A friend is trying to id this plane. She is related to the pilot. she believes the phot was taken between 1930-1947.

Early model P2V-1 Neptune.

That was fast.

This was a prototype model of the P2V. In the production models, the starter rope was replaced.

quote:

Originally posted by BOATTRASH1:
That was fast.

Looks like a popular photo.

How did the starter rope work ?

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
How did the starter rope work ?

Uh...he was joking. It looks like the guy is installing or removing a "remove before flight" cover on the pitot tube.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
How did the starter rope work ?

Uh...he was joking. It looks like the guy is installing or removing a "remove before flight" cover on the pitot tube.

Send him over to Base Supply to get a gallon of “prop wash” and 100-feet of “flightline” too.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
How did the starter rope work ?

Uh...he was joking. It looks like the guy is installing or removing a "remove before flight" cover on the pitot tube.

Ah. I thought it might be something like a cartridge start thing.

18 cylinders per engine, the P2V used a conventional electric starter. Later versions P2V-5 on up, used two additional turbojet engines outboard of the R3350 radials. All four ran on avgas, and lighting off the jets tripled the fuel burn. They were used primarily for takeoff, certain maneuvering, and unassing the area.

I flew the -7.

Early on, a year after introduction, the P2V-1 set a long distance record.

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Later versions P2V-5 on up, used two additional turbojet engines outboard of the R3350 radials.

Two turning and two burning.

We had a couple in our guided missile squadron that were used to carry KDA drones to the launch area, and then launch the drones from the P2V.

Can't find any of my photos right now, but this one from the internet sort of conveys the idea:

Looks like an A-26 nacelle and wing there.

The J34 jets had electric start for takeoff, but in flight we just opened the doors. The inlet was faired off in flight by a folding double door, to reduce drag. There were several methods of opening the doors (bicycle chain, hydraulic, etc), but once open, the slipstream spooled the gas core up enough to light off. Sometimes they lit, sometimes they didn't.

quote:

Looks like an A-26 nacelle and wing there.

I wasn't sure what the host airplane was in that photo, but it is representative of the way that we schlepped the drones under the wing of the Neptune back when we were based at Roosevelt Roads in the late 1950s.

Okay - a little thread drift. Using the tail code “UF” on the F6F Hellcat drone in the background, I found this photo of a JD-1 which appears to be the Navy version of the A-26. sns3guppy has good eyes.



UF was the tail code for VU-3 utility squadron operating from Brown Field in San Diego. This article was from “Naval Aviation News” October 1959 -



Pretty sure the drone in the photo is a Firebee. In ‘92, I attended an Air Force school where each two-man crew got to shoot an AIM-9M Sidewinder at a similar drone - an experience I will not forget.

In fairness to the OP - here is a shot of a P-2V Neptune - also from VU-3.



Hope I did this correctly - have not posted photos in a long time.

Also - for further aviation history enjoyment, look up “The Battle of Palmdale.” A Hellcat drone like the one in the background of the preceding post played an integral part.

quote:

Originally posted by Old Vark WSO:

...for further aviation history enjoyment, look up “The Battle of Palmdale.” A Hellcat drone like the one in the background of the preceding post played an integral part.

https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/sw_lat081756.htm

Vark, were you by any chance at Lakenheath 1986-89? My brother flew the F model there. If so, contact me at the emial in my profile.

Email sent.

Before I moved from So. CA a couple years ago, Neptunes were still being used to fight brush fires in my area. Heck of a long (maybe too long) service life!

A few times I"ve parked on a tanker base ramp in a PB4Y-2, in a line with three generations of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft; the 4Y, the P2, and the P3.

All three are retired, now.