Robert Moore wrote:
As a Naval Aviator, I flew the Lockheed P-3 Orion on 10-12 hour
patrols. After about 2 hours, we shut-down (feathered) the number
one engine and after 2-3 more hours, off went number four for the
remainder of the flight.

Why the staggered shutdown? Waiting to hit certain weight limits as
fuel burned off?

Once you had shut down two engines, what would happen if one of the
remaining two failed? Was the airplane capable of flying on one?