That’s a beautiful aircraft.
You are absolutely correct. I had the privilege to serve in five P-3 squadrons over 22 years and accumulated a little over 5000 flight hours in them, and they are magnificent assets. Wags occasionally referred to the as graceful gray gazelles. They aren’t that pretty, in my opinion,but they and their crews and maintainers served the nation well.
My years with VP-24 were some of the best of my life. My squadron was disesstablished by our last “progressive” president in 1994.