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Description
| Notes: Upgraded P-3A. | ||
| Manufacturer: | Lockheed | |
| Base model: | P-3 | |
| Designation: | P-3 | |
| Version: | B | |
| Nickname: | Orion | |
| Designation System: | U.S. Tri-Service | |
| Designation Period: | 1962-Present | |
| Basic role: | Patrol | |
| See Also: | ||
Specifications
| Length: | 116' 10" | 35.6 m | |
| Height: | 33' 8" | 10.2 m | |
| Wingspan: | 99' 8" | 30.3 m | |
| Wingarea: | 1,300.0 sq ft | 120.7 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 61,491 lb | 27,887 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 135,000 lb | 61,224 kg | |
| Max Weight: | 142,000 lb | 64,399 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 4 | ||
| Powerplant: | Allison T56-A-14 | ||
| Horsepower (each): | 4600 | ||
Performance
| Range: | 4,765 miles | 7,673 km | |
| Cruise Speed: | 378 mph | 608 km/h | 328 kt |
| Max Speed: | 473 mph | 761 km/h | 411 kt |
| Climb: | 1,950 ft/min | 594 m/min | |
| Ceiling: | 28,300 ft | 8,625 m | |
Operators (Past and Present)
| USN | VP-60 | Glenview | IL |
| USN | VP-64 | Willow Grove | PA |
| USN | VP-66 | Willow Grove | PA |
| USN | VP-67 | Memphis | TN |
| USN | VP-69 | Whidbey Island | WA |
| USN | VP-90 | Glenview | IL |
| USN | VP-93 | Detroit | MI |
| USN | VP-94 | New Orleans | LA |
| USN | VPU-1 | NAS Brunswick | ME |
| USN | VPU-2 | NAS Barbers Point | HI |
| USN | VQ-1 | Agana | Guam |
| USN | VXN-8 | Patuxent River | MD |
Known serial numbers
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| NAS New Orleans Joint Reserve Base | New Orleans | Louisiana |
| NAS Whidbey Island | Whidbey Island | Washington |
| NAS Willow Grove | Willow Grove | Pennsylvania |
| Selfridge Military Air Museum | Selfridge ANG Bas | Michigan |
P-3B on display
NAS Willow Grove | NAS Willow Grove Air Park |
Recent comments by our visitors
| Steve Stith Coon Rapids, MN | Most of the P-3Bs in the earlier post from Mark Harrison came from VP-40. I was with the squadron from 1970-1973. 154587 (QE-06 at the time) was the assigned A/C of the infamous Crew 6 "Wilcox's Mad Dogs". When I got to the squadron in May of 1970 they were all baseline P-3Bs complete with Sniffer and Julie. In 1971 8 of the 9 were sent to rework to return to us along with 154590 (replacing 153434 which was a P-3B Lightweight sold off to the Aussies). We were the first squadron to deploy with the new P-3B DIFAR upgrade.The BUNOs I recall were 154578, 154579, 154586, 154587, 154591, 154590. The rest are lost in the dustbin of my brain somewhere. I still think the interior tactical station layout of the A and B models made for better crew coordination than the cut up layout of the C so I was glad to see them go back to it in the P-8A. 05/01/2015 @ 10:29 [ref: 69057] |
| John Kessler , FL | If anyone is interested, GSA has 2 excellent P-3Bs for sale in 'operable' condition at Davis-Monthan. Mothballed in 2006. Look very nice. Bid today at $50K. Closes 5 Mar. 02/18/2014 @ 12:50 [ref: 68354] |
| Blu Romer Chiang Mai, OTH | G'day, I'm an Aussie Armourer (ordnanceman), I had the opportunity to work on the P3B for a couple of years before the Australian Air Force replaced them with updated P3-C's. As the Papa Three ravo was the first weapons platform that I worked upon, it is the one that is the sweetest to my heart. Can any aircraft compare to the mighty P3-B ORION.....no way........P3-B's, a cold beer and a gal on your arm....what could be better?????? 02/02/2011 @ 05:49 [ref: 35918] |
| John R Jensen , KY | I flew on CAC 5& 11 VP-46 88 - 89, anyone interested in pictures should contact Brian Nylander at Dirt Bike Magazine. Brian shot a ton of pics. You can google him to find him. - JJ 09/16/2009 @ 08:47 [ref: 25130] |
| Ronald Johnson , ME | I servered with VP-11 from Aug. 1966 to Feb. 1970 as an ADJ2. I worked as part of the Check Crew and out of Power Plant shop. I also flew on CAC 80, mostly test hops and some missions. VP-11 recieved their P3B's in November of 1966. Starting in September of 1966 ground and flight crews were sent to NAS Pax River, Maryland for schooling and flight training on the P3B's. In fall of 1967 VP-11 made first deployment to Iceland with P3B's. Four of the P3B's were assigned to rotate out of the Azores. VP-11 had 12--P3B's. 05/19/2008 @ 14:56 [ref: 20957] |
| Scott , ID | Ok so here's along shot.
My child is writing a report for school and wants to do it on her Grandfather: AMHC James Copen Stultz (decessed). As best my memory serves he was with VP-9 1970 - 1974 Moffett Field with two deployments to Iwakuni. He also served with VP-22 at Barber’s Point in the early 60’s and I think it was from from 1962 – 1966. I know I was still crawling from the home movies so I was very young Primary focus of the report is, "What role did VP-9 serve in the Vietnam conflict?" Of course if you know anything about the role of VP-22 in the early 60’s and/or recognize the name James (Jim) Stultz from that time frame, that would be helpful too. You can e-mail me at StultzS2@Yahoo.com. 05/14/2008 @ 13:05 [ref: 20876] |
| mark harrison pensacola, FL | I was stationed at NAS Barbers Pt. Hi. in Patrol Squadron Twenty Two (VP-22)from 1976 to 1979 during which time we took our 9 P-3Bs thru the TACNAVMOD program to update them to "Super Bs". The crews didn't like the mod at first but got used to it. The BUNOs were: 154592, 154593, 154594, 154595, 154596 (striken 1979), 154597, 154598, 154600. I don't recall the 9th plane as it was a late procurment (a replacement for "Alpha" model 152748 and fell out of series with the rest of the ships. VP-22 received these aircraft from the Moffett squadrons when they transitioned to P-3Cs in the late 60s. We flew the dog crap out of those things and the more you flew them the less maintenance down time they had. We flew 154600 "QA-10" 18 hours a day (2 sorties) for 17 days straight down in Australia as we lost one of two planes to maintenance but stayed on our tasking schedule with one plane and two crews. It was awsome. The Aussies thought we were crazy! 02/29/2008 @ 10:22 [ref: 19815] |
| Monty , OH | Paul,
I was with 79th USASA-SOG on Shemya in 1965/1966 .. was YOUR crew one of the group that often were scrambled to heavy to land on a false alarm? Were you one of the folks that buzzed the island for hours, droping flares, lighting up the barracks with the flippin spotlight! :) Some of the pictures I saw from your group was awesome. One of my mission tasks was to broadcast the morse code alarms for the patrol planes over near Kamchatka .... hope I helped a bit .. and yes, I knew you were being chased .... One of the highlights of the tour up there was the day the A3D and P3B got in a "race" .. P3B leading the way, they made several passes over the flight line at about 150 feet altitude. Those props could sure move that thing! 12/02/2007 @ 17:45 [ref: 18765] |
| Paul los angeles, CA | From 1965-68, I was a radio operator in a P3A/B flight crew with VP-6, stationed at NAS Barbers Point. We saw deployments in Adak/Shemya, Guam, Marianas, etc. with tactical flights all over: Yokohama, Atsuki, Moffett etc. Our PPC was Lt Davis -- nice guy with a sense of humor. I was not a pilot ... more like an electronics geek who signed up for naval air because I hated the thought of going to sea on a ship. (The only other alternative was the draft, and the jungles of Viet Nam.) The aircraft was a versatile, reliable workhorse. I also have great memories like: the Goony birds on Midway and betting which could land without falling on their beak; trying to convince people we were buzzed regularly by MIG 17s in the Bering Sea; getting photographs of a Russian H class etc. I was proud to serve.
10/06/2007 @ 12:54 [ref: 18125] |
| Robyn , CA | IF ANYONE WAS IN THE VP-9 SQUADRON STATIONED AT MOFFAT FIELD IN 1966-1970, PLEASE EMAIL ME AND LET ME KNOW. I LIVE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND MY DAD WAS IN THAT SQUADRON AND WE ARE NOW HOSTING A REUNION. THE REUNION IS EVERY 2 YEARS AND IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
THE NEXT VP-9 REUNION IS GOING TO BE HELD HERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. THANKS, LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING BACK! 08/27/2007 @ 21:29 [ref: 17778] |
Recent photos uploaded by our visitors
