VPU-1 ‘Old Buzzards’ to disestablish

P-3 Interest Group ^ | 5/16/12

[pabianice]

>>It will fly at 20,000 feet and do high altitude ASW.

>>Once gain you are quite mistaken.

Nope. You are. The P-8 will loiter at 20,000 feet (jets would gulp all onsta fuel in two hours at low altitude) and carry torpedo glide-bombs. Released at high altitude, they will be guided to where they think the sub will be when the torp hits the water. You don’t do this from low altitude. We used to drop torps at between 200 feet and 1000 feet MSL. The Mk 46 worked pretty well from that distance.

[BwanaNdege]

IIRC, I flew for two weeks during summer cruise 1966 with VP-24. Of course, they were flying the P2-V Neptune back then.