History
Background
The Lockheed P2V (later as P-2) Neptune was a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft developed for the US Navy to replace Lockheed’s PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon. The P2V intended to fulfill the role of a naval land-based patrol bomber. Its initial development began on December 6, 1941, and the P2V was a low-priority work compared to other aircraft in development during World War II. Later, on February 19, 1943, the US Navy ordered two prototype XP2V-1s and awarded Lockheed a contract in April 1944, finalizing the standing order. The first prototype flew in May 1945, and production began in 1946. The first production P2V-1 Neptune rolled out and was accepted into service in 1947.
Second Version - Lockheed P2V-2 (Model 126)
The initial contract for 151 P2V-2s was placed on December 16, 1944. However, the order drastically changed by the end of the war in 1945, dropping to 81 aircraft. These P2V-2s were to be powered by two 2,500-hp Wright R-3350-24W engines driving three-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers instead of the earlier four-bladed units fitted to the P2V-1. A search radar was installed in a small radome under the nose, while a smaller tracking radar unit was mounted in the port tank nose tip. The glazed nose and turret containing a pair of twin fifty caliber machine guns was replaced by a solid nose cone consisting of six fixed position 20-mm cannons, which had lengthened it by 2.5 feet. Provisions were made for sixteen underwing rocket launch stubs, eight under each wing, and other provisions were made for the addition of four JATO rockets on each of the fuselage just aft of the wing trailing edge to help heavily loaded P2V-2s get into the air.
The fifth production P2V-1 (89086) was modified to serve as the prototype of the P2V-2, and its first flight took place on January 7, 1947. It was subjected to extensive trials for ten days. In one instance, the aircraft was put into a dive at a speed of 385 mph and pulled out with a loading of 2.9 g-force, which comfortably exceeded the Navy requirement of 344 mph and 2.67 g-force. The aircraft had demonstrated excellent handling at low-speed flight trials. Further dive trials included the aircraft diving at maximum allowable angle limits for bomb door opening, reaching up to 45 degrees as the maximum. After passing these trials, the aircraft undertook the final flight trials that involved extreme stall angles at full power, with violent yaws and recoveries at maximum weight. The last few flights required the engines to be shut down and powered off during the landings.
After the prototype trials concluded, the production deliveries began four months later on May 20. The first eight P2V-2s were initially fitted with a Bell Mk5 tail turret that contained a pair of fifty caliber machine guns, and these aircraft were eventually flown to the Emerson facility in St. Louis for replacement of the Bell turret. The remainder had an Emerson tail turret fitted with two 20-mm cannons.
Shortly after entering Navy service, the P2V-2 Neptunes were deployed to Alaska and began their aerial mapping of southwestern Alaska since the last time was done in 1929. These aircraft were refitted with a clear glass nose that contained the mapping cameras. However, they could be back to refitting the offensive weapons in the enclosed nose, as the aircraft’s role was interchangeable.
The P2V-2s also flew over the north or south poles. Two aircraft were fitted with skis and redesignated P2V-2N in the process. The skis were mounted in a configuration to allow landings on either snow or a conventional runway. In the retracted position, the skis faired neatly under the nose and engine nacelles. These aircraft were intended to do a long-range search and rescue primarily over the Arctic. Their armament was entirely removed, and an early Magnetic Anomaly Detection probe was installed in the tail.
Other than that, the P2V-2s in a typical configuration had a quiet service as the maritime patrol bomber before being phased out. The final P2V-2 was delivered in July-August 1948. The P2V-2 did not see action in the skies over Korea from 1950 to 1953.
