In the derivative work, L’Épée de Wotan, a Lockheed Ventura was sent by Raymond to rescue Biggles and co. from Prora. It executed a daring landing on the rooftop of the straight, long buildings of the disused seaside resort and then took off under fire.
Eric Loutte's drawing in Wotan. Biggles and co. are making a dash for the Ventura crewdoor which is accurately placed on the left side. The actual Prora roofs had a gentle gable which can be seen. The plane has landed slightly left of the centre-line, perhaps intentionally, to avoid obstructions.
In Chappal Wadi, Major Alulu Okuru attempted to fly to Cameroon from war-torn Biafra to attend secret negotiations. The aircraft crashed near Chappal Wadi and recovering the valuable cargo on board turned out to be a major plot element in the story.
The aircraft used in Chappal Wadi. That it is a Ventura and not a Lockheed Lodestar is clearly indicated by the presence of the ventral gun position near the tail.
Designed as a successor to the Lockheed Hudson, the Ventura was used for a time as a medium bomber by the R.A.F. but did not prove successful. Some were later used by coastal command and also as a transport. The reason Raymond chose a Ventura is not clear. It might have to do with the capacious fuselage. Certainly the variant employed to pick Biggles up appeared to be a transport, without the dorsal turret.
Civilian passenger and executive conversions of the Ventura and its naval variant the Harpoon proved more successful. One such conversion might have been the Parkington Pacemaker.