#1377
Lockheed P-2 Neptune
🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1945· maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft
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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Neptune 2p103: Neptune 2 P 103· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2. AP-2H Neptune NAS Pax 1969: USN· Public domain
- 3. Emerson nose turret for Neptune: Greg Goebel· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 4. HARS Neptune, Wollongong New South Wales: Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand· CC BY 2.0
- 5. Het Lockheed P2V-7B, P-2H & SP-2H Neptune maritiem patrouillevliegtuig 213 op vliegkamp Valkenburg (2097 044 077749): Negatieven en Dia's voormalig Instituut voor Maritieme Historie· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. Lockheed OP-2E Neptune of VO-67 in flight on a mission over Laos, circa in 1967: U.S. Navy· Public domain
- 7. Lockheed P-2 AP-2H 148353 VAH-21 DM 22.04.71 edited-2: RuthAS· CC BY 3.0
- 8. Lockheed P-2 SP-2H 147562 25F GC 07.07.73 edited-2: RuthAS· CC BY 3.0
- 9. Lockheed P2V-3C Neptune takes off from USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) on 2 July 1951 (80-G-629296): Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 10. Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune MR.1 51-15965 217 Sqn Ringway 25.08.53: RuthAS· CC BY 3.0
what is it?
The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy (USN) prior to September 1962) was a maritime patrol and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the USN by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon and was replaced, in turn, by the Lockheed P-3 Orion. Designed as a land-based aircraft, the Neptune never made a carrier landing, but a few were converted and deployed as carrier-launched (using JATO assist), stop-gap nuclear bombers that would have to land on shore or ditch.
How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · retractable tricycle gear · 31.7 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 81 years ago, in 1945.
- Top speed is 4.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 31.7 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 6 African elephants (~6 t each).
jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1945-05-17
- introduced
- 1947
- retired
- 1984
- status
- retired
- number built
- 1,118
- role
- maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Lockheed Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries
- engines
- 4× Wright R-3350-32W Duplex-Cyclone / Westinghouse J34-WE-34
- crew
- 7
- length
- 27.9 m
- wingspan
- 31.7 m
- height
- 8.9 m
- max take-off weight
- 36.2 t
- top speed
- 584 km/h
- cruise speed
- 333 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 6,828 m
- wings
- monoplane
- landing gear
- retractable tricycle gear
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1422495, Wikipedia: Lockheed P-2 Neptune (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.