PV-2 Harpoon – Erickson Aircraft Collection

The Lockheed PV-2 came out of the U.S. Navy’s patrol bomber program. The PV-1 was considered to have marginal take-off performance when fully loaded, so Lockheed revised the design to improve the aircraft. The revisions resulted in the PV-2 Harpoon. In June of 1943, the Navy ordered 500 PV-2s and the first model flew in December 1943. Their order was delivered in March 1944 and saw action in the Pacific. The Navy used the Harpoon until 1948.

The Erickson Aircraft Collection’s rare PV-2D was the first D model built out of a production of only 35. It operated from numerous Naval bases, including NAS Alameda and NAS Cherry Point before being retired to the U.S. Navy’s aircraft storage facility at Litchfield Park, Arizona in December 1956. It began its civilian career the following year through purchase by several owners who used the craft primarily as a sprayer. It was restored to its original military configuration in 1989 and acquired by the museum in 1999. 

Learn More: https://www.ericksoncollection.com/aircraft#/lockheed-pv-2-harpoon/