Aircraft ofthe ADF – A9 P-3 Orion

A9 – Lockheed P-3 Orion

The Lockheed Aircraft Corporation certainly has a solid track record in building maritime patrol aircraft.

The Hudson equipped RAAF general purpose squadrons in 1940 and the Ventura entered Australian service in 1943. In 1951 the Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune (later designated P-2E) was received by No 11 Squadron, followed in 1962 by the P2V-7 Neptune (SP-2H) for 10 Squadron. When Lockheedthen looked at a Neptune replacement, they chose their L-188 Electra airliner as an airframe which could provide both speed and endurance, and importantly for the crew, ample comfort and space.

The prototypeOrion, designatedYP3V-1 and serialled 148276, flew on November 25 1959. The US Navy ordered 157 of this model, which became the P-3A. New Zealand became the first export customer with an order for the upgraded P-3B version, featuring little external difference but more powerful engines and advanced sensors and electronics.

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