Lockheed PV-1 Ventura 1/72 Scale Model

American PV-1 - This is a model of a land-based, high-speed Navy patrol bomber that flew against the Japanese in the Pacific. The Ventura was the result of a British request for a replacement for the Lockheed Hudson. It was not an improved version of the Hudson, as it was developed from Lockheed's Model 18 Lodestar commercial airliner, and the Hudson had been developed from their Model 14 Super Electra. The Ventura first saw combat in late 1942 with the British in Western Europe. In 1941 the U.S. Army began to divert some for use as interim medium bombers, but in 1942 they agreed to hand over all coastal patrol duties to the U.S. Navy and let the Navy have all the Venturas produced for the U.S. The PV-1 first saw combat with the U.S. Navy in 1943, replacing the PBO-1 and taking over many duties of the PBY. Later model PV-1s operating in the Pacific were often fitted with extra machine guns under the nose, and PV-1s were used as nightfighters by the Marines in the Solomon Islands. The Ventura's successor, the PV-2 Harpoon, entered service in 1944. It had improved handling qualities, but it was a little slower.

More Photos: Left, Right, Top, Front Angle Left, Front Angle Right, Rear Angle Left, Rear Angle Right, Above Left, Above Right

American Aircraft of World War II, David Mondey

Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913, Rene Francillon

PV Ventura/Harpoon Units of World War 2, Alan Carey

PV-1 Ventura in Action, Charles Scrivner

U.S. Navy Air Combat, 1939-1946, Robert Lawson

U.S. Navy Aircraft Since 1911, Gordon Swanborough

U.S. Navy Dive and Torpedo Bombers of WWII, Barrett Tillman

U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aircraft Camouflage and Markings Vol. 1, 1911-1945, Thomas Doll

Vega Ventura: The Operational History of Lockheed's Lucky Star, John Stanaway