Posted on 05/16/2012 5:38:46 AM PDT by pabianice
A specially equipped P-3 Orion assigned to the "Old Buzzards" of VPU-1 is ready to start its turboprop engines on the Hangar 511 flight line at NAS Jacksonville. The squadron will be disestablished on Friday.
A specially equipped P-3 Orion assigned to the "Old Buzzards" of VPU-1 is ready to start its turboprop engines on the Hangar 511 flight line at NAS Jacksonville. The squadron will be disestablished on Friday.
Special Projects Patrol Squadron (VPU) 1 will hold its disestablishment ceremony April 27 at 10 a.m. at NAS Jacksonville Hangar 117. The “Old Buzzards” trace their lineage back 40 years when the Chief of Naval Operations requested the creation of a specially trained maritime patrol unit possessing the necessary expertise, flexibility and quick reaction capability to respond to immediate tasking from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As a result, a unique “special projects” detachment of P-3s was formed from operationally proven aircrew and maintenance professionals.
(Excerpt) Read more at jaxairnews.jacksonville.com ...
>>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.
IIRC, I flew for two weeks during summer cruise 1966 with VP-24. Of course, they were flying the P2-V Neptune back then.
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