Lockheed P-3 Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion, developed from the L-188 Electra airliner, has been the standard maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft for the US Navy and numerous allied navies since the 1960s. Its long, low-level endurance and large crew of specialist sensor operators let it search vast stretches of ocean for submarines, ships, or survivors far longer than a jet-powered patrol aircraft could manage on the same fuel. A distinctive tail-mounted 'stinger' boom houses a magnetic-anomaly detector, sensitive enough to spot the tiny disturbance a submarine's steel hull makes in the Earth's magnetic field. Though newer jet-powered successors like the P-8 Poseidon are gradually replacing it, a number of P-3s remain in active service worldwide.
Did you know?
The long boom trailing from its tail, the 'stinger', carries a magnetic-anomaly detector that spots submarines by their tiny disturbance in the Earth's magnetic field.
Specifications
| Length | 35.6 m (117 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 30.4 m (100 ft) |
| Height | 10.3 m (34 ft) |
| Persons on board | 13 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 61.2 t |
| Range | 2,380 NM (4,408 km) |
| Maximum speed | 380 kt (704 km/h) |
| Stall speed | 133 kt (246 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 28,300 ft (8,626 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 28,000 ft (8,534 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,950 ft/min (9.9 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 1,673 m (5,489 ft) |
| Landing distance | 850 m (2,789 ft) |
| Engines | 4x Rolls-Royce/Allison T56 |
| Units built | 107 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
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