Tribute to the P-3

 For those who loved the P-3 Orion. To the aircrew that flew. The ground crew that fixed she. She never failed us.

On her wings we flew by night and day,

over oceans and seas, skies blue or gray,

No sub could hide from her watchful eye,

no weather could stop her from patrolling the sky

Like thunder and lightning her engines roared,

LIVING with the blood of those carried on board,

each beating heart bringing her alive,

dependent on her strength, another day to survive

From Viet Nam to the falling wall,

and on to answer Afghanistan's call,

she served both Country and Airmen well,

as she sees the twilight, our hearts do swell

Orion calls her home from the hunt,

clinging to her memories, her Airmen do want,

the earth beckons back for her return,

a restful slumber she and crew have earned

The 'Old Girl', now, seeks to retire,

her crews grow gray, sit by the fire,

basking in dreams of glory and fun,

her engines, now, do cease to run

A storied career comes to a rest,

she lovingly bore men and women, the BEST,

having served her Nation, 'The People, WE',

I am proud that I served in the MIGHTY P-3!!!

~Robert Gordon, Veterans Day 2018

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P-3 model

 A very well down P-3.

Gil Hodges 1/48 P-3C

 Here is Gil's 1/48 combat models P-3C built.   Not an easy model build.

VP-93 Naval Reserve Squadron, Selfridge ANG

 Around 1975 VP93 was reactivated by the US Navy as a reserve squadron.   The unit was only activated for 20yrs. Bill Clinton de-activated the major of these high skill naval squadrons and personal.  As Clinton said the cold war was over.  What people didn't the unit still tracked soviet submarines, but all the drug runner out of South American.  I served with VP-93 as AE/FE on the P-3A.  Sadly a lot of my squadrons of my era have past.   This series of photos are for my good friends and Squadron mate.

 

I was the FE in the chase P3 taking the photos.

Check out this blog. Da Nang Air Base.

 Richard blog is pull of great pictures. He had taken this picture during his time in the USAF at Da Nang 1965-66.  Amazing picture of the airfield being constructed and all the early war aircraft.  The only place to see them is on the blog Da Nang AFB

The Orion is an aircraft I'm very fond of.   From 1979 to 1982 I was a Flight engineer on this amazing Patrol Aircraft.   Being in a reserve Sqaudron VP-93.  We only had "A" models.  Some where pretty old. Plus near to the end of their careers as an Patrol aircraft.   Here is some history on the aircraft.

This Day in Naval History - April 15, 1961: First flight of a production P3V-1.

The prototype YP3V-1/YP-3A, Bureau Number BuNo 148276 was modified from the third Electra airframe c/n 1003. The first flight of the aircraft's aerodynamic prototype, originally designated YP3V-1, was on 19 August 1958. While based on the same design philosophy as the Lockheed L-188 Electra, the aircraft was structurally different. The aircraft had 7 feet less fuselage forward of the wings with an opening bomb bay, and a more pointed nose radome, distinctive tail "stinger" for detection of submarines by magnetic anomaly detector, wing hardpoints, and other internal, external, and airframe production technique enhancements. The Orion has four Allison T56 turboprops which give it a top speed of 411 knots; 473 mph comparable to the fastest propeller fighters, or even slow high-bypass turbofan jets such as the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II or the Lockheed S-3 Viking. .
The first production version, designated P3V-1, was launched on 15 April 1961. Initial squadron deliveries to Patrol Squadron Eight (VP-8) and Patrol Squadron Forty Four (VP-44) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland began in August 1962. On 18 September 1962, the U.S. military transitioned to a unified designation system for all services, with the aircraft being renamed the P-3 Orion. Paint schemes have changed from early 1960s gloss blue and white, to mid-1960s gloss white and gray, to mid-1990s flat finish low visibility gray with fewer and smaller markings. In the early 2000s, the scheme changed to a gloss gray finish with the original full-size color markings. Large size Bureau Numbers on the vertical stabilizer and squadron designations on the fuselage remained omitted.
(WikipediA The Free Encyclopedia)

Photo #1: Pre-production YP3V-1 Orion = Prototype Patrol 3rd type by Lockheed Aircraft Corp (Vega, Plant A) -1st configuration.
Photo #2: Production YP3V-1. *** Photo #3: P-3A Orion from VP-9 at NAS Moffett Field circa 1964. This was my squadron from 1966-1970 with P-3B

Prototype

P-3A

P-3A

Electra the fore father of the Orion. Santaina's private aircraft