Vega Ventura: The Operational Story of Lockheed’s Lucky Star

116 Pages·1996·34.492 MB·English

by  John C. Stanaway

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VEGA
VENTURA
The Operational Story of .
Lockheed's Lucky Star
JOHN C. STANAWAY
SchifferMilitary/Aviation History
Atglen, PA
Frontcoverand colorprofile artworkby SteveFerguson,ColoradoSprings,CO.
TRUK STOP
The coverartworkdepictsthe July 1944interdiction missionofaJapaneseconvoy
south of Truk Lagoon by the Venturas of VB-148. This mission is described in
chapter8.
Acknowledgements
Among the manyagenciesthat responded to my requestswithcheerful gener
osity were the Imperial War Museum and the Royal Air Force Museum in Great
Britain. The offices of the Canadian National Defense Forces also went an extra
distanceto satisfythe needsof this effort, as did the Royal NewZealandAirForce
Museum. The Emil Buehler Naval Aviation Library, the Ventura Memorial Flight
Association, and the PimaAir Museum added help with research on the PV-2.
Many of the USN Ventura veterans pitched in because of the kindness of the
publication WINGS OF GOLD in spreading word ofmy needs.The same istrue of
the USMC publication LEATHERNECK, which carries on the Marine tradition of
doingajobthoroughly. SomeoftheNavyandMarine Venturaveteranswhohelped
includeareBobBarret,Jr., EdBenintende, MartinBoisen, MelvinDay,JamesDoster,
Jimmie Fox, Bob Goossen, Don Kitchin, Jr., Dr. John McClennan, Ed Payne, Herb
Price, JerryTesch, LouisTrainor, and Lee Whitehead.
Keith Hisockwas one ofthe first aviation historiansto pitch in with vital details
aboutEuropeanoperations,andhewasfollowedbymynewAustralianfriend, Doug
Norrie, who provided much detail on Austrailian activity in the Mediterranean as
well as the Pacific. Myoid Australian friend, Bruce Hoy, once again dredged his
resources and worked behind thescenesto help withtheAustralian section. Other
people offered encouragement and patient understanding, including my long-suf
fering wife, Susan, who not only offered moral support, but also herown technical
expertise. Finally, special thanks to our good friend Tom Martin, who worked with
more than generosityto helpthis project see the lightof day.
John Stanaway
February 1996
Book Design by Ian Robertson.
\
Copyright© 1996by John C. Stanaway
Library of CongressCatalog Number: 96-67518
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any forms
or by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or
information storage and retrieval systems - without written permission from the
copyright holder.
Printed in China.
ISBN: 0-7643-0087-3
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Contents
Introduction 5
Chapter 1 Civilian into Soldier 7
Chapter 2 Air Combat over Europe 11
Chapter 3 Mediterranean Duty 21
Chapter 4 Training in the U.S 23
Chapter 5 Atlantic Venturas 31
Chapter 6 USN: North Pacific 35
Chapter 7 USN: Central Pacific 41
Chapter 8 USN: South and Southwest Pacific 49
Chapter 9 U.S. Marine Venturas 55
Chapter 10 Pacific Allies Ei1
Chapter 11 Civilian Once Again 83
Chapter 12 Conclusions 85
Appendices
Appendix 1 Location of USN Ventura Squadrons 87
Appendix 2 Ventura and Harpoon Losses 88
Appendix 3 Ventura Flight Crews 97
Appendix 4 Ventura Aircraft 104
1
!
l
4 Vega Ventura
INTRODUCTION
In January of 1965 Isaw a Ventura bomber forthe first to usethe Venturajustabout the time that the RAF was giv
time. It was in an industrial yard just off the road between ingitup,andfoundthepatrolbomberspeedy,agileandadapt
Minneapolis and St. Paul and Istopped only long enough to able to heavy armament. Some of the Navy pilots jokingly
take some notice. The serial number on the rear fuselage suggested that the RAF and U.S. Army crews proved the
wasAJ311 andsubsequentresearch revealedthatithadbeen superiorityofUSNtrainingwhentheNavytookuptheVentura,
reclaimed by the U.S.ArmyAir Forces before it was passed designated itthe PV-1 and demonstrated itstrue potential.
on to civilian hands after the war to be used for static light The quality of all Ventura crews was unusually high, so
ning tests. the blame forthe disparityin performance does not liethere.
ThisvenerableLockheedwas in reasonablygoodshape There are several factors such as mission designation and
and retained its original RAF camouflage of middle brown various equipment uses that much more determined the
and dark green upper surfaces with buff blue-green record of the Ventura in combat. One of the purposes of this
undersurfaces,and evokedstrong moodofthe middleWorld book is to outline the reasons for those differences that did
WarII period when grim aerial combat took place overwest occur, and to put into printforthe first time the complete op
ern Europe. I had always admired the sleek and proud look erational story of the LockheedNega Ventura.
of Lockheed airplanes, but this little twin-engine delight ap One of the reasons that an entire major volume has not
peared ready to take on any task - even the unglamorous been devotedto the Ventura, Iam sure, isthat so little infor
work of taking on high-voltageelectricity. mation isavailable. Lockheed provided a bit with their usual
Ever since that moment the Ventura has had a central generosity, but the bulk of data was still hidden in the un
place in my affection for aircraft; the thing just looked right chartedseasofhistory.ThebestworksavailableontheUSN
and I wondered how the RAF could have had such a low version ofthe Ventura- designated PV-1 - arebyCaptain
opinion of it. Added to the frustration of wondering why the Bill Scarborough and Charles Scrivner, and these two vol
Ventura fared so poorly in RAF service Icould find precious umes provided an excellent basis for the Navy chapters.
littlein print aboutthisfascinating airplane. Inwriting several Marvelous response came from requests to "Wings ofGold"
books dealing with the venerable stablemate ofthe Ventura, and "Leatherneck" magazines that invited Ventura veterans
the P-38 Lightning, Ifound thatcontroversycan attend even fromthethirty-someNavyandthe uniqueMarinenightfighter
awell proven airplane.There isnodoubtthatthe P-38wasa squadron, VMF(N)-531, to participate in the research with
majoraerial force in itselfduringthe Second World War, and their reminiscences and photographs.
still there are unkind words spoken about it. In one case a Similar magnificent aid came from English, Canadian,
former P-38 pilot poured loveless venom on his old mount, Australian and NewZealand sources. With the helpofmany
butsince hewasworking atthetimetrying to sell awarplane veteransandnationalarchives, acompletebodyofworkwas
for another company it can be assumed that he had some nowpossible. Now,forthefirsttime somefiftyyearsafterthe
otherfish to fry! end ofWorld WarII,the story of the LockheedNegaVentura
The RAF despised the Ventura because it was slow, can be told.
unmaneuverable and inadequately armed. The USN began
OPPOSITE: LockheedModel18whichformedthebasisofthe
Venturabomber. Civilian18was usedbyMidContinent,Continental,
National,UnitedandWesternairlinesintheU.S.(Lockheed)
Introduction 5
I
I
6 Vega Ventura
Chapter 1
Civilian Into Soldier
I
nJulyof 1941 LockheedAircraftCorporation was notdo
ing well financially. The successful Model 10 Electra of
the middle 1930swassupplanted by the Model 14Super
Electra, which enjoyed an extended production lifeas aBrit
ish patrol bomber and, ironically, a Japanese military trans
port. However,the nextairfinerdesign- theModel 18Lode
star- was not ordered in quitethe numbers that Lockheed
had hoped and leftthe company short of immediate produc
tion numbers. The first full-scale military order for the P-38
Lightning fighterwas limitedto amodestnumberand did not
offer a ready solution to tightened cash flow. The projected
four-engine Constellation was not due forseveral years and
at the present was another source of expenditure.
The beginning of World War II in 1939 almost immedi
ately led to the aggressive search by a newly formed British
Purchasing Board to find largestocks of aircraft from mainly
U.S. markets.Aircraftfrom Britishsourcescouldhardlymain
taincurrentwarneeds, notto mention requirementstocome.
Lockheed had supplied the highlysatisfactoryHudsonpatrol NC-44891 whichapparentlywasacquiredbyanoil companyatsome
bomberfrom its Model 14airlinerand the British commission point. (Lockheed)
requestedabomberoflongerrangeandbombloadtocounter This engine choice was perhaps the most fortunate and
the anticipated German submarine menace. curiousaspectoftheVenturaoperationalhistory. Forthemost
Lockheed suggested the L-37, adirectmilitaryversion of part, the Double Wasp would power such American fighters
theModel 18, toquicklyfulfilltheRAFrequirement. Inviewof as the Republic Thunderbolt and USN fighters such as the
the pressingwarsituation and the successoftheHudson an F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair. The engine developed a leg
orderfortwenty-fiveVentura, asthenewbomberwasnamed, endaryabilitytoabsorbdamageand returnto itshomebase.
was placed in February 1940. Lockheed's Vega subsidiary All aircraft powered by the impressive Pratt & Whitney en
was assigned to produce the bomber and the bomber was gine gained reputation for being speedy and reliable ma
referred to in the press as the Vega Ventura throughout the chines.
middle years of the war. The Double Wasp was an 18-cylinder twin-row radial
Venturameantsomethinglike"LuckyStar",andLockheed engine with capability for advanced supercharging and bet
hopedthat largeorderswould makethe sobriquetcome true tercylinderheadcooling.Thedesignproved soenduringthat
forthem.Thebasicallysound Model 18wascarefullyaltered 125,000examples were produced as late as 1960. Interest-
forwartimedutiesandthefinal resultshouldhavegladdened
theheartsofLockheedexecutiveswhoexpectedtheVentura
to return heavydividends.
The most importantchange inconverting the civilian air
liner to military bomber was the selection of engine. Power
forthe commercial version - or Lodestar- was generated
bythe 1,200hpWright Cyclone R-1820thatgavetheairliner
acruising speed of around 250 mph at 17,000 feet. A more
powerful engine was selected for the military version when
the Pratt& WhitneyDoubleWaspR-2800, rated at 2,000hp,
wasfitted tothe airframe. Some farsighted engineerhadde
signed the powerplant aspect of the Lodestar to utilize the
Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp among other engines, and the
transition to the Double Wasp was a simple matter.
OPPOSITE: 18-2148which was ordered byDSC ofBrazil,and ThesuperbPratt&Whitney R-2800aircooledenginewhich powered
becamethesoleC-66,42-13657. (Lockheed) mostVenturabombers. (Pratt&Whitney)
Chapter 1: Civilian Into Soldier 7
Venturamiddleproductionline.(Lockheed)
ingly, the power of the Double Wasp had to be used by the caliber Browning guns that simply made it more difficult for
Venturavia apairofwidechord paddlebladed propellers, an enemy interceptorsto come into range.
arrangement comparable to the cranked wing of the F4U Bythetimethefirst prototypewas readyforflightonJuly
Corsairthat allowedthe installationofunusuallylong blades. 31, 1941 over the hills of southern California orders for the
A step was introduced into the rear ventral fuselage to Ventura intheRAFhadreached875.Thewolfhadbeenfrus
house a pair of .303 machine guns and an opening was cut trated at Lockheed's doorand the corporation could breathe
intothe dorsal to accommodate another pairof .303 guns in easier- ifthe Ventura lived upto expectationsandjustified
abulkyBoulton-Paulturret.Apairoffixed and anotherpairof the increased sales.
flexible guns added to the nose completed the complement Thatfirstflightofthe prototype(RAFserialAE658)wasa
of eight defensive weapons. The nose was glazed to permit success and impressed members of the British commission
adequate visibility forgunnerand bombardier. with a top speed around 300 mph and a landing speed of
The matter of armament was one great difference be about80 mph. Bomb load was expected to be 2,500 Ibsand
tween the Britishand laterAmerican versions and mayhave an effective range of 900 miles was somewhat greaterthan
been the principle complaint of RAF crews. Light .30 caliber that of the Hudson.
gunswere notreally uptofending offGermanfightersarmed Deliveries were expected to begin early in 1942and the
withcannonandheaviermachineguns.American PV-1 types Venturawentintoimmediateproduction.Althoughprioritywas
werearmedmainlywith longer-rangingandharder-hitting .50 given to the new warplane, the event of Pearl Harbor man-
8 Vega Ventura