Late Saturday afternoon, a huddle of Military Aviation Museum volunteers chatted nervously under the calm blue skies at Suffolk Executive Airport while they awaited a special arrival—former US Navy Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon Bu.37396. Tracking its eastwards flight from Indiana on their smart phones, they knew the WWII vintage patrol aircraft was edging closer to its new home, but it still remained beyond view. Then finally, as sunlight tilted towards sunset, they heard the distinctive, low rumble of twin R-2800s rattling off the nearby hangar walls, signaling the aircraft’s imminent arrival. A jubilant finger pointed skywards to the west when a member of the welcoming party first spotted the twin-tailed Harpoon on its approach. Their eyes tracked the unfamiliar shape as it passed to the south side of the airfield on downwind, then slowly arced through 180 degrees to land on Runway 22. It seemed to take ages for the Harpoon to make its way to the Fighter Factory’s hangar after touchdown though. But here she was, chugging idly along the taxiway, her undercarriage doors characteristically streaked with oil after the nearly 600-mile journey. Our newly-acquired Harpoon was home!!!
The Museum received this magnificent, 1945-vintage naval attack aircraft as a donation, an extraordinarily generous gift from the PV-2's long-time operators, the American Military Heritage Foundation (AMHF) based at Indianapolis Regional Airport in Greenfield, Indiana. The ultimate incarnation of Lockheed’s once-revolutionary Electra, the Harpoon played an important, though all-but-forgotten role in the Pacific Theatre during the final year of WWII. With its addition to the Museum’s collection, we now have the opportunity to highlight some of those sadly neglected stories of human courage and sacrifice. The type has a local connection too, having served at Naval Air Station Norfolk for a period.
Our acquisition of this historic aircraft came almost by chance, however. As some of our regular readers will remember, we published a story back in June expressing our interest in acquiring at least one example from Lockheed’s famous line of twins at some point in the future. Lockheed played a vital role in winning WWII, so it seemed unconscionable that none of the company’s aircraft yet featured in our collection. Even so, we were not actively seeking one out—just remaining open to the possibility of saying “yes” when the right opportunity arose.
Harpoons are very rare these days, with airworthy examples being even rarer; perhaps two or three remain flightworthy. Even so, one of the latter did become available earlier this year—this being PV-2D Bu.84062, owned at the time by Taigh Ramey’s Stockton Field Aviation Museum. While our Museum lost that example to another party, sometimes serendipity plays a role in charting another solution; as our Museum’s founder, Jerry Yagen, loves to say, “The right one finds you!”
Such a moment arose during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this summer, when Ramey introduced our Museum’s Director, Keegan Chetwynd, to Glen Matejcek of the American Military Heritage Foundation—long-time operators of the PV-2 nicknamed Island Doll (formerly Hot Stuff). Matejcek explained that recent challenges had prompted their organization’s board, albeit with great reluctance, to find a new home for Island Doll, the aircraft’s future well-being being of paramount importance in their deliberations.
Towards that end, the Foundation’s board members travelled across the nation to visit organizations which had expressed interest in their Harpoon. Their key criteria for the aircraft’s new home involved finding a place where it could remain flying, where volunteers could work on it, and where it could continue educating the public about the type’s singular history and the remarkable stories of those who flew or maintained the Harpoon in military service.
Not long after AMHF's President, Rich Suiter, visited our Museum in September, he informed us that the Foundation had shortlisted us to receive their PV-2. As part of our own due diligence, we soon sent the Fighter Factory’s Senior Director of Maintenance, Al Lintz, to Indiana to inspect the Harpoon. Lintz went through the airframe and its systems with a keen eye for detail and was impressed by how well it had been maintained, despite having not flown in a couple of years. He felt that the Harpoon had “great bones” and would not require excessive effort to pass its annual inspection for the flight home to Virginia Beach. His positive report informed our own Collection Committee’s discussion—and later recommendation to our board—that we accept the PV-2. The Military Aviation Museum’s board gratefully accepted the Harpoon at their October meeting, recognizing the great honor we had received in being selected to look after an aircraft beloved and cared for over many years by so many dedicated volunteers. This is a special airframe, being one of just a small number of aircraft listed on the National Register of Historic Places—we are fortunate indeed!
Inspecion covers removed for a look-see. Al Lintz was impressed by the aircraft's condition, stating that it had "great bones". (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
A view inside the Harpoon looking forward to the translucent nose radome, which no longer has the its radar antenna installed. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
The Harpoon has an impressive set of flaps! (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
Deploying the flaps to check their movement and lubricate where necessary. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
The Recovery Mission:
With a green light from our board, and knowing that frigid and potentially treacherous wintery conditions typically settle in around Indianapolis by mid-November, we recognized that we had to move quickly if we wanted to prepare the aircraft for her journey home this year. We had the added bonus of collecting a treasure trove of type-specific, purpose-built tooling and spare parts—including a usable extra R-2800-31 engine. So in the last week of October, a team from the Museum (Keegan Chetwynd, Zack Baughman, Sid Barteau, Bill Strasburg & William Friend) and the Fighter Factory (Cody Busse, Sebastian Angelo & Allen Browning) made the trip by road to Indianapolis Regional Airport, where they were joined by AMHF members and other volunteers from the Indiana-based Vintage Flying Machines team (Tim Savage, Job Savage and Billy Janus).
This significant collection of tools, tooling and spare parts was also donated to the Military Aviation Museum. We are incredibly grateful to the American Military Heritage Foundation for their generosity. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
Some of the original electronic systems and instrument panels for the Harpoon in the storage area. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
Some of the supplies and tools which came with the Harpoon.
A nice stack of hardware which will prove very useful for maintaining the Harpoon at the Military Aviation Museum. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
The Long Hard Slog:
Janus joined the Fighter Factory’s mechanics, to focus upon what was needed to complete the Harpoon’s annual. Most of the others, guided ably by Tim Savage, tackled the Tetris-like challenge involved with loading a hangar-full of spares, tools and tooling into two, 20-foot panel trucks. James Church and Chuck Belanger also stepped in locally to support the effort, offering to drive the trucks back to Virginia Beach—a vital assist! While the aircraft's official transfer took place indoors, Rich Suiter commented to Museum Director Keegan Chetwynd, that it was so good to hear the laughter and enthusiasm coming from outside where the trucks were being loaded. Hopefully this is a great sign of the excitement to come once the Harpoon becomes a fixture at the Museum.
Our volunteers work incredibly hard, demonstrating an esprit de corps which is vital to any organization's success. We are very lucky to have such a team, but such camaraderie does not develop by accident. It requires great leadership too!
Not everything went to plan, of course. These endeavors often require a level of adaptability and resourcefulness. That happened frequently on this trip. Here we see Zack Baughman holding his head in frustration after the truck he was driving to Indianapolis blew a radiator line, dumping most of the coolant beside the road. Thankfully, a kind soul in a nearby house was able to provide assistance with fixing the hose back on... but there was still a need for a fresh tank of coolant!
The truck (and its crew) delivered to the AutoZone to purchase some fresh coolant for the radiator! (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
Attending to the truck's coolant system at the AutoZone. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
The museum's Zack Baughman caught staring awestruck at the marvelous array of spare parts and tooling which the American Military Heritage Foundation was generously donating us. Zack would soon have to help load it all aboard a couple of panel trucks for the journey home to Virginia Beach—not an easy task with a dodgy back! (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
This massive torque wrench for tightening bolts on propellers, amongst other things, was one of the treasures which the American Military Heritage Foundation generously donated to the Museum. It will prove incredibly useful to the Fighter Factory's mechanics. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
An original, albeit very faded tag on one of the Harpoon's spares dated March 24, 1945. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
The extra R-2800-31 engine which came with the large supply of spare parts. The engine still has hours on it and makes great compression, according to our mechanics, so it should be very handy to have on hand if needed!
A marvelous stack of original cowling pieces. Note the perfectly preserved paint on some of the sections. This should provide a perfect sample of authentic pigments for repainting the aircraft when the time arrives. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
One of the 1948-dated tags on an engine cowling assembly. Part of a huge store of spares which came with the Harpoon. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
Loading the trucks efficiently with all of the odd-sized boxes of spares and tooling proved quite the Tetris challenge for the volunteers.
Loading up the first of the panel trucks. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
Loading the spare engine first in the second panel truck was essential to make sure its massive bulk was as far forward as possible; a key move in stowing the spares both efficiently and safely for the journey to Virginia Beach. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
A fair amount of inert, replica ordnance came with the Harpoon, which should make for some incredibly useful displays at the museum in due course. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
As a reward for working so hard and making the endeavor such a rewarding exercise, everyone gathered at Indianapolis's famous St.Elmo's Steak House for a delicious, and well-earned treat! (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
Toasting a successful mission at the end of a long, hard slog. (image via Keegan Chetwynd)
Jet Access to the Rescue!
The Harpoon has spent the last few years outdoors, so that is where the maintenance work began. However as temperatures tumbled and the wind began rising, it soon became clear that we had to seek shelter. Thankfully, AMHF President Rich Suiter was able to connect us with the local FBO. The team at Jet Access generously allowed our maintenance team to move the Harpoon inside one of their large, corporate jet hangars. We owe everyone there a big thank you, particularly Waylon Yates and Jordan Bullard, who—after working to accommodate the newest Museum aircraft—also ensured that the space was provided as a donation.
Our mechanics were able to run through the long checklist of everything needed to complete the Harpoon's annual maintenance inspection within the hangar, while also carrying out some minor repairs to the starboard rudder. It was a mammoth endeavor to complete in three days, but thankfully the AMHF had tended to the aircraft very well during their ownership, so its overall excellent condition made for a good starting point. With everything done, it was then time to take the aircraft outside for some engine runs and taxi tests. After those were completed successfully, the AMHF made plans to fly the Harpoon to Virginia post-haste. We will cover that in detail with a subsequent article!
Jacking the aircraft up for a gear swing test. This was after the engine runs from earlier in the day, as attested by the splash of oil on the nacells and gear doors... a common occurrence with radial engines. As the saying goes, "If there is no oil dripping from a radial engine, then it has run dry!" (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
Gear up! Swing-testing the undercarriage. Note the nice array of replica rockets on the wing-mounted hard points. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
Compression tests underway on the engine cylinders. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
An Opportunity to Get Involved
And here is a quick note from our Director, Keegan Chetwynd regarding the subject of donations:
We have an additional, highly generous person to thank here—although they have chosen to remain anonymous in this case. As you might imagine, recovering a warbird of this size and significance is not an inexpensive or easy task—nor was it something we had expected to budget-in at the beginning of the year. Knowing that the Museum might otherwise have to pass on accepting the aircraft, a Virginia Beach-based Donor stepped forward and offered to help fund the recovery. This donor has a deep affinity for our mission, and for programs which help get others involved in the Museum. Towards that end, he has issued a challenge to all of us in the Warbird community—in the form of a matching donation.Â
Our donor will match your contributions to the Harpoon dollar-for-dollar, ensuring that your gift has twice the impact. Every dollar given will help support the flight this aircraft made to its new home in Virginia. And for every contribution exceeding $150.00 we receive, the Museum will send you a Harpoon Recovery Team T-Shirt (designed by Chad Hill of Django Studios) specifically for the team members who were on the ground helping prepare the Harpoon for her flight.
Please Click HERE to Contribute!
