Lockheed 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 “MAD Boom”, used for the magnetic detection of submarines.

Over the years, the aircraft has seen plentiful design progressions, particularly to its electronics packages. The P-3 Orion is still in use by many navies and air forces around the world, chiefly for maritime patrol, investigation, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare. A total of 734 P-3s have been built, and during 2012, it joined the handful of military aircraft including the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker that have served 50 years of continuous use by the United States military. The U.S. Navy’s remaining P-3C aircraft will eventually be replaced by the Boeing P-8A Poseidon.

In August 1957, the U.S. Navy called for replacement proposals for the aging twin piston engine Lockheed P2V Neptune and Martin P5M Marlin with a more sophisticated aircraft to conduct maritime patrol and antisubmarine warfare. Modifying an existing aircraft was expected to save on cost and allow rapid introduction into the fleet. Lockheed suggested a military version of their L-188 Electra, which was still in development and had yet to fly. In April 1958 Lockheed won the competition and was awarded an initial research and development contract in May.

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 (2.1 m) less fuselage forward of the wings with an opening bomb bay, and a more pointed nose radome, distinctive tail “stinger”, 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 (761 km/h) comparable to the fastest propeller fighters, or even slow high-bypass turbofan jets such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II or the Lockheed S-3 Viking. Similar patrol aircraft include the Soviet Ilyushin Il-38 and the French Breguet Atlantique, while Britain adapted the jet-powered de Havilland Comet as the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod.

The first production version, designated P3V-1, was launched on 15 April 1961. Initial squadron deliveries to Patrol Squadron Eight 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.

The P-3 has an internal bomb bay under the front fuselage which can house conventional Mark 50 torpedoes or Mark 46 torpedoes and/or special nuclear weapons. Additional underwing stations, or pylons, can carry other armament configurations including the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-84E SLAM, AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER, the AGM-65 Maverick, 127 millimeters (5.0 in) Zuni rockets, and various other sea mines, missiles, and gravity bombs. The aircraft also had the capability to carry the AGM-12 Bullpup guided missile until that weapon was withdrawn from U.S./NATO/Allied service.

The P-3 is equipped with a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) in the extended tail. This instrument is able to detect the magnetic anomaly of a submarine in the Earth’s magnetic field. The limited range of this instrument requires the aircraft to be near the submarine at low altitude. Because of this, it is primarily is used for pinpointing the location of a submarine immediately prior to a torpedo or depth bomb attack. Due to the sensitivity of the detector, electromagnetic noise can interfere with it, so the detector is placed in P-3′s fiberglass tail stinger (MAD boom), far from other electronics and ferrous metals on the aircraft.

The Age of Orion is the first book devoted solely to the development and operational use of the illustrious USN maritime patrol and anti-submarine hunting aircraft the Lockheed P-3 Orion. David Reade details for the first time the complete history of the Lockheed P-3. Buy the book here.

Specifications

Crew: 11
Length: 116 ft 10 in (35.6 m)
Wingspan: 99 ft 8 in (30.4 m)
Height: 38 ft 8 in (11.8 m)
Wing area: 1300 ft² (120.8 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 0014-1.10 (Root) – NACA 0012-1.10 (Tip)
Empty weight: 77,200 lb (35,000 kg)
Loaded weight: 135,000 lb (61,400 kg)
Useful load: 57,800 lb (26,400 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 142,000 lb (64,400 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Allison T56-A-14 turboprop, 4,600 shp (3,700 kW) each
Maximum speed: 411 kn (750 km/h)
Cruise speed: 328 kn (610 km/h)
Range: 2,380 nmi radius (4,400 km)
Combat radius: 1,346 nmi (2,490 km) three hours on-station at 1,500 feet
Ferry range: 4,830 nmi(8,944 km)
Endurance: 16 hours
Service ceiling: 28,300 ft (8,625 m)
Rate of climb: 3,140 ft/min (16 m/s)
Wing loading: 107 lb/ft² (530 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.03 hp/lb (0.06 kW/kg)