hi
>>We have a (relatively) new member, ip568, who served as an NFO on both P-2s and P-3s. I thought it would be interesting to pick his brain about 'old school' VP and get a little insight into a side of Naval Aviation we don't hear a whole lot about. Rather than hide the thread in Private Orion Forum, I've opted to keep it open to everyone, for now.
Be advised, think before you post, let's try to keep it on track.
To get the ball rolling, some questions for ip568:
1. If you wouldn't mind, what was your background and training syllabus like?
2. Your fleet squadron(s)? Deployment sites?
3. Typical missions? Not so typical? What was the P-2's role in Vietnam?
4. Model(s) and capabilities of the P-2s you flew with?
5. How was the transition to the P-3? (both personally and your views on the Fleet's reaction)
__________________
Sorry for the delay. I never got this message.
P-3: On my initial tour I went through the P-3 RAG at Moffett (VP-31). This followed FAETUPAC at North Island for three months learning the old ASA-16 and P-3A baseline systems, topped with SERE School (bummer, man). VP-31 was tough and relatively unforgiving. I then reported to my new squadron (VP-1), which had just gotten P-3s. They had been the last flying the SP-2H and had had a quickie P-3 course. I flew the P-3B baseline and P-3B DIFAR mod in VP-1.
I left active duty in 1972 and joined the reserves at South Weymouth. They had the SP-2H, so I got qualified in it as NAV. The planes were used up. We usually had to come back from a flgith with an engine on fire or the gear wouldn't extend or some other problem. For my NAV NATOPS check flight, every piece of nav gear was broken so I did cel nav and DR up to Nova Scotia and back.
I had to leave the reserves in 1974 for a job. In 1980 I re-entered the selected reserves. By then, VP-92 had the P-3A. In 1984, we got the P-3B TACNAVMOD, a very sweet airplane. The nav systems were so good that basically all a NAV did was monitor the systems. In 1991 I was promoted out of my flying billet, so I finished with 21 years standing the base CDO watch at NAS SOWEY once a month.
In VP-1 we went EVERYWHERE: started in Washington state, then first deployment to Vietnam, then restationed to Hawaii, then another deployment to Vietnam, with side trips to Japan, the Philippines, Okinawa, China, Hong Kong, French Frigate Shoals, Midway, etc., etc. In Vietnam we staged out of NAF Cam Rahn Bay. In VP-92, did AT in the Azores (a lot), Portugal, Spain, Bermuda, Holland, England. P-3s are THE WAY to see the world and you get to bring your own airplane.
P-3 missions in VP-1 were either ASW (covertly finding and tracking Russian subs that didn't know we were there), or maritime patrol, as in Vietnam, where we'd fly tracks and rig everything within so many miles of our track. Got exciting some times. In P-2s we basically just tried to get back before something caught fire or fell off the airplane (TFOA). In VP-92 we did more sub tracking and some open ocean surveillance.
The P-2s in Vietnam were used for maritime surveillance (see above), same as the P-3 did later. The Army got some P-2s from the Navy, loaded them with guns and cannons, and went out and blasted the crap out of the Viet Cong. We bunked with some of them at Cam Rahn, the Black Cats.
As noted above, the fleet transition from P-2s to P-3s was generally positive. With 4 engines, no P-3 ever had to ditch crossing the pond. One of the VP-1 P-2s was lost coming back from Japan when it lost one recip. The crew lit both jets, but because the jets burned five times as much avgas as the recips they didn't have enough fuel to make it back so they made a controlled ditch. Everyone got out -- barely -- and were picked up.
Hope this helps. Here's an Army AP-2.
