The PV-2 Harpoon was the most specialized and successful of Lockheed’s World War II bombers. Whereas the Hudson and Ventura had been adapted from airliners in ways that impaired their operational effectiveness, the Harpoon — though still based on the Model 18 airliner — was redesigned to the specifications of a single customer, the U.S. Navy, with larger wings and tail surfaces, greater fuel capacity, and weapons capabilities optimized to the Navy’s needs. It first flew December 3, 1943, and 938 were built. Entry into service was delayed by structural issues that required redesign of the wings, and the aircraft saw operational service only in the final months of the war, from March to August 1945, primarily in the Aleutian Islands which by that time were no longer seriously contested. The Navy was sufficiently satisfied that it kept PV-2s in service in reserve units until 1948.
After the war, the Harpoon found favor with civilian spraying operators, and most — possibly all — of the 25 or so aircraft that survive today served in this capacity. Of the survivors, three or four are airworthy and restored to military configuration, a few are static displays in museums such as the National Naval Aviation Museum, American Airpower Heritage Museum and Pima Air Museum, and the rest are scattered around airports in the U.S., still in unrestored spraying configuration and awaiting the attentions of restorers.