P-3 Orion record flights

Triggered by a recent question I am trying to find details about records
flights made by P-3 Orions. So far I found the following:

22 January 1971:
World distance record for an aircraft in its class, flown by a USN P-3C:
7010 miles (11282 km).

4 November 1972:
Class C / Group II world distance closed circuit record, flown by a USN
RP-3D of VXN-8 (BuNo 158227): 10103,51 km in 16½ hours. The aircraft's
weapons bay contained an additional fuel tank of 4543 litres which increased
the total fuel capacity to 39369 litres.

1972:
The record for the longest flight for a P-3 model is 21.5 hours, on a flight
undertaken by the Royal New Zealand Air Force's No. 5 Squadron.

I am interested in any additional details and information about the above
mentioned record flights, like the exact date, names of crew, aircraft
registration number, squadron, airfields for departure and destination,
squadron, references to publications about these record flights, etc.

I am looking forward to your replies!

Regards,
Marco P.J. Borst
P-3 Orion Research Group - The Netherlands

e-mail:
P-3 website: http://home.planet.nl/~p3orion
MSN Messenger:
subscribe to the P-3 Orion e-mail group:

"The reward of a job well done is to have done it."

Marco P.J. Borst wrote:
Triggered by a recent question I am trying to find details about records
flights made by P-3 Orions. So far I found the following:

22 January 1971:
World distance record for an aircraft in its class, flown by a USN P-3C:
7010 miles (11282 km).

4 November 1972:
Class C / Group II world distance closed circuit record, flown by a USN
RP-3D of VXN-8 (BuNo 158227): 10103,51 km in 16½ hours. The aircraft's
weapons bay contained an additional fuel tank of 4543 litres which increased
the total fuel capacity to 39369 litres.

1972:
The record for the longest flight for a P-3 model is 21.5 hours, on a flight
undertaken by the Royal New Zealand Air Force's No. 5 Squadron.

I am interested in any additional details and information about the above
mentioned record flights, like the exact date, names of crew, aircraft
registration number, squadron, airfields for departure and destination,
squadron, references to publications about these record flights, etc.

I am looking forward to your replies!


Have you tried writing to/emailing the squadrons you've identified
above? Sounds like the type of thing that they could find fairly easily
if they wanted to look for it.
RNZAF contact details at www.airforce.mil.nz

--
Errol Cavit | To: Adm Cunningham, CinC Med Fleet, 2 June 1941
For your magnificent enterprise and courage during the past twelve
days,
please accept for yourself, and convey to your officers and men, the
heart-felt thanks of the Government and people of New Zealand.

wrote in
ps.com:


Marco P.J. Borst wrote:
Triggered by a recent question I am trying to find details about
records flights made by P-3 Orions. So far I found the following:

22 January 1971:
World distance record for an aircraft in its class, flown by a USN
P-3C: 7010 miles (11282 km).

4 November 1972:
Class C / Group II world distance closed circuit record, flown by a USN
RP-3D of VXN-8 (BuNo 158227): 10103,51 km in 16½ hours. The aircraft's
weapons bay contained an additional fuel tank of 4543 litres which
increa
sed
the total fuel capacity to 39369 litres.

1972:
The record for the longest flight for a P-3 model is 21.5 hours, on a
fli
ght
undertaken by the Royal New Zealand Air Force's No. 5 Squadron.

I am interested in any additional details and information about the
above mentioned record flights, like the exact date, names of crew,
aircraft registration number, squadron, airfields for departure and
destination, squadron, references to publications about these record
flights, etc.

I am looking forward to your replies!


Have you tried writing to/emailing the squadrons you've identified
above? Sounds like the type of thing that they could find fairly easily
if they wanted to look for it.
RNZAF contact details at www.airforce.mil.nz

Well, VXN-8 went away in 1993, so that's not an available source.

Here is a possible source of info:
http://history.navy.mil/branches/nhcorg4.htm

Another:
http://history.navy.mil/branches/org4-5.htm

Dave in San Diego

Puts me in mind of the Flight of the Truculent Turtle!