Warbird Information Exchange

http://naca.larc.nasa.gov/reports/1958/ ... ge0037.gif

My dad remembers driving past this plane located off Highway 280 in Minnesota when he was younger.

It looks to me like it's a Lockheed Hudson, Ventura or Lodestar, but I don't know for sure.

Does anybody know what it was exactly, and whatever happened to it?

Thanks In Advance,
Saabmeister.

It does look like it might be a Ventura or Harpoon. Can you recall if
it had a nose gear or is the tail propped up by a 55 gal. drum?

I personally never saw the aircraft, and all my dad could remember until we found this picture was that it was a twin tail twin radial plane.

Does this sound like the bird you are looking for?
From WD#4:
Lockheed PV-1 Ventura
4449 • Mk. II (AJ311 tfd. to USAAF as Model 37: AJ311) 9.7.42
(allocated to FA Brasileira as AJ311): ntu
Lightning Transients Research Inc, St Paul MN 65/70
(used for static tests for lightning strike research,
then left parked in open in compound St Paul,
retained orig. USAAF scheme)
USAFM: not collected 73/76
Fred E. Weisbrod Aircraft Museum, Pueblo CO 86/02
(loan ex USAFM, displ. as "USAAF AJ311")
__________________________________________________________________________________

Link:


http://www.pwam.org/rb37vent.htm

_________________

All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

You guys have got it correct! That is indeed AJ311 which is in Colorado now recovering from it's lightning tests many years ago. I believe it was the left wing that had about 8' blown off it.

Tony Jarvis
President, VMFA
www.rcafventura.ca