[ARC5] Lockheed PV-2D harpoon update

Sat Oct 5 09:21:51 EDT 2013

Taigh:

I am sorry I don't have any technical information that you need, but I wanted to go on the record.

I wanted to tell you and your fine crew "Thank You!" for all you do.  You folks are doing wonderful things for our veterans.

Anyone not familiar with Taigh's work, check out twinbeech.com

Thanks again,
John
K5ENQ
--------------------------------------------
On Fri, 10/4/13, Taigh Ramey <taigh at twinbeech.com> wrote:

 Subject: [ARC5] Lockheed PV-2D harpoon update
 To: Arc5 at mailman.qth.net
 Cc: "<milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>" <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>
 Date: Friday, October 4, 2013, 5:33 PM

 Hello,

 I wanted to check in with you all to let you know what we
 have been doing with our museum's 1945 Lockheed PV-2D
 Harpoon and also to ask you about a few radio items that we
 are in need of.

 We have been flying the PV-2D a lot this year and have met
 several WWII PV veterans. When we were at the Topeka
 Warbirds and Legends show recently we met Bill Borst who was
 a radio operator in PV-1's and PV-2's in WWII. We were able
 to get Bill back up flying in the Harpoon at his radio
 operators station just behind the pilots seat. Bill, along
 with his son and grandson, had a magical time flying again.
 His wife said she had not seen him so excited about anything
 in years.

 At Oshkosh in July we met Don Anderson who was a Navigator
 in PV's. Don was quite emotional while sitting at the nav
 station that we built pretty much from scratch. It was built
 to the blueprints and photos and we are proud of its
 accuracy and authenticity. I think Don liked it too.

 Thanks to Mark from this list we now have the ARC-5 wired up
 and running as well as the two ARB's and the ART-13. Thanks
 Mark! Next in line is the APS-3 search radar.

 We have been talking to Will Swinney on the phone who is
 from Texas. Will was a radar operator with VB-137. At 93 he
 is real sharp and has been telling us how the APS-3 worked
 in service. We hope to get him flying at the radar station
 in the near future if he is willing.

 The PV-2D was on display at the Reno Air Races a few weeks
 ago where we met two copilot/navigators and two top turret
 gunners the youngest of which is 89 and will turn 90 next
 month. Meeting these guys is pretty rare as we have found
 out so to have four in one place was astounding and a real
 delight for us. They were pretty happy to meet each other
 and swap stories too.

 Howard Hassett had planned to meet us in Reno at the Air
 Races along with his two sons. Howard was a
 copilot/navigator with VB-137 in the south Pacific. You
 should google him and read about his amazing experiences in
 combat and ditching in Ormoc bay in the Philippines. His
 PV-1 was found a few years ago still intact sitting 200 feet
 down right where they left it.

 We asked Howard to fly in the copilots seat with us on the
 way home to Stockton, CA from Reno and he was excited by the
 chance to fly again. He said it was on his bucket list.
 Check out the photos we have uploaded under the PV-2 Harpoon
 folder in the radar groups photo section for shots of Howard
 and our other honored visitors to 062.

 Finding the vets at Reno means we have now identified a full
 crew compliment of surviving WWII PV vets. Pilot, Copilot,
 Radioman, Navigator, Radar Operator and Ordnanceman or
 Turret Gunner.  Our new mission is to try and get them
 all together to fly once again as a crew. As soon as
 possible for obvious reasons.

 One big concern was for our turret gunner and would he be
 able to get up inside of the turret. It is quite the crawl.
 John Leek, Aviation Ordnanceman, said it would be a piece of
 cake and he is excited at the possibility of doing so. 

 During our quest to make the Harpoon more original and
 authentic we have been fortunate to come up with most all of
 the APS-3 gear and we have it installed right where it used
 to be. The next challenge is making it operational and we
 are in need of the wiring harnesses. We may have to make
 them but I am hoping to find as much as possible before
 tackling building them from scratch.

 Do any of you have any APS-3 harnesses available for sale or
 leads as to where we might be able to find them? They were
 all in flexible shielded conduit with cannon plugs on each
 end. I can send the specs, plug part numbers or pin pattern
 photos if needed. We have funding available for their
 purchase but of course we really appreciate any donated
 material to save the few funds for other items. We need your
 help with this as it is a very important aspect of this
 aircraft and its history. The APS-3 radar played a key role
 in the success of the patrol aircraft. 

 Even if you have runs of the conduit available that we can
 use it to make the harnesses it would be most helpful. Some
 runs go from the back of the aircraft all the way up to the
 nose, four times! I found a tool to swage the ends of the
 conduit to the ferrules so if we have to make them we will
 but only after we exhaust the possibility of tracking down
 the original ones.

 There has to be some out there somewhere.

 Just like the ARC-5 and the ART-13/ARB etc we are going to
 make the radar operate. Any spare equipment or components
 are also greatly appreciated as is the technical
 information.

 Presently we only have the APS-3 operations manual and the 

 Lockheed production drawings. We desperately need a copy of
 the maintenance manual and any other technical information
 available. Originals are great but copies are just as good
 at this point as Jon, our electrical guru, needs to get
 himself, and us, up to speed.

 Time is short for our WWII vets and we would like get the
 systems back up and running for these guys if we can. They
 really seem to like the opportunity to visit their old crew
 positions as they just light up at the chance. Firing up the
 gear for them or even better having them show us how it
 works is awesome. This is precisely why we are doing what we
 do.

 Some of you have commented that putting this gear in a
 flying aircraft is irresponsible. Well there are a lot of
 veterans and their families out there who wholeheartedly
 disagree. Frankly we do too as our radio and radar gear is
 getting seen by so many people who are gaining a much better
 appreciation for those who fought for our country in great
 aircraft like 84062.

 Our motto is 'KEEP 'EM FLYING...FOR HISTORY" and we firmly
 believe in this mission.

 Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to give.
 Parts, advice, manuals or simply your support are all
 wonderful.

 Thanks again,

 Taigh Ramey
 Stockton Field Aviation Museum
 taigh at twinbeech.com
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