We have the following from Paul Squires of the
Ventura Memorial Flight Association . Apparently a Mr. Beck wrote to him asking about the possibility of 2-2-V-1 being from a PV-1 Ventura. The Lockheed Model 18 (Navy PV-1, Army C-60, civilian "Lodestar") was one of several later derivatives of the Model 10 and we have a known PV-1 loss on Canton. I've look at the C-60 in the NMUSAF collection in Dayton. My recollection is that there are some small non-flush rivets in the fuselage under the horizontal stabilizer but I think they're bigger than #3. We'll look at the airplane again later this month.
Paul Squires is correct that we have (or at least had) a photo of the wrecked PV-1 on Canton but I'll be darned if I can find it now. I'll keep looking.
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Hi Mr. Beck,
I got your e-mail from Tony Jarvis with the VMFA, as I am familiar with
the Ventura and TIGHAR, indeed I met Ric and Pat in Newfoundland as part
of the search for Nungessor & Coli's missing White Bird, and also took
their Aircraft Archeology course in Dayton. I also brought the presence
of the Ventura on Canton to Ric's notice, although I may not have been
the first to do so.
I have also met Frank Kesseler, one of the crewmen on board that
Ventura.
Please also note that the Ventura Memorial Flight Association has no
official comment to make on whether the artifact TIGHAR 2-2-V-1 might be
part of a PV-1 aircraft. The following comments are just mine.
The aircraft written off on Canton Island was USN BuAer 48809, with
VB-146, on a deployment flight from Hawaii to Morotai to cover the
invasion of the Philippines (although the crew did not know about that
at the time).
In brief, here is what we have in our database:
48809 US Navy
12/08/43 accepted
12/08/43 delivered
06/15/44 lost (VB-146), but Squadron records have "flew into
thunderhead and surveyed Canton 9 June 44".
07/12/44 stricken
This is the aircraft Frank Kessler was navigator on. On transit flight,
at night, flew into thunderstorm. Was violently thrown about, dived and
climbed at least twice. Controls locked. Regained using trim tabs.
All antenna wiped off, as well as external cover on door with liferaft
and emergency exit over cockpit. Wings bent back and up, and tail bent
15º to one side. All control surfaces jammed.
Flew approximate course until daylight, then followed C-47 aircraft.
Passed it several times, and orbited until past, then followed again.
On arrival at Canton Island lined up on runway, dropped flaps and gear
and landed. Aircraft written off at Canton. Crew continued to Morotai
on other VPB-146 a/c.
TIGHAR has photo of aircraft on Canton as part of search for Amelia
Earhart.
Oral history of flight from Frank Kessler in VMFA records.
Flight was written up in Colliers Magazine.
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On a later flight to Canton to investigate an aircraft engine TIGHAR
found that the Ventura, and other material, had been pushed into a pit
and buried, prior to the mid 1960's, when the missile range operation
was closed down.
Between it's loss in 1944 and it's scrapping at an unknown date we have
no information on this aircraft or it's condition, except that it was on
the airfield. Parts were probably removed by many people, for many
purposes.
We have looked for possible matches with 2-2-V-1, but not really
intensively, more just eyeballing. The reason is that the exterior of
the Ventura is all flush riveted. The only "exterior" panels that have
non-flush head rivets are the areas of the under surface of the wing
enclosed by the nacelles. As well the lower parts of the Ventura have
rivets on stringers and formers, forming "box" patterns, with no long
rows of rivets as displayed on 2-2-V-1. That includes the bomb bay
doors as well as the fuselage skin. It's a pretty rugged aircraft.
The rivet found on the artifact is described in the discussion page as
an AN455AD3-3 Rivet. We've created a large database of every part on a
Ventura, including AN/AC rivets and bolts, etc., from the microfilmed
blueprints we obtained from the US Public Archives. We have only 2
parts that use the AN455AD3 rivet in any form, 10640 CHANNEL-Engine
Control Stand, and 117219, replaced by 118628, STRUCTURE Assembly-Wing
Rear, which lists 10 AN455AD3 rivets. This is the rear part of the
outer wing panels.
As well, the TIGHAR artifact shows markings that indicate it was
produced pre-1939. 48809 was built in August 1943, and is unlikely to
have pre-war aluminium in the structure, unless it was repaired. Prior
to the ferry flight VB-146 had put in several months of patrols in
Hawaii, Johnson Island and Midway, after being established at Whidby
Island. A repair might have been done at these points, but we have no
way of knowing.
So, we do not dismiss that TIGHAR artifact 2-2-V-1 may have come from a
Ventura, but feel that it is very unlikely. I personally think that the
work TIGHAR puts in to identifying each of the artifacts found has been
detailed and verifiable, to a very high standard, and open.