The story
The P-3 Orion is a four-engine maritime patrol aircraft that has hunted submarines and watched the seas for over 60 years. Its long endurance lets it loiter for hours far out over open water.
It carries a long 'stinger' tail boom housing a magnetic anomaly detector, which picks up the disturbance a submarine's steel hull makes in Earth's magnetic field.
Quick answers
How do you identify a P-3 Orion?
Four turboprops, low wing, and a distinctive long 'stinger' tail boom.
What does a P-3 Orion sound like?
Four T56 turboprops in a deep, steady drone, like a C-130 that went to sea. On patrol it sometimes loiters with one engine shut down and the prop feathered to save fuel.
How fast is the P-3 Orion?
Top speed is 405 kts.
How far can the P-3 Orion fly?
Range is about 4,830 nmi.
How big is the P-3 Orion?
It is 116 ft 10 in long and 99 ft 8 in across the wings.
When did the P-3 Orion first fly?
Its first flight was in 1959.
How many P-3 Orions have been built?
757 built.
What do crews call the P-3 Orion?
The Orion.
How rare is a P-3 Orion in Bogey?
RARE. A good day. Most spotters go weeks between sightings of something this rare. Your first P-3 Orion catch is worth 250 points.
