Lockheed Ventura

what is it?

The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in 1943 in the Pacific. The bomber was also used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), which designated it the Lockheed B-34 (Lexington) and B-37 as a trainer.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · low wing · retractable tailwheel (taildragger) · 20 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 518 km/htop speed
• range 2,670 kmwithout refuelling
• size 15.4 tmax take-off weight
• built 3,028made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 85 years ago, in 1941.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 20 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 2,670 km: 15× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1941-07-31

introduced

1941

retired

1954

status

retired

number built

3,028

role

patrol bomber

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Lockheed Corporation

engines

2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800

crew

6

length

15.7 m

wingspan

20 m

height

3.6 m

max take-off weight

15.4 t

top speed

518 km/h

cruise speed

370 km/h

range

2,670 km

ceiling

8,020 m

wings

low wing

landing gear

retractable conventional landing gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.