P-2 Neptune
Overview
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
aircraft. It was developed for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
by Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon
Lockheed Ventura
The Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...
, and being replaced in turn with the Lockheed P-3 Orion. Designed as a land-based aircraft, the Neptune never made a carrier landing, although a small number of aircraft were converted and deployed as carrier launched stop-gap nuclear bombers which would have to ditch or recover at land bases.
Unanswered Questions
Encyclopedia
The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (originally designated P2V until September 1962) was a Maritime patrol and ASW
aircraft. It was developed for the United States Navy
by Lockheed
to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon
, and being replaced in turn with the Lockheed P-3 Orion. Designed as a land-based aircraft, the Neptune never made a carrier landing, although a small number of aircraft were converted and deployed as carrier launched stop-gap nuclear bombers which would have to ditch or recover at land bases. The type was successful in export and saw service with several armed forces.
Development began early in World War II
, but compared to other aircraft in development at the time, it was considered a low priority. It was not until 1944 that the program went into full swing. A major factor in the design was ease of manufacture and maintenance, and this may have been a major factor in the type's long life and worldwide success. The first aircraft flew in 1945. Production began in 1946, and the aircraft was accepted into service in 1947.
It was one of the first aircraft to be fitted in operational service with both piston and jet engines. The Convair B-36
, several Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter, Fairchild C-123 Provider, and Avro Shackleton
aircraft were also so equipped. The jet engines were fitted with intake doors that could be closed for economical piston-engine only searching operations. The jet engines could be employed for sprint or short field take-off, but were seldom used in typical operations.
Normal crew access was via a ladder on the aft bulkhead of the nose wheel well to a hatch on the left side of the wheel well, then forward to the observer nose or up through another hatch to the main deck. There was also a hatch in the floor of the after fuselage, near the sonobuoy chutes.
s employed as killers. Several features aided this task:
As the P-2 was replaced in the U.S. Navy by the P-3A Orion in active Fleet squadrons in the early and mid-1960s, the P-2 continued to remain operational in the Naval Air Reserve through the mid 1970s, primarily in its SP-2H version. As active Fleet squadrons transitioned to the P-3B and P-3C in the mid- and late-1960s and early 1970s, the Naval Reserve P-2s were eventually replaced by P-3As and P-3Bs and the P-2 exited active US naval service. VP-23
was the last active duty patrol squadron to operate the SP-2H, retiring its last Neptune on 20 February 1970.
(CIA) obtained five newly built P2V-7 and converted these into P2V-7U/RB-69A variants by Lockheed's Skunk Works
at Hangar B5 in Burbank, California
, for the CIA's own private fleet of covert ELINT/ferret aircraft. Later to make up P2V-7U/RB-69A operational losses, the CIA obtained and converted two existing US Navy P2V-7s, one in September 1962, and one in December 1964 to P2V-7U/RB-69A Phase VI standard, and also acquired an older P2V-5 from US Navy as training aircraft in 1963. Test flights done by lead aircraft at Edwards AFB from 1955 to 1956, all the aircraft painted with dark sea blue color but with USAF markings. In 1957 one P2V-7U was sent to Eglin AFB for testing aircraft performance at low level and under adverse conditions. The initial two aircraft were sent to Europe, based at Wiesbaden
, West Germany
, but were later withdrawn in 1959 when the CIA reduced its covert aircraft assets in Europe. The CIA sent the other two P2V-7U/RB-69As to Hsinchu Air Base
, Taiwan, where by December 1957, they were given to a "Black Op
" unit, the 34th Squadron, better known as the Black Bat Squadron
, of the Republic of China Air Force
(|ROCAF/Taiwan); these were painted in ROCAF/Taiwan markings. The ROCAF/Taiwan P2V-7U/RB-69A's mission was to conduct low level penetration flights into mainland China
to conduct ELINT/ferret missions including mapping out China's air defense networks, inserting agents via airdrop, and dropping leaflets and supplies. The agreement for plausible deniability
between US and ROC government meant the RB-69A would be manned by ROCAF/Taiwan crew while conducting operational missions, but would be manned by CIA crew when ferrying RB-69A out of Taiwan or other operational area to US.
The P2V-7U/RB-69A flew with ROCAF/Taiwan Black Bat Squadron over China from 1957 to November 1966. All five original aircraft (two crashed in South Korea, three shot down over China) lost with all hands on board. In January 1967, two remaining RB-69As flew back to NAS Alameda, California, and were converted back to regular US Navy P2H/P2V-7 ASW aircraft configurations.Most of the 34th Squadron's Black Op missions still remain classified by the CIA, although a CIA internal draft history, Low-Level Technical Reconnaissance over Mainland China (1955-66), reference CSHP-2.348, written in 1972 that covers CIA/ROCAF/Taiwan 34th Squadron's Black Op missions is known to be in existence but would not be declassified by the CIA until after 2022.
, the Neptune was used by the US Navy as a gunship, an overland reconnaissance and sensor deployment aircraft, and in its traditional role as a maritime patrol aircraft. The Neptune was also utilized by the U.S. Army's 1st Radio Research Company (Aviation), call sign "Crazy Cat," located at Cam Ranh Bay
, as an electronic "ferret" aircraft. Observation Squadron 67 (VO-67), call sign "Lindy", was the only P-2 Neptune aircraft squadron to ever receive the Presidential Unit Citation
. VO-67 lost three OP-2E aircraft and 20 aircrew to ground fire during its secret missions into Laos and Vietnam in 1967–68. The ROCAF/Taiwan's secret 34th Squadron's RB-69A/P2V-7U ELINT/SIGINT aircraft flew a low level electronic reconnaissance from Da Nang
, flying over Thanh Hoa province on 20 August 1963 to investigate an air resupply drop zone that turned out to be a set trap for a Republic of China Air Force
(ROCAF) C-123B airdrop mission 10 days earlier due to the air-inserted agents having been captured and turned. Next year, an air defense radar mapping mission was also flown by 34th Squadron's RB-69A/P2V-7U aircraft into North Vietnam
and Laos
on the night of 16 March 1964. The RB-69A took off from Da Nang, flew up the Gulf of Tonkin
before coasting in near Haiphong
, then flew down North Vietnam and the Laos border. The mission was requested by SOG for helping plan the insert or resupply of agents. Seven AAA
sites, 14 early warning radar
sites and two CGI radar signals were detected.
had received at least 16 Neptunes in different variants since 1958 including eight ex-RAF
for use in the Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Exploración (Naval exploration squadron). They were intensively used in 1978 during the Operation Soberania
against Chile
including over the Pacific Ocean.
During the Falklands War
in 1982, the last two airframes in service (2-P-111 and 2-P-112) played a key role of reconnaissance and aiding Dassault Super Étendard
s, particularly on the 4 May attack against . The lack of spare parts, caused by the US having enacted an arms embargo in 1977 due to the Dirty War
, led to the type being retired before the end of the war; Argentine Air Force
C-130 Hercules
took over the task of searching for targets for strike aircraft.
In 1983, the unit was reformed with Lockheed L-188 Electra
s modified for maritime surveillance; in 1994 these were replaced with P-3B Orions
.
The Royal Air Force
Coastal Command operated 52 P2V-5s, designated Neptune MR.1s as a stop-gap modern maritime patrol aircraft until the Avro Shackleton
s could enter service. They were used from between 1952 and March 1957, being used for Airborne Early Warning
experiments as well as for maritime patrol.
In Australia, the Netherlands, and the US Navy, its tasks were taken over by the larger and more capable Lockheed P-3 Orion, and by the 1970s, it was only in use by patrol squadrons in the US Naval Reserve
. The US Naval Reserve abandoned its last Neptunes in 1978, those aircraft also having been replaced by the P-3 Orion. By the 1980s, the Neptune had fallen out of military use in most purchasing nations, replaced by newer aircraft.
In Japan, the Neptune was license-built from 1966 by Kawasaki as the P-2J
, with the piston engines replaced by IHI-built T64
turboprops. Kawasaki continued their manufacture much later than Lockheed did; the P-2J remained in service until 1984.
roles by operators such as Aero Union and Neptune Aviation Services and can carry 2,400 gal (9,084 l) of retardant with a service life of 15,000 hours. Neptune proposes to replace them with Bombardier
Q200 and Q300 aircraft which are estimated to have a service life of 80,000 hours.
Loaded with fuel in extra tanks fitted in practically every spare space in the aircraft, "The Turtle" set out from Perth
, Australia
to the United States. With a crew of four (and a nine-month-old gray kangaroo
, a gift from Australia for the Washington, D.C. zoo
) the aircraft set off on 9 September 1946, with a RATO (rocket-assisted takeoff). Two and a half days (55h, 18m) later, "The Turtle" touched down in Columbus, Ohio
, 11,236.6 mi (18,083.6 km) from its starting point. It was the longest unrefueled flight made to that point - 4,000 mi (6,400 km) longer than the USAF's Boeing B-29 Superfortress record. This would stand as the absolute unrefueled distance record until 1962 (beaten by a USAF Boeing B-52 Stratofortress), and would remain as a piston-engined record until 1986 when Dick Rutan
's Voyager would break it in the process of circumnavigating the globe. "The Turtle" is preserved at the National Museum of Naval Aviation
at NAS Pensacola.
Lockheed produced seven main variants of the P2V. In addition, Kawasaki built the turboprop-powered P-2J in Japan. Model names after the 1962 redesignation are given in parentheses.
XP2V-1
P2V-1
XP2V-1
P2V-2
P2V-2N "Polar Bear"
P2V-2S
P2V-3
P2V-3B
P2V-3C
P2V-3W
P2V-3Z
P2V-4 (P-2D)
P2V-5
P2V-5F (P-2E)
AP-2E
P2V-5FD (DP-2E)
P2V-5FE (EP-2E)
P2V-5FS (SP-2E)
OP-2E
P2V-6 (P-2F)
P2V-6B
P2V-6M (MP-2F)
P2V-6F (P-2G)
P2V-6T (TP-2F)
P2V-7 (P-2H)
P2V-7B
P2V-7LP (LP-2J)
P2V-7S (SP-2H)
P2V-7U
AP-2H
RB-69A
C-139
Neptune MR.1
CP-122 Neptune
Kawasaki P-2J
(P2V-Kai)
SP-2E
SP-2H
P-2H
P2V
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
aircraft. It was developed for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
by Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon
Lockheed Ventura
The Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...
, and being replaced in turn with the Lockheed P-3 Orion. Designed as a land-based aircraft, the Neptune never made a carrier landing, although a small number of aircraft were converted and deployed as carrier launched stop-gap nuclear bombers which would have to ditch or recover at land bases. The type was successful in export and saw service with several armed forces.
Design and development
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but compared to other aircraft in development at the time, it was considered a low priority. It was not until 1944 that the program went into full swing. A major factor in the design was ease of manufacture and maintenance, and this may have been a major factor in the type's long life and worldwide success. The first aircraft flew in 1945. Production began in 1946, and the aircraft was accepted into service in 1947.
It was one of the first aircraft to be fitted in operational service with both piston and jet engines. The Convair B-36
Convair B-36
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a strategic bomber built by Convair and operated solely by the United States Air Force from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 was the largest mass-produced piston engine aircraft ever made. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built , although there have...
, several Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter, Fairchild C-123 Provider, and Avro Shackleton
Avro Shackleton
The Avro Shackleton was a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft for use by the Royal Air Force. It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber with a new fuselage...
aircraft were also so equipped. The jet engines were fitted with intake doors that could be closed for economical piston-engine only searching operations. The jet engines could be employed for sprint or short field take-off, but were seldom used in typical operations.
Normal crew access was via a ladder on the aft bulkhead of the nose wheel well to a hatch on the left side of the wheel well, then forward to the observer nose or up through another hatch to the main deck. There was also a hatch in the floor of the after fuselage, near the sonobuoy chutes.
Early Cold War
Prior to the introduction of the P-3 Orion in the mid-1960s the Neptune was the primary US land-based anti-submarine patrol craft, intended to be operated as the hunter of a '"Hunter-Killer" group, with DestroyerDestroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s employed as killers. Several features aided this task:
- Sonobouys could be launched from a station in the aft portion of the fuselage and monitored by radio
- Some models were equipped with "pointable" twin .50 caliber machine guns in the nose, most had a forward observation bubble with an observer seat, a feature seen in several of the images.
- A Magnetic Anomaly Detector was fitted in an extended tail, producing a paper chart. Unmarked charts were not classified, but those with annotations were classified as secret.
- A belly-mounted surface search radar enabled detection of surfaced and snorkeling submarines at considerable distances.
As the P-2 was replaced in the U.S. Navy by the P-3A Orion in active Fleet squadrons in the early and mid-1960s, the P-2 continued to remain operational in the Naval Air Reserve through the mid 1970s, primarily in its SP-2H version. As active Fleet squadrons transitioned to the P-3B and P-3C in the mid- and late-1960s and early 1970s, the Naval Reserve P-2s were eventually replaced by P-3As and P-3Bs and the P-2 exited active US naval service. VP-23
VP-23
VP-23, Patrol Squadron 23, known as the Seahawks, was a U.S. Navy fixed-wing, anti-submarine and maritime Patrol Squadron based at Brunswick Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Maine, USA...
was the last active duty patrol squadron to operate the SP-2H, retiring its last Neptune on 20 February 1970.
Nuclear bomber
At the end of World War II, the US Navy felt the need to acquire a nuclear strike capability to maintain its political influence. In the short term, carrier-based aircraft were the best solution. Nuclear munitions at that time were bulky and required a large aircraft to carry them. The Navy improvised a carrier-based nuclear strike aircraft by modifying the P2V Neptune for carrier takeoff using jet assisted takeoff (JATO) rocket boosters, with initial takeoff tests in 1948. But the Neptune couldn't land on a carrier, so the crew either had to make their way to a friendly land base after a strike, or ditch in the sea near a US Navy vessel. It was replaced in this emergency role by the North American AJ Savage the first nuclear strike aircraft that was fully capable of carrier launch and recovery operations; it was also short lived in that role as the Navy was adopting fully jet powered nuclear strike aircraft.Covert operations P2V-7U/RB-69A variants
In 1954 under Project Cherry, the US Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) obtained five newly built P2V-7 and converted these into P2V-7U/RB-69A variants by Lockheed's Skunk Works
Skunk works
Skunk Works is an official alias for Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs , formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. Skunk Works is responsible for a number of famous aircraft designs, including the U-2, the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-117 Nighthawk, and the F-22 Raptor...
at Hangar B5 in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, for the CIA's own private fleet of covert ELINT/ferret aircraft. Later to make up P2V-7U/RB-69A operational losses, the CIA obtained and converted two existing US Navy P2V-7s, one in September 1962, and one in December 1964 to P2V-7U/RB-69A Phase VI standard, and also acquired an older P2V-5 from US Navy as training aircraft in 1963. Test flights done by lead aircraft at Edwards AFB from 1955 to 1956, all the aircraft painted with dark sea blue color but with USAF markings. In 1957 one P2V-7U was sent to Eglin AFB for testing aircraft performance at low level and under adverse conditions. The initial two aircraft were sent to Europe, based at Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, but were later withdrawn in 1959 when the CIA reduced its covert aircraft assets in Europe. The CIA sent the other two P2V-7U/RB-69As to Hsinchu Air Base
Hsinchu Air Base
Hsinchu Air Base is an airbase in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It was opened on January 1, 1998. As of the late 1990s, the longest runway at Hsinchu was reportedly 12,000 feet long. The air base is located at 24°49'05" north latitude and 120°56'21" east longitude....
, Taiwan, where by December 1957, they were given to a "Black Op
Black op
A black operation or black op is a covert operation typically involving activities that are highly clandestine and often outside of standard military protocol or even against the law.-Origins:...
" unit, the 34th Squadron, better known as the Black Bat Squadron
Black Bat Squadron
Black Bats 34th Squadron was the name of a corps of CIA reconnaissance plane pilots and crew based in Taiwan during the Cold War. Citizens of the Republic of China, they flew missions over mainland China, or the People's Republic of China , to drop agents and gathered military signal intelligences...
, of the Republic of China Air Force
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
(|ROCAF/Taiwan); these were painted in ROCAF/Taiwan markings. The ROCAF/Taiwan P2V-7U/RB-69A's mission was to conduct low level penetration flights into mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
to conduct ELINT/ferret missions including mapping out China's air defense networks, inserting agents via airdrop, and dropping leaflets and supplies. The agreement for plausible deniability
Plausible deniability
Plausible deniability is, at root, credible ability to deny a fact or allegation, or to deny previous knowledge of a fact. The term most often refers to the denial of blame in chains of command, where upper rungs quarantine the blame to the lower rungs, and the lower rungs are often inaccessible,...
between US and ROC government meant the RB-69A would be manned by ROCAF/Taiwan crew while conducting operational missions, but would be manned by CIA crew when ferrying RB-69A out of Taiwan or other operational area to US.
The P2V-7U/RB-69A flew with ROCAF/Taiwan Black Bat Squadron over China from 1957 to November 1966. All five original aircraft (two crashed in South Korea, three shot down over China) lost with all hands on board. In January 1967, two remaining RB-69As flew back to NAS Alameda, California, and were converted back to regular US Navy P2H/P2V-7 ASW aircraft configurations.Most of the 34th Squadron's Black Op missions still remain classified by the CIA, although a CIA internal draft history, Low-Level Technical Reconnaissance over Mainland China (1955-66), reference CSHP-2.348, written in 1972 that covers CIA/ROCAF/Taiwan 34th Squadron's Black Op missions is known to be in existence but would not be declassified by the CIA until after 2022.
Vietnam War
During the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the Neptune was used by the US Navy as a gunship, an overland reconnaissance and sensor deployment aircraft, and in its traditional role as a maritime patrol aircraft. The Neptune was also utilized by the U.S. Army's 1st Radio Research Company (Aviation), call sign "Crazy Cat," located at Cam Ranh Bay
Cam Ranh Bay
Cam Ranh Bay is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in the province of Khánh Hòa. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers / 180 miles northeast of Hồ Chí Minh City / Saigon.Cam Ranh is...
, as an electronic "ferret" aircraft. Observation Squadron 67 (VO-67), call sign "Lindy", was the only P-2 Neptune aircraft squadron to ever receive the Presidential Unit Citation
Presidential Unit Citation
The Presidential Unit Citation is a senior unit award granted to military units which have performed an extremely meritorious or heroic act, usually in the face of an armed enemy...
. VO-67 lost three OP-2E aircraft and 20 aircrew to ground fire during its secret missions into Laos and Vietnam in 1967–68. The ROCAF/Taiwan's secret 34th Squadron's RB-69A/P2V-7U ELINT/SIGINT aircraft flew a low level electronic reconnaissance from Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
, flying over Thanh Hoa province on 20 August 1963 to investigate an air resupply drop zone that turned out to be a set trap for a Republic of China Air Force
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
(ROCAF) C-123B airdrop mission 10 days earlier due to the air-inserted agents having been captured and turned. Next year, an air defense radar mapping mission was also flown by 34th Squadron's RB-69A/P2V-7U aircraft into North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
and Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
on the night of 16 March 1964. The RB-69A took off from Da Nang, flew up the Gulf of Tonkin
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
before coasting in near Haiphong
Haiphong
, also Haiphong, is the third most populous city in Vietnam. The name means, "coastal defence".-History:Hai Phong was originally founded by Lê Chân, the female general of a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese led by the Trưng Sisters in the year 43 C.E.The area which is now known as Duong...
, then flew down North Vietnam and the Laos border. The mission was requested by SOG for helping plan the insert or resupply of agents. Seven AAA
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
sites, 14 early warning radar
Early warning radar
An early warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as early as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the defences the maximum time in which to operate...
sites and two CGI radar signals were detected.
Falklands War
The Argentine Naval AviationArgentine Naval Aviation
The Argentine Naval Aviation is the naval aviation branch of the Argentine Navy and one of its four operational commands...
had received at least 16 Neptunes in different variants since 1958 including eight ex-RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
for use in the Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Exploración (Naval exploration squadron). They were intensively used in 1978 during the Operation Soberania
Operation Soberanía
Operación Soberanía was the codename of a planned Argentine military invasion of Chile to be carried out on 22 December 1978 due to the Beagle conflict dispute. The invasion was halted at the last minute and did not take place....
against Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
including over the Pacific Ocean.
During the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
in 1982, the last two airframes in service (2-P-111 and 2-P-112) played a key role of reconnaissance and aiding Dassault Super Étendard
Dassault Super Étendard
The Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard is a French carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft designed for service with the French Navy...
s, particularly on the 4 May attack against . The lack of spare parts, caused by the US having enacted an arms embargo in 1977 due to the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
, led to the type being retired before the end of the war; Argentine Air Force
Argentine Air Force
The Argentine Air Force is the national aviation branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. , it had 14,606 military and 6,854 civilian staff.-History:...
C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
took over the task of searching for targets for strike aircraft.
In 1983, the unit was reformed with Lockheed L-188 Electra
Lockheed L-188 Electra
The Lockheed Model 188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flying in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner produced in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes which prompted an expensive modification program to fix a design...
s modified for maritime surveillance; in 1994 these were replaced with P-3B Orions
P-3 Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or...
.
Other military operators
The Canadian version of the Lockheed Neptune (P2V-7) served in the RCAF Maritime Air Command from 1955, as an anti-submarine, anti-shipping and maritime reconnaissance aircraft, being fitted with just piston engines initially. In 1957, the Neptunes had two underwing Westinghouse J34 jet engine pods installed. This conversion provided additional thrust for an improved takeoff, increased endurance by allowing higher weights of fuel and generally improved the overall performance of the aircraft. Armament included two torpedoes, mines, depth charges, bombs carried internally plus unguided rockets mounted externally underwing. A total of 25 Neptunes served with nos. 404, 405 and 407 Squadrons. Upon unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, the Neptune was re-designated the CP-122 and was replaced by the Canadair CP-107 Argus the same year.The Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Coastal Command operated 52 P2V-5s, designated Neptune MR.1s as a stop-gap modern maritime patrol aircraft until the Avro Shackleton
Avro Shackleton
The Avro Shackleton was a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft for use by the Royal Air Force. It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber with a new fuselage...
s could enter service. They were used from between 1952 and March 1957, being used for Airborne Early Warning
Airborne Early Warning
An airborne early warning and control system is an airborne radar system designed to detect aircraft at long ranges and control and command the battle space in an air engagement by directing fighter and attack plane strikes...
experiments as well as for maritime patrol.
In Australia, the Netherlands, and the US Navy, its tasks were taken over by the larger and more capable Lockheed P-3 Orion, and by the 1970s, it was only in use by patrol squadrons in the US Naval Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
. The US Naval Reserve abandoned its last Neptunes in 1978, those aircraft also having been replaced by the P-3 Orion. By the 1980s, the Neptune had fallen out of military use in most purchasing nations, replaced by newer aircraft.
Kawasaki P-2J
|-See also:-References:* Sullivan, Jim, P2V Neptune in action. Squadron/Signal Publications: Carrollton, TX, 1985.-External links:* * http://p2vneptune.com* http://www.maam.org/neptune/p2_1.html...
, with the piston engines replaced by IHI-built T64
General Electric T64
-External links:* *...
turboprops. Kawasaki continued their manufacture much later than Lockheed did; the P-2J remained in service until 1984.
Civilian firefighting
P-2/P2Vs are currently employed in aerial firefightingAerial firefighting
Aerial firefighting is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing...
roles by operators such as Aero Union and Neptune Aviation Services and can carry 2,400 gal (9,084 l) of retardant with a service life of 15,000 hours. Neptune proposes to replace them with Bombardier
Bombardier Aerospace
Bombardier Aerospace is a division of Bombardier Inc. and is the third-largest airplane manufacturer in the world. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada.- History :...
Q200 and Q300 aircraft which are estimated to have a service life of 80,000 hours.
"The Truculent Turtle"
The third production P2V-1 was chosen for a record-setting mission, ostensibly to test crew endurance and long-range navigation but also for publicity purposes: to display the capabilities of the Navy's latest patrol bomber. Its nickname was "The Turtle," which was painted on the aircraft's nose (along with a cartoon of a turtle smoking a pipe pedaling a device attached to a propeller). However, in press releases immediately before the flight, the Navy referred to it as "The Truculent Turtle".Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to the United States. With a crew of four (and a nine-month-old gray kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
, a gift from Australia for the Washington, D.C. zoo
Smithsonian National Zoological Park
The Smithsonian National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States, and as part of the Smithsonian Institution, does not charge admission. Founded in 1889, its mission is to provide leadership in animal care, science, education,...
) the aircraft set off on 9 September 1946, with a RATO (rocket-assisted takeoff). Two and a half days (55h, 18m) later, "The Turtle" touched down in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, 11,236.6 mi (18,083.6 km) from its starting point. It was the longest unrefueled flight made to that point - 4,000 mi (6,400 km) longer than the USAF's Boeing B-29 Superfortress record. This would stand as the absolute unrefueled distance record until 1962 (beaten by a USAF Boeing B-52 Stratofortress), and would remain as a piston-engined record until 1986 when Dick Rutan
Dick Rutan
Richard Glenn "Dick" Rutan is an aviator who piloted the Voyager aircraft around the world non-stop with co-pilot Jeana Yeager...
's Voyager would break it in the process of circumnavigating the globe. "The Turtle" is preserved at the National Museum of Naval Aviation
National Museum of Naval Aviation
The National Museum of Naval Aviation is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. The museum opened in 1962....
at NAS Pensacola.
Variants
XP2V-1
- Prototype, two built.
P2V-1
- First production model with R-3350-8A engine and four-bladed propellers; 14 built.
XP2V-1
- One P2V-1 modified as a prototype of an improved variant with water injected R-3350-24W engines.
P2V-2
- Second production model with R-3350-24W engines and three-bladed propellers, had various combinations of gun turrets including a nose turret to replace the gunner position used on the P2V-1, 81 built,
P2V-2N "Polar Bear"
- Two P2V-2s modified for polar exploration with ski landing gear and early MAD gear.
P2V-2S
- One P2V-2 modified as a prototype anti-submarine variant with an APS-20 search radar.
P2V-3
- Modied variant with a 3,200hp R-3350-26W engines; 53 built.
P2V-3B
- Conversions from other P2V-3 models, including P2V-3C and -3W, fitted with the ASB-1 Low Level Radar Bombing System; 16 converted.
P2V-3C
- Eleven P2V-3s and one P2V-2 modified with rocket assisted takeoff as a stop-gap carrier-based nuclear armed bomber until the A3J arrived, not intended to return for a landing on a carrier.
P2V-3W
- Airborne Early Warning variant, APS-20 search radar; 30 built.
P2V-3Z
- VIP combat transport; two modified from P2V-3s.
P2V-4 (P-2D)
- Upgraded powerplant and fuel capacity and the first variant with tip tanks; 52 built.
P2V-5
- Replaced solid nose with turret, APS-20 and APS-8 search radars standard, jettisonable wingtip fuel tanks. Late models featured observation nose and MAD gear in place of nose and tail turrets; 424 built.
P2V-5F (P-2E)
- Modification with two J34Westinghouse J34-See also:-External links:* http://www.arkairmuseum.org/engines/engine-westinghouse.php* http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/systems/j34.htm...
jet engines to increase power on take-off, J34 engines and R-3350 had common fuel system burning AvGas rather than having dedicated jet fuel (as did all Neptunes with jets [less Kawasaki P-2J]), deleted wing rocket stubs, increased bombload.
AP-2E
- Designation applied to P2V-5F with special SIGINT/ELINT equipment used by the US Army's 1st Radio Research Company at Cam Ranh BayCam Ranh BayCam Ranh Bay is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in the province of Khánh Hòa. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers / 180 miles northeast of Hồ Chí Minh City / Saigon.Cam Ranh is...
.
P2V-5FD (DP-2E)
- P2V-5F with target towing or drone launch capability, various defensive equipment and all weaponry deleted.
P2V-5FE (EP-2E)
- P2V-5F with Julie/Julie ASW gear but without other changes of P2V-5FS (SP-2E). Assigned almost exclusively to USNR.
P2V-5FS (SP-2E)
- P2V-5F with Julie/Jezebel ASW gear.
OP-2E
- Modified for use as part of Operation Igloo WhiteOperation Igloo WhiteOperation Igloo White was a covert United States Air Force electronic warfare operation conducted from late January 1968 until February 1973, during the Vietnam War. This state-of-the-art operation utilized electronic sensors, computers, and communications relay aircraft in an attempt to automate...
with Observation Squadron 67 (VO-67); only 12 converted.
P2V-6 (P-2F)
- Aerial mine delivery capability, APS-70 search radar, upgraded powerplant; 83 built.
P2V-6B
- AUM-N-2 PetrelAQM-41 PetrelThe AUM-N-2 Petrel was an air-to -surface missile produced by the United States of America. Later variants were converted into AQM-41A target drones.-Design and development:...
missile launch capability.
P2V-6M (MP-2F)
- Formerly P2V-6B, 16 produced; note that originally the M mission modifier prefix stood for missile carrier, but was eventually dropped, becoming the role-modifier for multi-mission aircraft.
P2V-6F (P-2G)
- P2V-6/P-2F refitted with J34 jet engines.
P2V-6T (TP-2F)
- Trainer version with armament deleted, wingtip tanks often deleted.
P2V-7 (P-2H)
- Last Neptune variant produced by Lockheed, upgraded powerplant, jet pods standard, improved wingtip tanks, APS-20 search radar, bulged cockpit canopy, early fitted with nose and tail turrets, but replaced with observation nose and MAD tail, dorsal turret also fitted early and replaced with observation bubble; 311 built (including 48 assembled in Japan by Kawasaki for JMSDF). P2V-7/P-2H and mods were only Neptunes with raised cockpit canopies.
P2V-7B
- 15 aircraft with non-glazed gun nose for Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service (MLD serial 200-214). Subsequently modified to P2V-7S/SP-2H (augmented by 4 SP-2H from Aéronavale (MLD serial 215-218)
P2V-7LP (LP-2J)
- Ski landing gear, JATO provisions; four built.
P2V-7S (SP-2H)
- Additional ASW/ECM equipment including Julie/Jezebel gear.
P2V-7U
- Naval designation of the RB-69A variant.
AP-2H
- Specialized ground attack variant for Heavy Attack Squadron 21 (VAH-21); only four converted.
RB-69A
- Least known of the P2V Neptune family. Five built, two converted for CIA covert operations, obtained with USAF help and operated by ROCAF/Taiwan's 34th Squadron. Aerial reconnaissance/ELINT platform, modular sensor packages fitted depended on the mission needs. Originally fitted with Westinghouse APQ-56 Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR), the APQ-24 search radar, the Fairchild Mark IIIA cameras, the APR-9/13 radar intercept receiver, the QRC-15 DF system, the APA-69A DF display, the APA-74 pulse analyser, the Ampex tape recorder, the System 3 receiver to intercept enemy communications, the APS-54 RWR, a noise jammer, the RADAN system doppler radar navigation, and others. In May 1959, a upgrade program known as Phase VI was approved, and added the ATIR air-to-air radar jammer, replacing APR-9/13 with ALQ-28 ferret system, the QRC-15, 3 14-channel recorders and 1 7-channel high speed recorder to record ELINT systems, the K-band receiver, the ASN-7 navigation computer replacing RADAN, and Fulton Skyhook system.
C-139
- The C-139 designation was applied to a planned transport version of the Neptune, which was cancelled before any aircraft were built.
Neptune MR.1
- BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
designation of P2V-5; 52 delivered.
CP-122 Neptune
- RCAF designation of P2V-7.(jet pod not initially fitted to 25 P2V-7 aircraft delivered to RCAF, but subsequently retrofitted)
Kawasaki P-2J
Kawasaki P-2J
|-See also:-References:* Sullivan, Jim, P2V Neptune in action. Squadron/Signal Publications: Carrollton, TX, 1985.-External links:* * http://p2vneptune.com* http://www.maam.org/neptune/p2_1.html...
(P2V-Kai)
- Japanese variant produced by Kawasaki for JMSDF with T64 turboprop engines, various other improvements; 82 built.
Operators
Military operators
- Argentine NavyArgentine NavyThe Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
- Argentine Naval AviationArgentine Naval AviationThe Argentine Naval Aviation is the naval aviation branch of the Argentine Navy and one of its four operational commands...
(eight units)- Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Exploracion
- Royal Australian Air ForceRoyal Australian Air ForceThe Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
- No. 10 Squadron RAAFNo. 10 Squadron RAAFNo. 10 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol squadron based at RAAF Base Edinburgh. The Squadron was first formed in 1939 and has seen active service in World War II, East Timor, the War on Terrorism and the 2003 Gulf War.-Second World War:...
- No. 11 Squadron RAAFNo. 11 Squadron RAAFNo. 11 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol squadron based at RAAF Base Edinburgh. It was formed in 1939 and has seen active service in World War II, East Timor, the War on Terrorism and the 2003 Gulf War...
- No. 10 Squadron RAAF
- Brazilian Air ForceBrazilian Air ForceThe Brazilian Air Force is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces"...
(14 Units)- 1°/7° Grupo de Aviação
- Royal Canadian Air ForceRoyal Canadian Air ForceThe history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
- No. 404 Squadron RCAFNo. 404 Squadron RCAF404 Maritime Patrol and Training Squadron is a long range patrol and training squadron in the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron was originally No. 404 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force .-History:...
- No. 405 Squadron RCAFNo. 405 Squadron RCAF405 Maritime Patrol Squadron is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force within the Canadian Forces, initially formed as No. 405 Squadron RCAF during the Second World War.-World War II:...
- No. 407 Squadron RCAFNo. 407 Squadron RCAF407 Long Range Patrol Squadron is a long range & maritime patrol squadron of the Canadian Forces. It is located at 19 Wing Comox, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia operating the CP-140 Aurora.-History:No...
- No. 404 Squadron RCAF
- French NavyFrench NavyThe French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
- Japan Maritime Self Defense Force
- Dutch Naval Aviation Service
- Republic of China Air ForceRepublic of China Air ForceThe Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around Taiwan...
- 34th Black Bat SquadronBlack Bat SquadronBlack Bats 34th Squadron was the name of a corps of CIA reconnaissance plane pilots and crew based in Taiwan during the Cold War. Citizens of the Republic of China, they flew missions over mainland China, or the People's Republic of China , to drop agents and gathered military signal intelligences...
- 34th Black Bat Squadron
- Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
- No. 36 Squadron RAFNo. 36 Squadron RAFNo. 36 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Cramlington on February 1, 1916 and was disbanded for the last time in 1975.-First World War:No...
- No. 203 Squadron RAFNo. 203 Squadron RAFNo. 203 Squadron RAF was originally formed as No. 3 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service. It was renumbered No. 203 when the Royal Air Force was formed on 1 April 1918.-First World War:...
- No. 210 Squadron RAFNo. 210 Squadron RAFNo. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in World War I. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated as a fighter squadron during World War I and as a maritime patrol squadron during the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Cold War before it was...
- No. 217 Squadron RAFNo. 217 Squadron RAFNo. 217 Squadron RAF was originally formed on 1 April 1918, from the No. 17 Naval Squadron at Bergues, near Dunkerque. It conducted daylight raids using Airco DH.4s on enemy bases and airfields in Belgium. The squadron was disbanded on 18 October 1919, after the end of World War I.No...
- No. 236 Operational Conversion Unit RAF
- No. 36 Squadron RAF
- United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
- United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
- United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
- Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
operated 7 RB-69A in USAF colors.
Survivors
There are a few Neptunes that have been restored and are on display in museums and parks.SP-2E
- Historic Aircraft Restoration Projects, Brooklyn, New York, USA; Bureau Number (BuNo)131542* SP-2E is at Floyd Bennett Field Brooklyn, Hangar "B"
- NAS Jacksonville Memorial Park, NAS Jacksonville, Florida, USA; BuNo 131410
- Gate guard, former NAS Brunswick, Maine, USA; BuNo 128392
- Gate guard, Moffett Federal AirfieldMoffett Federal AirfieldMoffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale, California, USA. The airport is near the south end of San Francisco Bay, northwest of San Jose. Formerly a United States Navy facility, the former...
(former NAS Moffett Field), California, USA; BuNo 128393 - United States Army Aviation MuseumUnited States Army Aviation MuseumThe United States Army Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located on Fort Rucker near Ozark, Alabama. It has the largest collection of helicopters held by a museum in the world. The museum features some 50 aircraft on public display with aviation artifacts ranging from a replica of the Wright...
, Fort RuckerFort RuckerFort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located mostly in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training base for Army Aviation and is home to the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence and...
, AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, USA; Army serial number 131485 / Navy BuNo 131485
SP-2H
- Museo Aeronaval (MUAN) of Argentine Naval AviationArgentine Naval AviationThe Argentine Naval Aviation is the naval aviation branch of the Argentine Navy and one of its four operational commands...
: SP-2H serial 2-P-112 is the one which tracked HMS Sheffield - National Museum of Naval AviationNational Museum of Naval AviationThe National Museum of Naval Aviation is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. The museum opened in 1962....
, NAS Pensacola, Florida, USA; BuNo 141234 and BuNo 141561 - Gate guard, Marine Corps Base HawaiiMarine Corps Base HawaiiMarine Corps Base Hawaii , formerly Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Bay and originally Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay, is a U.S. Marine Corps base facility and air station located on the Mokapu Peninsula of windward O'ahu in the City & County of Honolulu. As of the 2000 Census, the base had a...
(former MCAS Kaneohe Bay), Hawaii, USA; BuNo 150279 (relocated from former NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii) - Gate guard, MVK De Kooy, The Netherlands. (Reg. 216/V)
- In storage, awaiting restoration. Militaire Luchtvaart Museum Soesterberg, The Netherlands. (Reg. 201/V)
- One tailsection. Hato, CuraçaoCuraçaoCuraçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. - SP-2H, former Dutch Navy, number 204, on display on grounds of RAF Cosford Museum, Shropshire, England.
P-2H
- Mid-Atlantic Air MuseumMid-Atlantic Air MuseumThe Mid-Atlantic Air Museum is membership supported museum and aircraft restoration facility located at the Carl A. Spaatz Field, the regional airport serving Reading, Pennsylvania. The museum, founded by Russ Strine, the current President, collects and actively restores historic war planes and...
. Reading, PennsylvaniaReading, PennsylvaniaReading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
; BuNo 144683 - Museum of AviationMuseum of AviationThe Museum of Aviation is the second-largest aerospace museum of the United States Air Force. The museum is located just outside Warner Robins, Georgia, and near Robins Air Force Base. It has a total of five different buildings containing 93 different aircraft on . The SR-71A Blackbird on display...
Robins AFB, Georgia, USA ; BuNo 147954. The P-2 Neptune is painted to represent a USAF/CIA/Taiwan RB-69A. - Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson, ArizonaTucson, ArizonaTucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, USA; aircraft configured as an AP-2H, BuNo 135620
P2V
- P2V-7, Quonset Air MuseumQuonset Air MuseumFounded in September 1992, the Quonset Air Museum was dedicated as an educational facility whose current mission is to preserve and interpret Rhode Island's aviation Heritage....
, Quonset PointQuonset PointQuonset Point, also known simply as Quonset, is a small peninsula in Narragansett Bay in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It is contained entirely within the town of North Kingstown. "Quonset" is a Native American word likely meaning "small long place".Quonset Point was the location of Naval Air...
, North Kingston, Rhode IslandRhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, USA; BuNo unknown, not airworthy - P2V-1 "Truculent Turtle" aircraft, National Museum of Naval AviationNational Museum of Naval AviationThe National Museum of Naval Aviation is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. The museum opened in 1962....
, NAS Pensacola, Florida, USA; BuNo 89082 - Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson, ArizonaTucson, ArizonaTucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, USA; BuNo 147957 - Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3761, Baltimore, OhioBaltimore, OhioBaltimore is a village in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,881 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Baltimore is located at ....
, USA; on display on grounds; BuNo unknown - P2V-7 Tillamook Air MuseumTillamook Air MuseumTillamook Air Museum is an aviation museum located south of Tillamook, Oregon at Tillamook Airport . The museum is housed in a former military blimp hangar, called "Hangar B", which is the largest clear-span wooden structure in the world...
, Tillamook, OregonTillamook, OregonThe city of Tillamook is the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 4,352 at the 2000 census...
, USA; BuNo unknown, Airworthy - P2V-7, Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, Illawarra Regional AirportIllawarra Regional AirportIllawarra Regional Airport is an airport located 18 km southwest of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.-Airport features:...
, New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Ex-Royal Australian Air Force A89-273, now civil registered VH-IOY. BuNo 149073, Airworthy.
P2V-3
P-2H (P2V-7)
Accidents and incidents
- On 6 November 1951, a P2V of VP-6 carrying out a ‘weather reconnaissance mission over international watersInternational watersThe terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
off VladivostokVladivostokThe city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
’ was attacked and shot down by a number of MiG-15Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was a jet fighter developed for the USSR by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters, and it achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where early in the war, it outclassed all straight-winged enemy fighters in...
s. All 10 crew were killed.
- On 18 January 1953, a P2V of VP-22 was shot down off SwatowShantouShantou , historically known as Swatow or Suátao, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, with a total population of 5,391,028 as of 2010 and an administrative area of...
in the Formosa Straits by ChinesePeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
anti-aircraft fireAnti-aircraft warfareNATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
. Eleven of thirteen crewmen were rescued by a US Coast Guard PBM-5 under fire from shore batteriesCoastal artilleryCoastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
on Nan Ao TaoNan'ao CountyNan'ao County is a county in Shantou, Guangdong, China.Geographically, the main part of the county is the island of Nan’ao, which lies 2 – 5 miles off the coast of Guangdong...
island. Attempting to takeoff in 8 to 12 foot swellSwell (ocean)A swell, in the context of an ocean, sea or lake, is a series surface gravity waves that is not generated by the local wind. Swell waves often have a long wavelength but this varies with the size of the water body, e.g. rarely more than 150 m in the Mediterranean, and from event to event, with...
s, the PBM crashed. Ten survivors out of 19 total (including five from the P2V) were rescued by USS Halsey Powell (DD-686)USS Halsey Powell (DD-686)USS Halsey Powell , a Fletcher-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy to be named for Captain Halsey Powell, , who served during World War I....
. During the search effort, a PBM-5 from VP-40 received fire from a small-caliber machine gun, and Gregory (DD 802)USS Gregory (DD-802)USS Gregory was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, the second Navy ship named for Rear Admiral Francis H. Gregory , who served from the War of 1812 to the Civil War....
received fire from shore batteries.
- On 4 September 1954, a P2V-5 of VP-19 operating from NAS Atsugi ditched in the Sea of JapanSea of JapanThe Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
, 40 miles off the coast of SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
after an attack by two Soviet Air Forces MiG-15 Fagots. One crewmen was lost, and the other nine were rescued by a USAF Grumman Albatross amphibian.
- On 22 June 1955, a P2V-5 of VP-9 (BuNo 131515), flying a patrol mission from Kodiak, AlaskaKodiak, AlaskaKodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...
, was attacked over the Bering Straits by two Soviet Air Forces MiG-15s. The P2V crash-landEmergency landingAn emergency landing is a landing made by an aircraft in response to a crisis which either interferes with the operation of the aircraft or involves sudden medical emergencies necessitating diversion to the nearest airport.-Types of emergency landings:...
ed on St. Lawrence IslandSt. Lawrence IslandSt. Lawrence Island is located west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea, just south of the Bering Strait, at about 63°30' North 173°20' West. The village of Gambell is located on the northwest cape, from the Chukchi Peninsula in the Russian Far East. The island is part of Alaska, but closer to...
after an engine was set afire. Of the eleven crew members, including pilot Richard F. Fischer, co-pilot David M. Lockhard, Donald E. Sonnek, Thaddeus Maziarz, Martin E. Berg, Eddie Benko, David Assard and Charles Shields, four sustained injuries due to gunfire and six were injured during the landing. The USFederal government of the United StatesThe federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
demanded $724,947 in compensation; the USSR finally paid half this amount.
- On 25 March 1960, an RB-69A/P2V-7U(7101/140442/54-4040) crashed into a hill near Kunsan Air BaseKunsan Air BaseKunsan Air Base , is a United States Air Force base located on the west coast of the South Korean peninsula bordered by the Yellow Sea. It is at the town of Gunsan about 150 miles south of Seoul. The town can be romanized as both Gunsan and Kunsan...
, South Korea, during a low level ferry flight from Hsinchu, Taiwan to stage area in Kunsan, South Korea. All 14 aircrew on board were killed.
- On 6 November 1961, an RB-69A/P2V-7U(7099/140440/54-4039) conducting a low level penetration flight over mainland China was shot down by ground fire over Liaodong peninsula. All 14 aircrew on board were killed in action.
- On 8 January 1962, a RB-69A/P2V-7U(7097/140438/54-4038) crashed into the Korea BayKorea BayThe Korea Bay is a northern extension of the Yellow Sea, between Liaoning Province of China and North P'yŏngan Province of North Korea.It is separated from the Bohai Sea by the Liaodong Peninsula, with Dalian at its southernmost point...
while conducting ELINT and leaflet dropping missions. All 14 aircrew on board were killed in action.
- On 19 June 1963, a RB-69A/P2V-7U(7105/141233/54-4041) was conducting ELINT mission over mainland China, and was shot down by PLAAFPeople's Liberation Army Air ForceThe People's Liberation Army Air Force is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China...
MiG-17PF over Linchuan, Jiangxi, after intercepted repeatedly by multiple MiG-17PFs and Tu-4Ps. All 14 aircrew on board were killed in action.
- On 11 June 1964, a RB-69A/P2V-7U (7047/135612/54-4037) was conducting ELINT mission over mainland China, and was shot down by PLAN-AFPeople's Liberation Army Naval Air ForceThe People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force is the naval aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army Navy of the People's Republic of China.-Mission:Primary Mission* Provide fleet air defense for PLAN surface combatants...
MiG-15 over Shandong peninsula, after intercepted by MiG-15s and Il-28Ilyushin Il-28The Ilyushin Il-28 is a jet bomber aircraft of the immediate postwar period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Force. It was the USSR's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was also licence-built in China as the Harbin H-5. Total production in the USSR was 6,316...
s. All 13 aircrew on board were killed in action.
- On 5 September 2008, a Neptune Aviation Services Lockheed Neptune registeredAircraft registrationAn aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
N4235T crashed soon after takeoff from Reno/Stead Airport, Reno, Nevada. The left engine and then left wing were seen to catch fire before the aircraft crashed. All three crew members on board were killed.
See also
External links
- Patrol Squadron 65 History with the Neptune
- P2 development history
- Mid-Atlantic Air Museum: Lockheed P2V Neptune
- French Navy Neptune
- U.S. Navy Patrol Squadrons: Lockheed P2 Neptune
- U.S. Navy Patrol Squadrons: "Flight of the Truculent Turtle"
- Aero Union Corporation
- Missoulian article on Neptune's P2V water bombers and their proposed replacement with Q300s
- Listing of the carrier launch conversions
- Observation Squadron Sixty-Seven
- Robert Fulton's Skyhook and Operation Coldfeet, use of P2V aircraft
- Use of P2V aircraft for Operation Deep Freeze by the US Navy's squadron VX-6
- AeroWeb: List of P-2 Neptunes on display.
- DND - Canada's Air Force - Lockheed CP-127 (P2V-7) Neptune
- Quonset Air Museum Website, Collections Tab on P-2V Neptune as direct link is not available
- On 25 March 1960, an RB-69A/P2V-7U(7101/140442/54-4040) crashed into a hill near Kunsan Air Base