Warplanes of the USA: Lockheed Ventura

Lockheed Ventura

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Lockheed PV-1 Ventura patrol bomber in flight, circa 1943.

The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II.The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in 1943 in the Pacific. The bomber was also used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), which designated it the Lockheed B-34 (Lexington) and B-37 as a trainer. British Commonwealth forces also used it in several guises, including antishipping and antisubmarine search and attack. The Ventura was developed from the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar transport, as a replacement for the Lockheed Hudson bombers then in service with the Royal Air Force. Used in daylight attacks against occupied Europe, they proved to have weaknesses and were removed from bomber duty and some used for patrols by Coastal Command. After USAAF monopolization of land-based bombers was removed, the US Navy ordered a revised design which entered service as the PV-2 Harpoon for anti-submarine work. (Wikipedia)

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Lockheed PV-1 Ventura (BuNo 29724) in flight, circa in late 1943. Note the evidence of the change from the 1942-43 insignia to the later "star and bar" pattern and the Donald Duck cartoon on the aft fuselage.

(IWM Photo, CH 8885)

RAF Lockheed Ventura Mk. I.

(USAAF Photo)

USAAF Lockheed Model 37 (a former RAF Ventura Mk. II, RAF (Serial No. AJ 354), 4 September 1942. 264 Ventura IIs were retained by the USAAF.

(NMUSAF Photo)

Lockheed B-34-VE in flight, in 1943.

(USAAF Photo)

USAAF Lockheed B-34.

(JSandberg Photo)

USAAF Lockheed B-37, Jackson, Missouri, c1943.

(NMUSAF Photo)

USAAF Lockheed B-37, in 1943.

(Navy8r17 Photo)

Lockheed PV-1 Ventura, VB-135, 1944.

(USN Photo)

Lockheed PV-1 Ventura, VB-135, Whidbey Island 1943.

(NACA Photo)

U.S. Navy Lockheed PV-1 Ventura patrol bomber (BuNo 48871) used by the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), at Moffett Field, California (USA), for flying qualities, stability and control, and performance evaluations from during the first months of 1944.

Survivors:

(Author Photo)

Lockheed Ventura Mk. IIA, RAF (Serial No. AJ311), c/n 137-4449, B-34A Lexington.  Previously on display with the Pueblo-Wiesbrod Aviation Museum, Colorado.  National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio.

The Ventura was very similar to its predecessor, the Lockheed.  The primary difference was not in layout; rather, the Ventura was larger, heavier, and used more powerful engines than the Hudson.  The RAF ordered 188 Venturas in February 1940, which were delivered from mid-1942.  Venturas were initially used for daylight raids on occupied Europe but like some other RAF bombers, they proved too vulnerable without fighter escort, which was difficult to provide for long-range missions.

Lockheed PV-1 Ventura (Serial No. 34670), TP Universal Exports International LLC in Eagan, Minnesota. Airworthy.

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