"Navy's Last Active Duty P-3C Orion Squadron Is On Its Final Deployment"

[Yooper]

Many of you probably knew this (and many of you may have also seen this article).

In case y'all didn't and hadn't....

The last of the U.S. Navy’s active duty P-3C Orion patrol planes are on their final overseas deployments, split between bases in Bahrain and Japan. The six-month rotations in the Middle East and Pacific regions come as the service prepares to retire all of its Orions in active duty units and replace them completely with the new P-8A Poseidon.

The Whidbey News-Times was the first to report that P-3Cs from Patrol Squadron Four Zero (VP-40), the “Fighting Marlins,” left their main base at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island in Washington state at the end of March 2019 for their sundown deployments to Sheik Isa Air Base in Bahrain and Kadena Air Base in Japan.

More at (link): "Navy's Last Active Duty P-3C Orion Squadron Is On Its Final Deployment"

#EndOfAnEra

--- End of line (MCP)

 

[b23hqb]

My Lt (LCDR select) son is on the Patrol and Reconnaisance Wing 10 staff at Whidby. Just talked to him yesterday, and I asked him about that. Said there are still a few squadrons there that are on track to get phased out to the new P-8 737-type jet. Reaching the end of another era in naval aviation and history.

 

[glhs837]

Two left, all the active ones done by the end of the year, really. Reserves sticking around, and some "cats and dogs, but the ol' girl is waving goodbye. The monitor out in the lobby has a saying that flashes up, "A Navy, when built, is worth far more than it cost" The Navy spent well on the P-3, and got far more than they spent back in value from that magnificent aircraft.

 

[Monello]

I found my old office out in the desert boneyard. Old bobtailed P-3A. Best duty I had out of 6 duty stations.