Diprose - October 31, 1952

Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA ?) issued - November 1952

Entered onto the Australian Aircraft Register as VH-BHH - November 1952

Registered to Silver City Airways (subsidiary of The Zinc Corporation)

Sold to Bush Church Aid Society for Australia and Tasmania - October 1957

Ferried Melbourne (Essendon) - Ceduna (A. E. Chadwick, G. M. Job) - November 2, 1957

Operated from Ceduna in air ambulance role

Reregistered as VH-FMS - June 24, 1959

Badly damaged in landing accident at Ceduna when undercarriage collapsed - March 17, 1960

Airframe transported by truck and stored in Robby's Hangar, Parafield, South Australia

Cancelled from the Australian Aircraft Register - November 4, 1960

Sold to Allan Rae and trucked to Moorabbin Airport, Victoria for restoration - August 19, 1962

Restoration suspended following the purchase of Lockheed 12 VH-ASV

Sold to Dr Anthony Fisher - 1967

Fuselage and wings had been trucked to Dr Fisher's property at Jerilderie - February 17, 1968

Sold to John G. Love and airframe trucked to Albury Airport, N.S.W. - 1984

Acquired by the National Air and Space Museum of Australia (NASMA) - July 1995

A complicated trading situation involved the following exchange:

The NAMSA traded Catalina parts to the R.A.A.F. Museum who then traded C-47 'A65-64' to John Love who

then traded VH-FMS to NASMA

With the demise of NASMA ownership of VH-FMS reverted to the Museum of Victoria - February 1998

VH-FMS acquired by Australia Museum of Flight, Nowra on long-term loan - December 2000

VH-FMS acquired by HARS from Museum of Victoria on long-term loan - February 2010

Aircraft is intended to be restored to airworthy condition in the future

Currently stored at HARS, Albion Park Regional Airport, Wollongong, N.S.W. - 2012