Early Cold War , Florida, 2007. Mostly the one foot longer Aero 9C turret was installed. Before the
P-3 Orion arrived in the mid-1960s, the Neptune was the primary U.S. land-based anti-submarine patrol aircraft, intended to be operated as the hunter of a '"Hunter-Killer" group, with
destroyers employed as killers. Several features aided the P-2 in its hunter role: •
Sonobuoys 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 cal (12.7mm) machine guns in the nose, but most had a forward observation bubble with an observer seat, a feature often seen in images. • The AN/ASQ-8
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
AN/APS-20 surface-search radar enabled detection of surfaced and snorkeling submarines at considerable distances. As the P-2 was replaced in the US 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 Air Reserve P-2s were eventually replaced by P-3As and P-3Bs and the P-2 exited active U.S. naval service.
VP-23 was the last active duty patrol squadron to operate the SP-2H, retiring its last Neptune on 20 February 1970, while the last Naval Reserve patrol squadron to operate the Neptune,
VP-94, retired its last SP-2H in 1978.
Nuclear bomber At the end of World War II, US Navy leaders felt the need to acquire a nuclear strike capability to maintain the Navy's relevance (see
Revolt of the Admirals). In the short term, carrier-based aircraft were the best solution. The large
Fat Man nuclear munitions at that time were bulky and required a very large aircraft to carry them. The US Navy Bureau of Ordnance built 25 outdated but more compact
Little Boy nuclear bombs to be used in the smaller bomb bay of the P2V Neptune. There was enough fissionable material available by 1948 to build ten complete uranium projectiles and targets, although there were only enough initiators to complete six. The U.S. 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. However, the Neptune could not land on a carrier, therefore the crew had to either make their way to a friendly land base after a strike, or
ditch in the sea near a U.S. Navy vessel. It was replaced in this emergency role by the
North American AJ Savage (transferred to the
Pacific Fleet in October 1952) 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 US 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 Agency (CIA) obtained five newly built P2V-7 aircraft and converted them 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 for 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 they also acquired an older P2V-5 from the US Navy as a training aircraft in 1963. Test flights were made by lead aircraft at
Edwards AFB from 1955 to 1956 with all the aircraft painted with a 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; these were painted in ROCAF markings. The ROCAF 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
Republic of China (ROC) governments meant the RB-69A would be manned by ROCAF 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 Black Bat Squadron over China from 1957 to November 1966. All five original aircraft were lost with all hands on board: two crashed in South Korea, three were shot down over China. In January 1967, two remaining RB-69As flew back to
NAS Alameda, California, and were converted back to regular US Navy P2V-7/SP-2H ASW aircraft configurations. Most of the 34th Squadron's black op missions remain classified by the CIA—though 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 34th Squadron's black op missions is known to exist. The CIA does not plan to declassify it until after 2022. The US Army operated the P-2 from 1967
Observation Squadron 67 (VO-67), call sign "Lindy", was the only P-2 Neptune aircraft squadron to ever receive the
Presidential Unit Citation, flying
Igloo White missions sowing seismic and acoustic sensors over the
Ho Chi Minh trail. Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Neptunes were also involved in the Vietnam War. These aircraft helped escort the fast transport from Australia to South Vietnam on several occasions in 1965 and 1966. Australian Neptunes also occasionally operated as airborne early warning aircraft over Thailand using their AN/APS-120 radar; this was done only when the aircraft were transiting through Thai airspace on other taskings. During these sorties the Neptunes warned American aircraft operating over North Vietnam of Vietnamese surface to air missile launches.
Falklands War The
Argentine Naval Aviation had received at least 16 Neptunes of different variants since 1958 including eight former
RAF examples 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) carried out reconnaissance missions over the South Atlantic and on 4 May, after detecting a group of British warships, helped to direct an attack by two
Dassault Super Étendards that resulted in the sinking of the British destroyer . 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 Lockheed C-130 Hercules took over the task of searching for targets for strike aircraft.
Other military operators The Royal Canadian Air Force's Maritime Air Command replaced its aging
Avro Lancaster maritime patrol aircraft beginning in 1955 with P2V-7 Neptunes in the anti-submarine, anti-shipping, and maritime reconnaissance roles, as a stopgap pending deliveries of the
Canadair CP-107 Argus, which began in 1960. Canadian Neptunes were delivered without the underwing Westinghouse J34 jet engine pods, which were retrofitted in 1959. Armament included two torpedoes, mines, depth charges, bombs carried internally plus unguided rockets mounted under the wings. Twenty five Neptunes served with 404, 405 and 407 squadrons until 1960. Upon unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, the Neptune was re-designated the CP122 and was officially retired two years later. Australia also acquired Neptunes to supplement and then replace the aging Avro Lincoln in the reconnaissance and anti-submarine role. The RAAF flew Neptunes from 1951 until 1978, at first with 11 Squadron (Pearce, WA) and then, from late 1953, with 10 Squadron (Richmond, NSW). RAAF Neptunes were fitted for ASW, surface ship detection and general reconnaissance. Twelve P2V4/5 (later designated P-2E) aircraft entered service with 11 Squadron in 1951. At first powered only by two R3350 radials, all were later retrofitted with Westinghouse J-34 auxiliary jets. Long-running severe spare parts shortages in the early 1950s made it necessary to put 6 of the 12 aircraft in long-term storage from 1953. In August 1953, the rear and front turrets were removed and replaced with a MAD boom and a clear Perspex nose for observation. In the late 1960s, RAAF Neptune operations were wound down and it was replaced with the P-3B Orion. With the founding of
NATO in 1949 and the resulting additional maritime commitments it entailed for Britain, The
Royal Air Force Coastal Command operated 52 P2V-5s, designated Neptune MR.1, as a stop-gap modern maritime patrol aircraft until sufficient numbers of the
Avro Shackleton could enter service. The Neptunes 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 P-3 Orion, and by the 1970s, it was in use only by patrol squadrons in the US Naval Reserve and the Dutch Navy. The 320 Squadron of the Royal Dutch Navy retired its last seven Neptunes in March 1982 as they were being replaced by the Lockheed Orion. The US Naval Reserve retired 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. The Netherlands received its first Neptunes in 1953–54, when it acquired 12 P2V-5s. These remained in service until 1960, when they were transferred to Portugal. The P2V-5s were initially not replaced, with the anti-submarine aircraft requirement being met by carrier-borne
Grumman S-2 Trackers. A new, urgent, requirement for maritime patrol aircraft soon developed, for service over
Dutch New Guinea, and 15 new P2V-7s were purchased, entering service from September 1961. While initially employed on reconnaissance and patrol duties, as Indonesian infiltration attempts against New Guinea increased, the Neptunes added bombing and strafing operations to their patrol duties. On 17 May 1962, a Netherlands Navy Neptune shot down an Indonesian
C-47 transport. A truce ended the conflict in September 1962, with Dutch New Guinea passing to UN control before becoming part of Indonesia, and the P2V-7s returned to Europe. The aircraft were upgraded to SP-2H standard soon after returning to the Netherlands, and remained in service until March 1982, when they were replaced by Lockheed Orions. on the 2007 WSA Complex fire in Oregon. 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.
Civilian firefighting P-2/P2Vs have been employed in
aerial firefighting roles by operators such as Minden Air Corp and Neptune Aviation Services. The fire fighters can carry of retardant and have a service life of 15,000 hours. Neptune Aviation Services proposes to replace them with
British Aerospace 146 aircraft, which have an estimated service life of 80,000 hours and carry upwards of of retardant.
"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 US Navy's latest patrol bomber, and to surpass the standing record set by a Japanese
Tachikawa Ki-77. 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 US Navy referred to it as "The Truculent Turtle". 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
National Zoo in Washington, D.C.) the aircraft set off on 9 September 1946, with a
RATO (rocket-assisted takeoff). days (55h, 18m) later, "The Turtle" touched down in
Columbus, Ohio after . It was the longest un-refueled flight yet beating the unofficial record set by the Japanese Tachikawa Ki-77. This would stand as the absolute unrefueled distance record until 1962 when it was beaten by a USAF
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, and would remain as a piston-engined record until 1986 when the
Rutan Voyager broke it circumnavigating the globe. "The Turtle" is preserved at the
National Museum of Naval Aviation at
NAS Pensacola. ==Variants==