From Electra To Orion

To the east, the Soviet Union is deploying its latest “Typhoon” class nuclear subs which carry between 18 and 24 ICBMs designated SS-NX-18 with a 5800 NM range. To the west, the US will soon be deploying her latest “Ohio” class nuclear subs armed with 24 Trident C4 ICBMs with a 4000 NM range: Compared to fixed and semi-mobile ICBMs, sub-deployed missiles are far more dangerous as they can hide in the deep water, making detection extremely difficult.

Those countries fortunate enough to possess a force of conventionally powered submarines also have the added advantage of striking hard against an enemy’s shipping. With the development of submarine-launched anti-shipping missiles such as the RGM-84A Harpoon and BGM-109 Tomahawk, submarines can be provided with an enhanced first-strike capability by firing these over-the-horizon weapons with little fear of detection. One of the RAN’s Oberon class submarines, during Exercise Kangaroo 11, successfully infiltrated the escort of the giant USN carrier, USS Enterprise, and recorded a “kill” against it. Two years later, RAN submarines claimed seven “sinkings” during Kangaroo III. Both these accounts bear witness to the effectiveness of this weapon.

In order to combat the submarine, aircraft have either been specially developed or suitably modified from an existing airframe for the task at hand. Flying boats were the major type employed for this role during the Second World War. No. 10 Squadron RAAF Sunderland saw distinguished service in and around Britain during that conflict, sinking several German U-boats and many other Axis ships.

Airpower remains a very potent counter to the submarine and thus nearly all nations holding sovereignty to stretch of water, patrol it with some form of maritime surveillance aircraft. Carriers to deploy or embark maritime patrol/antisubmarine warfare aircraft, either rotary or fixed wing, to protect both the flagship and the fleet. Grumman S-2 Trackers and Lockheed S-3A Vikings are examples of these.

Many countries, finding themselves with a 200-mile EEZ to cover, have purchased land-based patrol aircraft with an effective anti-shipping capability to protect their interests. One such aircraft is the Lockheed P-3 Orion.

The Orion is the United States Navy’s chief shore-based ASW and maritime surveillance aircraft. However, its development goes further back than just that of a maritime hunter/killer, its origins lying in the Lockheed commercial project which, financially, was a disaster.

With the advent of the turbo-prop, Lockheed began investigating the feasibility of applying this powerplant to a commercial airliner. It was in the early 1950s that the Lockheed Corporation began an appraisal of the short to medium-range airline market and, rather than produce an aircraft with turbojets under development at that time, chose to develop an airliner powered by turboprop.

Their choice had been influenced largely by experience gained in their production for the USAF of the C-130 Hercules military transport which also utilised a turbo-prop, the Allison T. 56. When looking at the short to medium route, Lockheed believed that an aircraft powered by turbo-props would be the most economical and cheapest of all the alternatives.

The Electra

From the drawing board at Lockheed, a design emerged for the aircraft the company had in mind. If they could now convince an airline, preferably American, to finance and ultimately purchase their proposal, then they could begin full-scale work into making it a reality.

In 1954, Lockheed offered their project, called the CL-303, a high-wing aircraft powered by four Rolls-Royce Dart turbo-prop engines, to American Airlines. However, the CL-303 proved too small and inadequate for America’s requirements. Still only a paper project, Lockheed further developed and improved their proposal into, this time, a low-wing Allison T. 56 powered aircraft, designated CL-310. But yet again Americans rejected this proposal for much the same reasons as before.

American Airlines, still searching for an ideal aircraft to fly on shorter routes, issued in January 1955 their detailed requirements to the whole US aircraft industry at large, to which Lockheed announced in June of that year, a scaled-up development of the CL-310, the L-188 Electra.

Lockheed, due partly to their perseverance and partly to their expert salesmanship, successfully won the contract to supply American Airlines with 35 L-188A Electras directly from “off the drawing board”. To follow suit, Eastern Airlines ordered 40 Electras for their own short-haul routes.

The L-188 Electra is powered by four 3750 ehp Allison (T. 56) 501-013A turbo-props which give a maximum cruising speed of 405 mph (652 km/h) at 22,000 ft (6700m). The economical cruise speed is 374 mph (602 km/h) and an initial rate of climb of 1670 ft/min. (8. 5 m/sec. ). A service ceiling of 27,000 ft (8230m) can be attained while a range of 2200 miles (3540 km) is possible with a maximum payload. The range on minimum fuel is 2500 miles (4023 km).

Operational basic weight amounts to some 61,500 lb (27,895 kg); the maximum payload is 116,000 lb (10,350 kg) which is also applicable to the stretched version of the Electra, the L-188C. Wing span amounts to 99 ft 0 in. (30. 18m); length is 104 ft 6 in. (31. 81m); height is 32 ft 10 in. (1Om) and wing area is 1300 ft2 (120. 8m2).

Electra accommodation includes a flight crew of two to three and a mixed-class seating arrangement for 67 passengers or a maximum high-density one-class for 99.

A year after its debut, the Electra had attracted orders for 128 aircraft, this total rising to 144 by the time the first prototype (N 1881) had flown on December 6, 1957. The second prototype made its first flight on February 13, 1958, the fourth on April 1o, 1958, and the fifth on May 19 of the same year. The third prototype (N 1883) was used as the United States Navy’s aerodynamic prototype for the P-3 Orion anti-submarine/ maritime patrol aircraft, described later in this article, and it made its first flight on August 19, 1958.

On August 22, 1958, FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) type certification was granted to the initial production model L-188A which weighed in at a gross weight of 113,000 lb (51,257 kg). Eastern Airlines took delivery of their first L-188A Electra (N 5501) and put into regular operation on January 12, 1959, when American Airlines’ first Electra entered service 11 days later on January 23, 1959.

The L-188A model of the Electra was shortly afterwards supplanted as the standard version by the long-range overwater version, the L-188C. This model had an increased fuel capacity, to boost the range on maximum fuel to 3020 miles (4860. 7 km), and an increased gross weight to 116,000 lb (52,664 kg) while seating was provided for 99 passengers.

Northwest Airlines was the first recipient of the stretched L-188C. The only European flag carrier to order the Electra was KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, whose first L-188C version Electra (PH-LLA Mercurius) was delivered in the autumn of 1959, entering regular passenger service in December.

A major setback to the career of the Electra occurred within weeks of its entrance into scheduled passenger service with American Airlines. From this point on, Lockheed’s hopes and aspirations of a meteoric and prosperous climb back to the top of the commercial airline market were smashed.

On February 3, 1959, one of America’s first Electra flights ended in disaster when it crashed on landing in New York, killing 65 people. Eight months later, in October, a Braniff-owned Electra crashed in Buffalo, Texas, killing 34 people, while the following year, a third Electra, flown by Northwest, crashed near Cannelton, Indiana, with a death toll of 63.

Through subsequent investigations, it was later found that in two of the crashes, the engines had completely broken away in flight. Therefore Lockheed were compelled to recall some 167 of the remaining Electras, including those on the assembly line, for extensive and lengthy restructuring of the wings and engine mounts, which grounded them until 1961 when all aircraft were modified.

During this time, Lockheed bore all costs of the restructuring program under their LEAP (Lockheed Electra Action Programme) policy. After these few but unfortunate accidents, and despite Lockheed’s willingness to bear all of the enormous financial costs of restructuring the Electra, no further orders for the airliner, either from the US or from overseas, were received.

The Electra turned out to be a financial disaster for Lockheed, not so much sales-wise, for it possessed very good potential, but technically. The resulting memory of the accidents that had occurred kept Lockheed out of the commercial airline market for over a decade.

The Electra in Australia

(The following is a summary of the Electra’s service career in Australia, as taken from Stanley Brogden’s book: “Australia’s Two Airline Policy”. )

The period 1957-58 saw what could be described as the “equipment struggle” between TAA and Ansett-ANA. In 1957, Ansett discovered that they had begun to lag in the types and age of their airliner fleet and foresaw that they were in need of an aircraft to compete with TAA’s fleet of sleek new turbo-prop Viscounts.

An answer to Ansett’s requirements was found in the Lockheed Electra turbo-prop, their decision having been influenced a great deal by Qantas’ choice of the Electra in its L-188C version for their own shorter haul routes. Incidentally, Australia was at that time part owner of TEAL and, therefore, whatever decision Qantas made, TEAL was induced to follow also. Another determining factor in Qanta’s choice of introducing the Electra was the considerable anti-British sentiment that prevailed within Qanta’s technical and operational ranks at that time.

The case for the Electra was to have a substantial effect on the domestic scene as the government was now faced with the fact that two of Australia’s major airlines favoured the Electra while TAA preferred the Caravelle jet. Meanwhile, the Federal Cabinet were attempting to force the two domestic airlines to purchase their own choice, the Viscount 800, as the latest standard type.

The government finally changed its stance on the matter, but only part way. It approved orders for two Electras each to the two domestics, despite TAA’s lack of enthusiasm for the aircraft and Ansett’s firm requirement for at least four. This decision, however, still permitted the introduction of Viscount 800s, which partly satisfied TAA as their Caravella request had been rejected and they preferred the Viscount 800 over the Electra.

Ansett, on the other hand, put forward the argument that a fleet of only two Electras was just not an economically viable proposition since they had stated earlier that the minimum number of Electras required to operate economically was four. Despite this, Ansett nevertheless quickly reserved their place on the Lockheed production line, thus obtaining the lead on delivery times over their rival.

But Ansett pointed out that the third Electra would offer real standardisation while the older piston-engined types could be gradually supplanted and replaced as the Electra was capable of performing the work of several piston types at less seat-per-mile cost. Ansett Electra costs were estimated on 12½ hours’ use each day or 4497 hours/year, and overhead costs were constant for two or more aircraft.

TAA was meanwhile forced to make hasty technical evaluations of the Electra as well as arrange the necessary supply of spare parts. The decision for Ansett, however, was ideal, the airline now had a new type of aeroplane, they had gained the upper hand over their rival, and the technological gap wasn’t too great to overcome.

John Bibo, Ansett’s technical superintendent, wrote in the July 1958 issue of AIRCRAFT magazine that the size of the Electra was right as most Australians preferred to travel at certain times of the day and the capacity was more important than the frequency. On seat-per-mile costs, the Electra was “self-selecting” with the lowest break-even cost factor out of the comparable Viscount 800, DC-6B, and Caravella. The Electra proved to be what Ansett estimates said it would be, the most economically efficient aircraft ever operated on domestic air services of the time.

Ansett’s first Electra was delivered by Lockheed ahead of schedule, entering service on March 18, 1958. Soon afterwards, a request for a third Electra was rejected by the government as they had laid down regulations that both airlines must introduce their new aircraft at the same time and TAA had not yet received their Electras.

In the first few weeks of Electra’s service on the Melbourne to Sydney route, it was found that it had a load factor of 99. 03 per cent. At the end of 15 days, the Electra had carried 7099 passengers on all routes with a load factor of 80 per cent. The break-even point was set at an amazing 50 per cent, meaning that the airliner wouldn’t lose money even if only half of its seats were full. With such staggering results, the government could hardly ignore Ansett’s request for a third Electra and was compelled to approve it in December 1958.

With the delivery of Ansett’s third Electra in February 1960, TAA chartered an Electra from Qantas while production of their own third aircraft was underway, the two entering regular service at the same time. From then on, no further Electras were ordered and they remained in front-line service until the advent of the big modern “T-Jet” DC-9s and Boeing 727s in the 1960s. By the late 1960s, most Electras had been withdrawn and sold off.

However, Ansett still retain their three aircraft as domestic airfreighters and these are at present used to overcome airport noise curfews.

With the completion of the last Electra on order, as well as modification to other aircraft already delivered, the Electra production line at Burbank closed down with a total of 170 Electras of both marks being produced, these consisting of 115 L-188As and 55 L-188Cs.

In early 1974, there remained about 100 Electras in service around the world, most of the major operators having retired theirs from service, however. The two largest fleets anywhere belonged to those of Eastern, comprising 16, and Overseas National, consisting of 10 freighters.

Many other Electras have been acquired second-hand by smaller operators, especially in South America. In other cases, they have been impressed into military service as freighters, again in South America, e.g. Argentina (Navy: 3), Bolivia (Air Force: 1), Ecuador (Air Force: 4), Mexico (Air Force: 1), Panama (Air Force: 1). Yet again, other aircraft are operated as private executive transports and by specialist air transport organisations.

It would not be wholly correct or even fair to say that the Electra became the commercial failure it was to Lockheed solely because of the unfortunate accidents that occurred; in retrospect, many airliners have suffered a setback of this nature during their career.

The Electra can proudly boast the fact that it was the United States’ first home-designed and built turbo-prop airliner. However, its service entry came at a bad time when airliners powered by turbo-jets were coming to the fore. Lockheed had believed that a turbo-prop powered airliner would be far more economical than the pure jet airliners when operating on the shorter routes, for which the Electra was originally intended. But they had not anticipated that with the rapid technological advances in turbines, pure jet airliners would ultimately prove to be comparable to the turbo-prop on these routes.

Jet powered airliners also had the advantage of being the latest thing in air travel and were thus something of a novelty. Prestige, rather than fuel economy, was the name of the game and favourable pluses of the jet were its speed, luxury and relative safety.

Some may class the Electra into the “Also Rans” category but this is not a fair judgment for an aircraft that won the hearts of many pilots worldwide and which was essentially a victim of today’s ever-increasing advances in the aerospace industry.

The Orion

In Greek mythology, Orion was a giant hunter who was slain by Artemis and transformed into a constellation. Today it is commonly known as the Constellation of Orion and is also one of the signs of the zodiac: Orion’s Belt, a series of three very bright stars across the constellation.

Today a more modern hunter exists that has adopted the same name and, though vulnerable to SAMs, AAA and fighters, can deal a devastating blow to its prey.

Ten years after the Lockheed Neptune entered service with the United States Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations issued Type Specification No. 146 for a new land-based anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance aircraft.

Dated August 1957, this requirement set certain limits on the cost and delivery times which meant that the choice would have to be made from an existing airframe modified for ASW and patrol work, rather than to develop a completely new type. In the competition that followed, Lockheed submitted plans for a variant of their Electra airliner and was successfully chosen.

To produce the Navy patrol aircraft, or Orion as it came to be known, some radical changes to the original Electra had to be performed. This facilitated the deletion of a seven-foot (2. 13m) section of the fuselage ahead of the wing, a complete redesign of the cabin interior, the installation of a weapons bay forward of the wing, and the introduction of sophisticated electronic search equipment in a nose radome as well as in a special MAD (Magnetic Anomaly Detector) tail fairing.

The powerplant for the Orion was also borrowed from the Electra, that being a militarised variant of the Allison T. 56, designated T. 56-A-10W. These engines were equipped with water/alcohol power augmentation. The T. 56-A-10W rated at around 4500 ehp and drove Hamilton Standard four-blade propellers.

Structurally, the Orion resembles the Electra with a semi-monocoque fuselage made up of rings, stringers, and fatigue-resistant skins. The basic wing structure consists of a single-cell torsion box with integrally-machined skins, which form the main fuel tank.

Maximum fuel capacity amounts to 7542 gallons (34,826 litres) which is carried in the single fuselage fuel tank and in four integral wing tanks. A maximum speed of 473 mph (761 km/h) can be attained. The initial rate of climb is 1950 ft (594m} per minute); the service ceiling is set at 28,300 ft {8625m); while a range of 4800 miles (7725 km) is possible.

Weight when empty is 61,491 lb {27,890 kg), loaded – 135,000 lb {61,235 kg) and a maximum weight of 142,000 lb (64,410 kg). Dimensions include a span of 99ft 8in (30. 37m); a length of 116ft 10in (35. 16m) and a height of 33ft a. Sin (10. 29m). Overall wing area amounts to 1300ft2 (120. 77m2).

To test the new aerodynamic design features of the Orion, including the MAD tail fairing, Lockheed modified the third prototype Electra, this making its first flight on August 19, 1958. On November 15, 1959, the first Orion proper, an operational prototype designated YP-3V-1, made its first flight.

The designation YP-3V was shortly after changed to P-3 and the production model P-3A Orion made its first flight on March 31, 1961. In a special ceremony on August 13, 1962, the Orion was officially introduced into active service at Patuxent River Naval Station (NAS), Maryland. The first squadrons to become operational with the Orion were VP-8 and VP-44 in turn traded in their older P-2 Neptunes.

November 1964 saw the delivery of the 100th Orion to the US Navy. Then from the 100th aircraft onwards, the DELTIC system incorporating more sensitive sensors and improved displays, was installed, these being known as DELTIC P-3As.

Later, four early A models were converted to WP-3A & D weather reconnaissance aircraft, operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the “Operation Storm Fury” project. Two other aircraft have bcome RP-3As for environmental studies; one aircraft having been operated in the “Project Outpost Seascan (El Coyote)”, this being a worldwide environmental survey, while the other RP-3A participated in the “Project Birdseye (Arctic Fox)”, an Arctic environmental survey. , Yet other P-3As were utilised as early warning (EW) aircraft designated EP-3As. Altogether, a total of 157 A model P-3 Orions were produced, all for the US Navy.

Production then switched from the early P-3A to the P-3B model, which introduced the more powerful T. 56-A-14 rated at 4910 ehp and without the water/alcohol injection, from 1966-68. Some were modified as EP-3B electronic reconnaissance and countermeasures aircraft with large “canoe radars” above and below the fuselage with a radome under the forward fuselage.

The P-3B also had the capability to fire the “stand-off” Bullpup air-surface missile as well as deliver the standard Orion mixed armament of mines: Mk. 25/39/55/56 2000 lb (907 kg) variety, Mk. 36/52 1000 lb (454 kg) variety; depth charges: Mk. 54/57, the Mk. 101 nuclear; and torpedoes: Mk. 43/44/46 and Mk. 48 homing. All of these weapons can be either carried in the unpressurised internal weapons bay or on a maximum of ten external hardpoints (two under the fuselage, three under each wing) making a total weapons capacity of 20,000 lb (7071 kg).

As well, other equipment such as survival gear can be jettisoned through special recesses in the Orion’s fuselage. These include sonobuoys, parachute flares, markers, deflated survival rafts and signal flares.

A total of 145 P-3Bs were built including those for the USN and the export customers: Australia, New Zealand and Norway.

In 1968, production at Lockheed’s Burbank facility was again switched from the P-3B to the newer P-3C. This model shared only the airframe of the two earlier versions and the engines of the P-3B as a common feature, the major differences being internal.

The P-3C Orion was, basically, a completely new airplane differing from the earlier models in that a new, more complex and ultra-modern tactical electronics suite was fitted, all of the sensors and weapons systems being linked centrally and controlled by an advanced digital computer which meant that the crew could be effectively reduced from 12 to ten.

First flight of the production prototype YP-3C was made on October 8, 1968, with he new electronics and computer fit being designated “A-NEW”.

As the technology of ASW steadily advanced and improved with the “state of the art”, the USN began modifying their P-3Cs, to keep pace with these advances, with a series of “Update” programs. The first of these, “Update I”, was initiated and completed from 1975 through to July 1977. “Update I” standard equipment provided an expanded (seven-fold) computer memory capacity (from 65,000 to 458,000 words), the introduction of the world-wide OMEGA navigation system, a new computer language, increased acoustic detection range and location bearing as well as tactical read-out displays for two of the sensor stations and other improvements.

From August 1977, “Update II” standard P-3C Orions began to be delivered to the US Navy. The “Update II” Orion program included all of the improvements incorporated into the earlier “Update I” series as well as newer advances such as the infrared detection system for both day and nighttime use. This item of sophisticated electronics eliminates the need, at night, for the powerful 70 million candle power searchlight usually fitted under the starboard wing and standard equipment on the P-3A and B model Orion.

Installed also were a sonobuoy reference system and the capability to fire the advanced and potent McDonnell Douglas AGM-84A Harpoon air-to-surface anti-shipping missile.

The infra-red detection system enables the crew of the Orion to track, locate and identify a target from its heat signature without divulging the aircraft’s presence in the vicinity. Once the target has been picked up on the radar screens, the computer electronically calculates the relative position of the dispensed sonobuoys, which have warned of the target’s presence, to the target itself and initiates proper instructions from the information gathered from the sonobuoys which can transmit out to a distance of 60 miles (100 km). When positively identified, the target, if hostile, can be destroyed by the 70-mile (113 km) range Harpoon missile without endangering the aircraft to anti-aircraft defences.

Before the installation of the sonobuoy reference system, the Orion was forced to fly directly over the sonobuoys to track their locations and pick up their signals, these changing significantly with variations in wind and wave action.

Another improvement is the 28 channel magnetic tape recorder, which monitors and reproduces any signals transmitted by the sonobuoys to the aircraft.

Lockheed, under an $18 million contract to the US Navy, initiated by the Naval Air Systems Command, worked on a production prototype “Update Ill” series Orion which was tested in a P-3C “Update II” series airframe from the production line. This prototype was delivered in March 1980 to the US Navy and production delivery should have begun by September 1980.

“Update III” version Orions will incorporate such features as a new IBM acoustic processor which will be four times better at locating the sound of a passing submarine from the noise of the surrounding ocean and the area of sea monitored will be increased threefold.

A brand new sonobuoy receiver will be added as will an improved auxiliary power unit. Also, major improvements to Orion’s environmental control system will be fitted so as to handle and adequately control the increased heat generated by the avionics and provide greater comfort to the crew on long patrols. The “Update III” version will also have one of the previous two “Update” programs included.

Orion operators far and wide

In the early 1960s, Australia began to search for a replacement for her Lockheed SP-2E (P-2V-5) Neptunes. Expenditure was approved, in November 1964, for the purchase of ten Lockheed P-3B Orions to re-equip No. 11 Squadron operating the early model Neptune.

First deliveries from January 1o to May of 1968. A total of 11 P-3Bs were eventually received, the first ten serialled Ap-291 through to A9-300, with the eleventh aircraft arriving in September 1969, serialled A9-605.

With their re-equipment from Neptul’)es to Orions, No. 11 Squadron transferred from their base at Richmond, NSW, to a new location, RAAF base, Edinburgh, South Australia.

In 1973, Hawker Siddeley (now British Aerospace) demonstrated their Nimrod military conversion of the Comet to the RAAF and politicians at RAAF base Fairbairn, as a possible replacement for the SP-2H (P-2V-1) Neptune operated by No. 10 Squadron. However, the Australian Government of the day deferred a decision on the purchase of a new aircraft owing to the 1973-74 Federal Budget.

Again, in 1975, the RAAF issued their requirement for a replacement for No. 10 Squadron’s SP-2H Neptunes, and subsequently placed an order with Lockheed for eight (subsequently increased to 10) P-3C “Update II” standard Orions, these arriving in July of 1978.

With their re-equipment, the squadron also transferred with their P-3Cs from Townsville, Old, to Edinburgh. This was a sound move as logistics and maintenance problems would have presented themselves and there would have been the added costs of such things as the required facilities, if the two squadrons, operating similar equipment, had been located at separate bases.

The RAAF flight crews began flight training on the P-3C at Moffett Field NAS, near San Francisco Bay, in April of 1978. VP-31, the US Navy’s West Coast P-3 training squadron, instructed the crews on how to operate the sophisticated equipment aboard the aircraft.

Each of the Orions, as they were delivered from the Lockheed California plant at Burbank, staged through Moffett Field where VP-31 used them to train each RAAF crew, so that each aircraft boasted sufficient enough aircrew to fly the aircraft home.

Altogether, a total of 50 aircrew and 14 flight engineers were involved in the training program. At that time, an RAAF engineering detachment was working closely in conjunction with the US Navy personnel at the Naval Air Test Centre, Patuxent River, Maryland, where they were developing a P-3C mission support centre. The support centre is being built in Edinburgh.

Another detachment of RAAF personnel worked at the US Naval Air Development Centre, Johnsonville, Pennsylvania where they developed various equipment for the progress.

The P-3Bs of No. 11 Squadron and the P-3Cs of No. 10 Squadron, forming No. 92 Maritime Wing, play a vital role in the guarding of Australia’s sea approaches, not only from any possible attack by invading seaborne forces or threat to our shipping lanes but also by spotting illegal fishing by Indonesian, Japanese or Taiwanese trawlers, illegal immigrants and drug runners. Search and rescue missions have been undertaken frequently and, at present, there is always one and often two or three Orions in Australian skies keeping vigil over our shores and waterways.

These patrols follow no set pattern or schedule and the aircraft may spend up to a week away from their home base, staging through other bases and airfields to refuel and rest the crew. Efforts to upgrade these facilities are evidenced by the work being carried out at RAAF base Darwin where, under a $4. 5 million project, a major maintenance hanger, servicing workshops and aircraft access pavements are being constructed.

Concentrated patrols centre around the Great Barrier Reef, the Gulf of Carpentaria, the coastline from Darwin to Broome and, more recently, the oil fields of Bass Strait. The aircraft also will routinely deploy to such locations as Cocos Islands, Diego Garcia, Hawaii, and even as far up as the Bay,of Bengal. (Not so long ago, an Orion was responsible for the discovery of several Soviet ships steaming into the Indian Ocean. ) They often operate in conjunction with RAN Fleet Air Arm Grumman S-2E/G Trackers on these patrols.

Because of the significant differences in equipment and capabilities between the P-3B and P-3C, the gap in technology and capability has been likened to the switch from the Canberra bomber to the F111C.

One of the main differences that can be drawn between the P-3B and C is the infra-red detection device fitted to the “Charlie” model. The older “Bravo” model uses a 70 million candle power searchlight which not only forewarned any fishing poachers at night, but also on many occasions roused the complaints of many innocent boat owners, who did not appreciate the sudden intrusion on their privacy!

On the other hand, the infra-red detection system can be used to detect targets from a distance without betraying the presence of the Orion. While being tested by the RAAF in the US, the device was focused on the image of a man over 10 kilometres away and, to everyone’s surprise, even the most minute details on his face could be distinguished.

When an image is picked up on this system, it is projected onto a television screen and, at the press of a button, can be frozen for closer analysis.

Undoubtedly the most reolutionary aspect of the RAAF’s P-3Cs is the joint Australian/UK designed and developed Barra sonobuoy system which is reputedly the most advanced submarine detection system of its kind in the world. Lockheed had offered· an. already developed, tested, and proven submarine detection system, but the RAAF decided to go ahead and develop something more sophisticated of their own.

Barra derives from an Aboriginal word meaning: “to listen” and this name aptly applies to the sonobuoy employed by the RAAF. The cylindrical sonobuoys are roughly a metre long and 12 centimetres wide and can be dispensed into the ocean at depths varying up to 300 metres.

Any noise made by a passing submarine is picked up by the listening device and transmitted back to the patrolling Orion. There the onboard digital computer calculates the position and depth of the submarine, even advising the crew as to what would be the most suitable action and type of weapon to use in the attack. Range of the Barra is reportedly effective up to 200 km away, signals being transmitted back to the Orion via an aerial which protrudes above the surface.

The Marconi AQS-901 sonics processor makes up the other semi-indigenous project. The AQS-901 can track in submarines with a higher accuracy over a wider area than previous systems and its computers can process information at a far greater speed. Barra was originally developed from a research project called Nangana which was completed in the early 1970s by the Defence Research Centre at Salisbury, South Australia.

All RAAF P-3C Orions have been fitted with the complete computer/sonobuoy system as have all of the RAF Nimrod MR Mk. 1s. The entire system is believed to be some 20 years ahead of present anti-submarine systems and the scope for export sales is good with Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd having been awarded the contract to co-ordinate marketing for the Barra sonobuoy.

Out of the RAAF P-3C Orion purchase came the benefit of substantial AIP (Australian Industrial Participation) on contracts placed with Australian companies by Lockheed. As a result of these contracts, British Aerospace (Australia), Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation, Hawker de Havilland; Morris Productions, and STC-Cannon can all hope to benefit, by 1983, by US$48. 8 million and, by 1986, US$74 million.

At the time of writing, British Aerospace (Australia) had become the source of supply for a number of complex avionics systems for the Orion. The first and most complex piece of equipment manufactured by the company, known as “A 366” was passed as free of any defects by the Lockheed company.

Meantime, the RAAF plan to update their earlier P-3Bs with newer electronics and, with subsequent improvements in the future, they will at least possess some of the capabilities of the P-3C. The possibility of the purchase of a third squadron of P-3Cs later in the 1980s might have been a realistic proposition if the RAN had been refused permission for a new carrier. However, it is now definite that a new carrier will be purchased and that additional P-3Cs will not be ordered.

As the Orion, like many other maritime patrol aircraft, performs long, arduous and extensive over-water missions, it picks up layers of sea salt on its surface which must be removed on return to base at the risk of corrosion. This task is performed with the aid of the “birdbath”,a giant shower through which the taxiing Orion passes.

The Orion thus plays a vital role in the protection of Australia’s shores and sea routes and is at present just as important in this country’s defence as the NTF or a new carrier will be in the future. (For a detailed report on Australia’s maritime surveillance organisation, see Tony Self’s “In Active Service” September 1980 AADR, p. 82-84. )

Canada, in one of their most expensive purchases to date (apart from the CF-18 Hornet) and in one of Lockheed’s biggest projects in its history, ordered a specialised version of the P-3C Orion, designated the CP-140 Aurora. The first production model CP-140 Aurora flew on January 26, 1979, and, after a 525 hour flight test program, the first deliveries to the

Canadian Air Force began in May 1980. By March 1981, all 18 aircraft, worth some $700 million, had been delivered.

The CP-140 is virtually a completely new aircraft that combines avionics from the carrier-based Lockheed S-3A Viking ASW aircraft and some of the systems of the P-3C which are all installed into the basic P-3 airframe.

Auroras will replace the vintage Canadair Argus Mk. 1s operated by the four CAF maritime patrol/ASW squadrons: Nos 404 and 405 based at Greenwood, Nova Scotia; and Nos 407 and 415 based at Comox, British Columbia, and Summerside respectively. Fourteen of the CP-140s will be based at Greenwood, the main centre of operations, training, maintenance and data relay, while the remaining four aircraft will be based at Comox.

Before the downfall of the late Shah in the Iranian Revolution of February 1978, the then Imperial Iranian AF, now Islamic Iranian AF, operated six P-3F Orions from Bandar Abbas and had another six P-3F on order before those, like so many other billions of dollars worth of military equipment orders, were cancelled.

The P-3F Orion was a variant of the C model but with certain top-secret equipment deleted or vice suitably modified. These versions were equipped for in-flight refuelling from Boeing 707 and 747 tankers which enabled it to undertake long trips far out into the Indian Ocean as well as make patrols of the vital oil sea lanes of the Persian Gulf.

In July 1978, the Lockheed and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd companies signed an agreement for the latter to manufacture the P-3C Orion under licence in Japan. This followed talks between the US and Japanese governments and subsequent approval for the purchase of the Orion by the Japanese Diet on April 4, 1978.

The Orions, which will be designated P-3J, will eventually replace the Lockheed/Kawasaki licence built P2H/J Neptunes in service with the Maritime Self-Defence Force.

Under the agreement, 45 P-3Js will be purchased and this will initially cover three aircraft which will be completely built at the Lockheed Burbank facility and purchased under a separate Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement with the. US Navy. Then, another four unassembled aircraft, called Knocked-Down-Units (KOU) will be produced by Lockheed but will be assembled in Japan by Kawasaki.

First deliveries should begin in 1981 and the last aircraft should be completed by 1988.

Engines will also be built under licence. Heavy Industries Ltd, from the Detroit Diesel Alhson division of General Motors, although some of the initial licence-built Orions will be powered by US-manufactured engines. Avionics also will be manufactured under licence by Japanese firms and production tooling is to be built by Lockheed, Kawasaki and other subcontractors.

The Maritime Self-Defence Force has also requested an additional 45 P-3Js from the Japanese Defence Agency and this is seriously being considered while plans are also being formulated for an extension to overall Orion purchases which would increase the total fleet to 170 aircraft. If these plans of increased procurement do go ahead, then the Kawasaki production line will probably produce·an additional four batches of nine aircraft each from 1989-92 with the final nine in 1993. It could eventuate that the Kawasaki company may well be producing the Orion years after the Lockheed assembly line has come to a halt.

Standard weapon of the P-3J will be the McDonnell Douglas AGM-84 Harpoon, two of which will be carried on each aircraft, although studies are my hand for the application of an indigenous weapon such as the Mitsubishi ASM-1 rocket-propelled anti-shipping missile. This weapon weighs in at around 1300 lb (590 kg) and has a speed well in excess of Mach 1 and, after evaluations, if successful, will equip P-3J squadrons in 1983-84. Another Indigenous weapon that will equip the Orions is the GRX-3 homing torpedo, which is currently in its conceptual design stage.

Maritime Self Defence Force P-2H/J Neptunes . in squadron service are due to be phased out from May 1982 onwards with gradual re-equipment on the P-3J.

In December 1978, Lockheed won the contract from the Netherlands for the supply of 13 P-3C “Update II” standard Orions, worth some $150 million, after successfully fighting off Dassault Breguet with the Atlantic Nouvelle Generation (New Generation). This followed the Dutch Cabinet’s decision to re-equip No. 320 Squadron of the Marineluchtvaartdienst (Naval Air Arm) who were operating SP-2H Neptunes.

The decision, however, dampened any hopes on the behalf of Fokker-VFW, of French participation in the development of the Super F-28 (alias F-29) or of any Aeronavale (French Navy) purchase of F-27 Friendships to replace that service’s aging ‘leet of C-47s.

Influencing factor of the Dutch Orion choice was that the P-3C would be available for delivery from 1981 onwards while the Atlantic Nouvelle Generation would not be available until at least 1984. Cost differences also influenced the decision, with the 13 P-3Cs costing some DFI 900 million compared with DFI 1190 million for a similar quantity of Atlantic NG.

This was Lockheed’s third and successful attempt to sell the Orion to the Dutch, attempts in 1968 and again in 1973 having failed. On July 4, 1968, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced their intention of replacing the Dutch Navy’s SP-2E Neptunes, to which Lockheed offered the P-3B Orion. However, at that time, the Netherlands were involved in the consortium of Germany, France, and Belgium to build the Breguet-designed Atlantic.

Though the Orion was marginally favoured by the Dutch Navy over the Atlantic, elements within the Dutch Government, not wanting to upset the sometimes delicate co-existence of all their European (and NATO) neighbours, and not wanting to see their local aircraft industry suffer, decided to order the Breguet Atlantic over the P-3B Orion.

It was at that time that Lockheed was also attempting to sell the Orion to Italy; however, a couple of weeks after the Dutch decision·, that country also opted for the Atlantic.

Then again, in 1973, the Dutch Government began to consider a replacement for the Navy’s SP-2H Neptunes. By the June of 1973, the Admiralty Council had three candidates vying for the contract, these being the Atlantic Mk. 1 A and II and the Lockheed P-3C Orion. A total of 13 aircraft were required, however, after some debate, the Dutch Government decided to opt for defence cuts and deferred a definite choice for a replacement of the Neptune.

In the present contract, Fokker-VFW were offered the final assembly of the 13 aircraft on order, which would have provided complete overhaul facilities in the country for their own and Norway’s Orions. However, it was thought that this idea would have been too inefficient and too costly for the number of aircraft involved in the purchase. Instead, US$q0 million in offset contracts. has been placed with local Dutch firms, mainly in the high technology area.

New Zealand ordered five P-3B Orions in 1968 for service with No. 5 Squadron operating out of Whenupai, Auckland. The New Zealand White Paper on Defence, released in 1979, provided funds for the sensors and avionics to be upgraded to bring the aircraft up to near P-3C standard. Boeing Aerospace were selected for this program. The Orions, under a $21 million 44-month contract, will have their data handling and display systems, the radar, the IR detection systems and the inertial navigation equipment upgraded. In a second phase of the modernisation program, the ASW systems will also be upgraded.

RNZAF P-3Bs, like RAAF Orions, have participated in numerous joint defence exercises such as the RIMPAC exercises and provide a welcome asset to the vast maritime patrol coverage responsibility of this part of the globe.

Norway operates five P-3B model Orions which serve with the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s No. 333 Squadron at Andoya. The P-3Bs help patrol not only its own assigned NATO section of the Atlantic Ocean in that area but also the Skageraak stretch of water between Norway and Denmark which is the only entrance and exit of the Soviet Navy’s Baltic Fleet. This surveillance capability and coverage will soon be upgraded and expanded with the addition of a further two P-3Bs (probably ex-USN) by 1981 of 1982.

Spain operates five ex-USN P-3A Orions, with a sixth in reserve, with No. 221 Squadron at La Parra. These are manned by both Spanish Air Force (Ejercito del Aire) and Navy (Arma Aereas de la Armada) crews. The squadron is an integral part of Spain’s commitment to the Mediterranean and is a section of the unit Ala 22 based at Jerez.

Meanwhile, Spain’s western neighbour, Portugal, would like, as part of an overall upgrading of its largely obsolescent air arm, to acquire a few ex-USN P-3A Orions for maritime surveillance duties around its shores. At present it uses Lockheed C-130H Hercules transports for this role, the four SP-2E Neptunes previously employed having been withdrawn from service due to metal fatigue.

The USN operates the Orion, mainly in its P3-B and C forms, in some 24 squadrons arranged into some five patrol wings, with the P-3As being operated by Naval Reserve squadrons. For some inexplicable reason, however, the USN has been the only P-3 Orion operator to have suffered attrition with this otherwise reliable aircraft. In 1978 alone, the USN lost three Orions with the death of 20 crew members, the precise circumstances leading to these accidents being unknown.

The future

In the late 1980s, the USN Orions will begin passing the 30-year service mark and, although not in need of critical or immediate replacement, the USN would like to launch, in about 1981, a program to design a replacement, as the Orions, along with their crews, are subjected to rigorous and demanding operational pressures.

The aircraft, true to Lockheed tradition, are of a rugged construction but some are in need of overhauls on a major scale, minor rebuilds or some sort of modification. Because funding for the USN is rather tight, the Orion replacement studies will be of a low-priority status.

Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas have been provided with contracts worth $250,000 for studies into mission and performance requirements while, for studies into the radar package, General Electric, Westin House, and Control Data Corporation/Grumman have each been provided with contracts worth $83,000.

As Orion operators world wide continue to fly the Orion or begin to work up on the aircraft, this Lockheed product will be responsible for the surveillance coverage of a global perimeter, an “Orion’s Belt”, extending from bases and countries such as Sigonella and Souda Bay in the Mediterranean, to Norway, the Netherlands, Iceland, the continental United States, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, Okinawa, Japan, Diego Garcia, the Persian Gulf, Australia and New Zealand.

The Soviets recognised a good idea when they saw one and took the flattering approach of following the US example of the Electra/Orion transformation by developing their own maritime surveillance/ASW aircraft for the AV-MF or Soviet Navy aviation component, this being the IL-38 “May”. The IL-38 is also a hybrid development from an existing airliner airframe, that being the IL-18 “Coot”, but it is considered by most western defence sources to be comparable only to the P-3A in equipment and capability although equal in concept to maritime patrol aircraft platforms of the West.

To date, the IL-38 has not earned the same export success as its Western rival, the P-3, but has gained one success with India, that country operating the type in its Navy Fleet Air Arni.

With such a vast air surveillance coverage and some nine satisfied, successful operators behind it, the. P-3 Orion has become another feather in the Lockheed Company’s cap and who, without their unique Electra, would never have made the Orion the redoubtable guardian of the Free World’s sea lanes it is today.