This is a build I have been working on for a few years now. I would work a little on it, then box it back up.
Ironically it is also the last thing I was talking about with Jim Sullivan. He asked me what I was working on, and I told him about this model, sending him some pictures of it.
This Ventura was originally going to be a tribute to one of the many PV-1 crews that were killed while training here at NAS Deland during World War 2. I have plans to eventually build up another one, and possibly make it as a plane from NAS Sanford, or possibly another one from Deland, but painted in a different paint scheme.
Our local airport was a very active training base for the US Navy during the War. They trained most of the Navy and Marine Corps pilots in their final advanced stages of flight training, just before they were shipped out overseas. They trained SBD Dauntless, PV-1 Ventura, SB2C Helldiver, and PB4Y Liberator crews here in Deland.
In the early part of the War, shortly after the base opened up to the Navy in 1942, they were also training F4F Wildcat pilots in the advanced phases of aerial combat.
Curtis SNC-1 Falcons, and SNJ trainers were also flying out of Deland on a regular basis too.
F4F Wildcat pilots were also trained here. However they were soon moved nearby to NAS Daytona Beach, and NAS Sanford where "advanced" fighter tactics and training was done. Our local airport was just too busy to accommodate everything going on here at the time.
There was also a lot of training done at NAS Jacksonville, and it's surrounding outlying fields.
This will be covered in the main article that I have planned for the headline section on July 29th, which is the 80th anniversary of this tragic but all too common event that happened right here at our airport.
I'm starting with this kit, which has been an absolute JOY to build so far. The box art for the plane with the octopus is from VPB-133, which was established and trained here in Deland too, just prior to shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Most of the units that trained here went on to serve in the Atlantic against the U-Boats. Some of the units trained here were sent to the Pacific and also to Alaska.
This is what I had originally planned to build. This is a plane from VPB-132, as they would have looked when stationed here in Deland. I have found a lot of PV-1 flight training accidents that happened in our area, with numerous fatalities.
VPB-132 lost a crew here in Deland on July 5th, 1943 on a flight as the unit was deploying to NAS Boca Chica near Key West, Florida. There were 8 fatalities on board. It crashed 2 miles away from the airport. The accident scene was listed as "2 miles west" of the airport.
The unit was leaving Naval Air Station Deland headed for the Florida Keys before going further south to patrol the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean for German U Boats. They had just finished their training.
There were other lost nearby from other PV-1 units as they trained. Originally I wanted to do a plane from this unit since I had this photo. By the time I had realized the July 5th date had already passed, it was too late.
So I chose to do a plane from VPB-145 instead. I'm building this kit up as a plane from VPB-145 that crashed here with 3 fatalities on July 29th, 1943. It's Bureau Number 34623, and it was destroyed by fire. I'll be using the picture shown here as a reference, changing the numbers accordingly.
This will hopefully give me enough time to get it done and posted in time as a tribute to those lost.
Here is the work I had already done. I can say this kit goes together just as nicely as anything Tamiya or Hasegawa has done. The fit has been spot on and no flash is present. Granted there are some things wrong with it as far as being completely accurate. The engine cowlings, exhaust, have been mentioned, but the main thing is the propellers.
But I had planned to build it straight from the box. That is until our new little kitten decided to chew on one of the propellers ! So I ordered a replacement set from Sprue brothers, and hopefully it will arrive in time.
We shall see.
I have made a lot more progress on this build. I am now at the painting stage... and waiting on the props to arrive.
So please stay tuned for updates.
