A beautiful aircraft, the Lockheed P-2 Neptune is among the unforgettable of the First Cold
War. It played important roles in keeping the Soviet and Chinese navies under observation
for the USA, and took place behind the scenes of historical events in naval battles for
other countries. Between 1947 and 1996, more than 1,000 P-2s successfully fulfilled their
duties on the seas and qualified to enter among legends. Now we are investigating the
Neptune.
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The story of the development process of the P-2 Neptune goes back to the Second World
War. In 1941, Vega, the subsidiary of Lockheed, started to design new land-based maritime
patrol bomber.
However, since the aircraft that were in production at that time were sufficient for this task,
the urgent needs of the war were prioritized and not enough resources were allocated to
the development efforts.
So, the new aircraft, called the P2V, made its first flight on May 17, 1945. Production
began in 1946, and it was accepted into service in 1947.
The Neptune was in constant development.
The engine power, which was 2,300 horsepower in the first production model, was increased
to 2,800 and 3,200 respectively in later versions. In the P2V4 version, renamed as the P-2D,
in 1967, whose anti-submarine warfare capability was increased, the same engine was initially
preferred at first, while the latest production models were equipped with 3,250 horsepower
engines.
Different from its predecessor, this model had a search radar, provision for dropping
sonobuoys, and underwing tip-tanks.
The P2V-5 had also new, larger, jettisonable tip tanks and AN/APS-8 radar in nose of port
tip-tank in addition with AN/APS-20 search radar under fuselage.
Later aircraft featured glazed observation nose and a magnetic anomaly detector, shortly
MAD.
With 424 units, the P2V-5 became the most produced model of Neptune.
Beginning with the P2V-5F model, renamed as the P-2E, in 1967, the Neptune became one
of the first operational aircraft fitted with both piston and jet engines.
Generally, these two jet engines were run at full power to assure take-off, then shut
down upon reaching a safe altitude. They were also started and kept running at flight idle
during low-altitude as a safety measure should one of the radial engines develop problems.
The P2V-6, redesignated as the P-2F in 1967, had lengthened weapons bay and provision for
aerial minelaying and photo-reconnaissance. The aircraft was equipped with a smaller radar.
The P2V-6B version could be equipped with two AUM-N-2 Petrel anti-ship missiles which
carried a passive acoustic homing torpedo as its payload. However, only 16 P2V-6Bs were
produced because the US Navy found this weapon ineffective.
The P2V-7 was the second most produced Neptune model with 287 units. The US Navy change the
aircraft’s designation in 1967 to P-2H.
Depending on the model, Neptune had seven or nine crew members. The aircraft had nearly
28 metres length, 31.6 metres wingspan, and 9 metres height. Its empty weight was 22.65
tons, the maximum take-off weight was 35.24 tons. Two 15.1 kilonewton Westinghouse J34-WE-34
turbojets and two 3,700 horsepower Wright R-3350-32W Cyclone Turbo-compound radial engines
provided nearly 590 kilometre per hour maximum speed. The cruise speed of the aircraft was
about 335 kilometre per hour. Its range is 3,540 kilometres, the P-2 could climb to altitude
of 6,827 metres. The Neptune could be equipped with nearly 3.5 tons ordnance including rockets,
free-fall bombs, depth charges, and torpedoes.
Different models of the Neptune had 12.7mm machine guns or 20mm guns inside the turret.
In addition, there were 20mm fixed nose gun on some versions.
There were also modified P-2 variants for special missions. For example, the P2V-3C.
It was developed as carrier based nuclear bomber. The heavy P2V-3C was using jet assisted
take-off rocket boosters to take-off. Yet it could not land on a carrier.
Another modified Neptune, the Truculent Turtle flew non-stop from Perth, Australia to Ohio,
the USA, in 1946, without air-refuelling. The flight of 18,083.6 kilometres lasted 55
hours 18 minutes.
Until 1962, the longest flight record was broken by the B-52, Truculent Turtle had held
the record.
During the Vietnam War, the USA used four converted Neptune for night and all-weather
ground attack mission. This model was called AP-2H.
For CIA covert operations, seven Neptune-based RB-69A were produced.
There were also several versions like the DP-2E and H version for drone launch missions,
the unarmed TP-2F for pilot training, the LP-2J equipped with wheel/ski landing gear
and JATO gear for Antarctic operations, and the EP-2H fitted with UHF telemetry equipment.
Also, Japan company Kawasaki developed the P-2J variant for the Japanese Maritime Self
Defence Forces as an alternative to buying the larger and more expensive P-3. This model
had two 2,850 horsepower T64-IHI-10 turboprop engine and two 13.7 kilonewton J3-IHI-7C booster
turbojets which provided a top speed of 650 kilometre per hour.
The P-2 was preferred by Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands,
Portugal, Taiwan, the UK, and the USA.
According to US Navy doctrine, the P-2 operated as the hunter of a Hunter-Killer group with
destroyers employed as killers.
In this perspective, it was not an actual offensive system.
The P-2 started its career as a maritime patrol aircraft, but for the first time it had combat
experience as a bomber.
When North Korea started an invasion on South Korea on June 25,1950, The USA did not have
enough combat aircraft in the region.
That's why P-2s had been stationed in Japan were used in bombing missions against North
Korean troops in the early days of the war.
Even though they returned to their real duties later in the Korean War, life was not easy
for the Neptunes in this tense environment.
In 1951, one US P2V was shot down by the Soviet La-11 fighters over international waters off
Vladivostok.
One year later, Soviet MiGs intercepted an early warning model P2V-3W flew over Kamchatka.
This time, the Russian acted cold blooded and did not open fire on the aircraft.
In 1953, China shot down a US P2V was off Swatow in the Formosa Straits by anti-aircraft
guns fire.
The PBM-5, which came to rescue the crew, also crashed while trying to take-off under
intense anti-aircraft gun fire.
Ten survivors of this incident were rescued by the destroyer USS Halsey Powell.
Although it was an accident in US sources, the Russian sources claims that on January
4, 1954, a P2V-5 was shot down in the Yellow Sea near Dairen.
At the end of the same year, a Neptune taking off from Japan, ditched into the sea as a
result of the fire of the Soviet MiG-17s.
One in 1954, two in 1955, and one in 1956, four additional US P-2s were shot down by
Soviet fighters.
In 1964, an electronic signals intelligence model of Neptune flying over mainland China,
and was shot down by a Chinese MiG-15.
The US Army operated the OP-2E variant of the P-2 from 1967 until 1972 over Vietnam.
Fitted with terrain avoidance radar in nose, chaff dispensers, wing mounted gun pods and
waist guns these aircraft were used for especially observing over the Ho Chi Minh Trail which
was a logistical system that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through Laos and
Cambodia.
Another important user of the Neptune was Argentina. A P-2 of the Argentine Navy conducted
first reconnaissance over the Falklands, in 1961. During the Operación Soberanía which
was a planned Argentine military invasion of Chile, these aircraft used for observing
Chilean naval activities. In 1982, the P-2s once again observed the
Falklands environment, and collected valuable information for Argentine invasion.
However, this Neptune gained its real reputation on May 2, 1982. The AN/ALR 8 receiver of the
aircraft detected D-band emissions from a Type 965 radar belonging to HMS Sheffield.
However, its radar malfunctioned. After a hard work of the crew, it was possible to
put it into operation, and the aircraft managed to determine the right position of the enemy.
Using this information, Argentine Super Etandards managed to hit HMS Sheffield.
The P-2s acquired by Brazil in 1958, took off from the USA and headed for the Salvador
Air Base.
One of these Neptunes was intercepted by two P-51 Mustangs and a de Havilland Vampire of
the Dominican Republic Air Force.
The Dominicans opened fire and forced the aircraft to land at the air base at Santo
Isidoro.
The crew was allowed to continue on its flight after investigation.
The Soviet intelligence ship Kosmonavt Yuriy Gagarin was sent to gather information about
Brazilian rocket launch programme.
After the Brazilian P-2s spotted the ship, she had to leave that area.
French Neptunes were used during the Algerian War to monitor the western Mediterranean and
also laid mines off the coast of Algeria.
In 1976, near the Sakhalin Island, a Japanese P-2J was intercepted by a Soviet Sukhoi Su-15
which fired two air-to-air missiles at it. But the Japanese were lucky. The two missed
their targets, and the Japanese aircraft was not damaged.
In 1962, Indonesia attempted to secretly deploy naval commandos to Dutch New Guinea. But Dutch
intelligence had discovered this plan. So, the P-2s of the Dutch Naval Aviation were
sent to area to intercept three Indonesian boats. These boats opened fire on the aircrafts,
after that the Dutch destroyer HNLMS Evertsen responded and sank one of them. The other
two fled.
During the colonial independence wars, Portuguese Neptunes were used as bombers in Angola and
Guinea-Bissau.
Three Taiwanese Neptunes had been shot down by China between 1961 to 1964.
The P-2 performed its heroic mission on many fronts of the First Cold War. Many aircraft
were lost due to intensive use of dangerous missions. However, Neptune managed to make
more gains than losses. He would probably be able to fly in the sky much longer if the
more efficient turboprops did not replace the radial engines. Still, as in the Falklands
War, it has proven its worth until the last moment. A few P-2 still fly in Australia and
the USA, making fans of this beautiful plane happy.
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