Lockheed Ventura

[Zacherof]

General characteristics

    Crew: 6
    Length: 51 ft 5 in (15.7 m)
    Wingspan: 65 ft 6 in (20 m)
    Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.6 m)
    Wing area: 551 ft² (51.2 m²)
    Empty weight: 20,197 lb (9,160 kg)
    Loaded weight: 31,000 lb (14,000 kg)
    Max. takeoff weight: 34,000 lb (15,000 kg)
    Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) each

Performance

    Maximum speed: 322 mph (518 km/h)
    Cruise speed: 230 mph (370 km/h)
    Range: 1,660 mi (2,670 km)
    Ferry range: 2,600 mi (4,200 km)
    Service ceiling: 26,300 ft (8,020 m)
    Rate of climb: 2,035 ft/min (15.4 m/s)
    Wing loading: 56.4 lb/ft² (275 kg/m²)
    Power/mass: 0.13 hp/lb (0.21 kW/kg)

Armament

    Guns:
        4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns
        2 × .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns
    Bombs:
        3,000 lb (1,400 kg) general ordnance or
        6 × 325 lb (147 kg) depth charges or
        1 × torpedo

[Letalis]

Amen.   
See#20...
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,332772.msg4367745.html#msg4367745
and this...
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,211693.0.html

In all honesty, the Beau does have more historical standing (even if it didn't end up being as much fun)...

[Zacherof]

Im up for both of these for attack.they just look fun

[bozon]

In all honesty, the Beau does have more historical standing (even if it didn't end up being as much fun)...

The Ventura could be an interesting plane, but the Beaufighter is just so much more significant than this one. Not that it excludes the Ventura, it is just way up ahead in priority.

[800nate800]

+1

[earl1937]

General characteristics

    Crew: 6
    Length: 51 ft 5 in (15.7 m)
    Wingspan: 65 ft 6 in (20 m)
    Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.6 m)
    Wing area: 551 ft² (51.2 m²)
    Empty weight: 20,197 lb (9,160 kg)
    Loaded weight: 31,000 lb (14,000 kg)
    Max. takeoff weight: 34,000 lb (15,000 kg)
    Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) each

Performance

    Maximum speed: 322 mph (518 km/h)
    Cruise speed: 230 mph (370 km/h)
    Range: 1,660 mi (2,670 km)
    Ferry range: 2,600 mi (4,200 km)
    Service ceiling: 26,300 ft (8,020 m)
    Rate of climb: 2,035 ft/min (15.4 m/s)
    Wing loading: 56.4 lb/ft² (275 kg/m²)
    Power/mass: 0.13 hp/lb (0.21 kW/kg)

Armament

    Guns:
        4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns
        2 × .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns
    Bombs:
        3,000 lb (1,400 kg) general ordnance or
        6 × 325 lb (147 kg) depth charges or
        1 × torpedo

One of the interesting things about the "Hudson" was that several were converted for executive transport after the war. I knew of 2 oil companies which had these conversions back in the late 40's and early 50's. I had a friend of mine who flew one for Atlanta Air Taxi in the late fifties, which was destroyed landing in a cross wind in South Georgia, picking up a small load of cargo. He used to always say: "I don't care what the weather is where I am going, just what is the wind and which direction at the destination airport?"
Ex-military PV-1 Venturas from Canada and South Africa were converted by Howard Aero in San Antonio, Texas in the 1950s and 1960s as high-speed executive transports. The earliest conversions, called Super Venturas, incorporated a 48 in (122 cm) fuselage stretch, extra fuel tankage, large picture windows, luxury interiors, and weapons bays transformed into baggage compartments. The landing gear was swapped for the heavier-duty units from the PV-2. Later versions, built in the 1960s, were called Howard 350s.[1] At least fifteen PV-2s were further modified, including cabin pressurization under the designation Howard 500. A final PV-1 modification by Howard was the Eldorado 700, with longer wings, a pointed nose, and streamlined engine cowlings.

[caldera]

Beautiful plane. 

[Zacherof]

I just love the lines of this plane.

[Ack-Ack]

USN used the PV-1 and PV-2 to bomb Japan from the Aleutians in 1943.

ack-ack

[Fish42]

The RAAF where forced into using these as fighters after all the Brewsters were shot down in the first few days of the war.

Also RAAF Hudson's were one of the first Allied units to hit the Japanese. With the 8th Indian Infantry Brigade holding the landing forces on the beaches, the 10 RAAF Hudsons strafed and bombed the landing beaches and the landing ships. They lost 2 Hudsons with 3 badly damaged. One of the Hudsons that were shot down, crashed into a landing craft killing all 60 troops on board. All 3 landing ships were hit, 2 were able to sail away, the 3rd was a flaming wreck.

As the invasion broke out of the beach, and moved to the airfield, the remaining 5 Hudsons loaded as many personal as they could fit and flew to a new airfield. The last Hudson to take off was under small arms fire from the end of the runway.