The Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon was a major
redesign of the PV-1 Ventura to optimize it for the maritime reconnaissance role. The
redesign turned out to be so major that it was assigned a new basic model number of Vega
Model 15. Like its predecessors, the PV-2 Harpoon was built by Lockheed's Vega subsidiary.
When carrying a maximum fuel load, the PV-1 Ventura had proven to exhibit only a marginal takeoff performance. In order to improve the performance, new enlarged outer wing panels were installed on the PV-2. These increased the overall wingspan by 6 feet 6 inches to 75 feet and wing area from 551 to 686 square feet. Integral fuel tanks were installed in the outer wing panels to bring maximum fuel capacity to 1863 US gallons when bomb bay tanks and under wing drop tanks were used. The twin vertical tail surfaces were increased in area to improve the stability.
On June 1943, the
Navy ordered 500 PV-2 aircraft under the designation Harpoon. The first Harpoon took
off on its maiden flight on December 3, 1943. Early tests indicated a tendency for the
wings to wrinkle dangerously. A quick modification involving a 6-foot reduction in
wingspan to obtain a uniformly flexible wing did not cure the problem, and Lockheed was
forced to carry out a complete wing redesign delaying the Harpoon’s entrance into
service.
In order to
accommodate a larger payload the bomb bay doors were redesigned giving the PV-2 a
distinctive bulge on the underside. The modifications allowed two Tiny Tim rockets to be
carried completely enclosed. This image is of a Tiny Tim test firing in California. The
white square of the PV-2’s fuselage is a reference mark used to access the attitude
of the rocket at ignition.
The Harpoon turned out to be a thoroughly reliable and popular aircraft. The PV-2 was taken into combat for the first time in March of 1945. The combat use of the Harpoon by the Navy was fairly brief, and was cut short by the end of the war in the Pacific. The Navy continued to use the Harpoon for several years after the war was over. At one time, Harpoons equipped eleven VP squadrons with the Naval Reserve. It was finally phased out of service in August of 1948. Several Harpoons ended up on the commercial market after having been declared surplus to Navy requirements. Some were modified as private transports with deluxe interiors and a few were modified as agricultural spray planes.
In the postwar era, numerous
foreign air arms were equipped with surplus Harpoons that had been withdrawn from US Navy
service. The PV-2 was among the first aircraft to equip the Japanese Maritime Self Defense
Force (JMSDF) after that service came into being in July of 1951. Seventeen PV-2s were
supplied to the JMSDF where they were assigned the serial numbers 4101/4117. One of these
planes crashed in 1955, and the surviving aircraft were designated 4571/4586.
By the time the PV-2's problems had been resolved the plane was on revision 'D'. Only 35 PV-2D aircraft were delivered before VJ Day brought about the abrupt cancellation of all Harpoon contracts. The limited number of PV-2D aircraft makes this find potentially valuable and important.
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