In 1939, engineers at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation began modifying the company's Model 14 air transport with hopes of making greater inroads in the airline industry. In addition, in an effort to increase production of the new design, which was called the Model 18, company officials offered the British Air Ministry the opportunity to procure the aircraft as a patrol-bomber. Ironically, the date was September 1939, and halfway around the world, a revived Luftwaffe unleashed its fury over Poland, triggering a revolution in warfare and igniting World War II. Given the press of world events, the British seized the opportunity to procure the aircraft, and by July 1941 the first Venturas, as the aircraft was nicknames, rolled off the assembly line complete with Royal Air Force camouflage markings. Production of the Ventura and an improved version known as the Harpoon, reached 3,028 by war's end. All told, the aircraft served the United States military and the air forces of eleven foreign nations.