[Milsurplus] Lockheed PV-2D harpoon update

[Taigh Ramey]

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