Missing wood from new Walnut No1 forearm

[Peter Laidler]

The reason I asked about the plane was that while I was in Auistralia I had a chance of a perk trip in a RAAF anti-submarine plane out of Townsville(?). Was it a Neptune or an Orion. The NZ Air Force were looking at them to replace the Sunderland

[p2v5f]

The Orion P3 maiden flight was in 1959, it was a military conversion if the Lockheed Electra commercial airliner. First fleet use was in 1962. What year was you visit to the airfield?

The UK received P2V-5 Neptune's under the MAP program, they were later passed to Portugal. The P2V series was used by numerous countries.

[Peter Laidler]

It must have been an Orion as I was there between 1967 and Dec '69. When did the UK use Neptunes. I always thought we slogged along with Shackletons!

[p2v5f]

According to Wayne Mutza book "An Illustrated History of The Neptune", 52 P2V-5 were delivered to the UK starting in January 1952. These we only a stop-gap until a sufficient number of Shackletons were produced.

I will correct my statement that they were passed to Portugal. Those not scrapped or lost in the UK were returned to the U S. Later some went to Brazil and a few to Argentina.

[Vincent]

Some P2V’s were converted to water bombers. I used to see one next to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, by the DEA hangars. Looked like it had two additional pod mounted jet engines. I wanted to get a closer look at it but the DEA hangar was strictly off limits.

Lockheed built some great planes. I got to fly a few of the old ones, the Lodestar, Ventura and the Jetstar. My dream was to fly a Constellation, even a ragged out old cargo Conie in India would have been fine. But it wasn’t in the cards.

[Aussie48]

If it was in Townsville it would have been 10 Squadron who didn't receive their Orions until 1978-1979 when they were transferred to Edinburgh South Australia.

[Peter Laidler]

Anyway........ wo'ever they woz, I never went up in one! But I did go in a Sunderland

[CINDERS]

Ahh the Flying Porcupine and from what pics I have seen of the inside they are like a dept store absolutely huge inside you know 3rd floor this and 5th that...........