P-3C Orion (White/Gray) Military Scale Model

Item#: AP03TR

MSRP Price: $183.55

Factory Direct Price: $137.66

Wing Span: 14.00"
Length: 16.25"

Manufacturer: Lockheed

Introducing Factory Direct Models P-3C Orion Model Aircraft, This Model Airplane Replica was hand crafted with absolute precision using the finest Philippine Mahogany. Working from our library of blueprints, reference materials and their photographs, Factory Direct Models master artisans recreated this historic military warplane into an incredibly desktop display model.

Please note that the stand shown in this photograph may vary or change with the model you receive.

We also make Custom Made Airplane Models to meet your specifications with the capability to include your company logo and inscribed inscription plaque to make your model a personalized work of art. If you would like personalized Custom Model Model Please Call (866) 580-8727.

P-3C Orion History:

The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a maritime patrol aircraft used by numerous navies and air forces around the world, primarily for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare.

The P-3 Orion, originally designated P3V, is based on the same design philosophy as the Lockheed L-188 Electra. It is not the same plane structurally. It has had seven feet of fuselage removed fore of the wings, as well as myriad internal, external, and airframe production technique enhancements. It served as the replacement for the postwar era P-2 Neptune. The Orion is powered by four Allison T56 turboprops which give it a speed comparable to fast propeller powered fighters, or even slow turbofan jets such as the A-10. Many other countries have seen the value of this platform design and have developed similar patrol aircraft based on this model, with the Soviets adapting their own counterpart to the Orion, the Ilyushin Il-38. The P-3 also competes with the British Hawker Siddeley Nimrod adaptation of the de Havilland Comet and the French Breguet Atlantique.

The first production version, designated P3V-1, first flew 15 April 1961. Initial squadron deliveries to VP-8 and VP-44 at Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine began in August 1962. On 18 September 1962, the U.S. military transitioned to a unified designation system, making the aircraft the P-3A. Paint schemes have changed from an early 1960s blue and white scheme, to a mid 1960s white and grey, to 1990s low visibility gray. Over the years more than 40 combatant & noncombatant variants of the P-3 have been developed due to the rugged reliability displayed by the platform flying 12 hour plus missions 200 feet (61 m) over salt water while maintaining an excellent safety record. Versions have been developed for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for research and hurricane hunting/hurricane wall busting, for U.S. Customs for drug interdiction and aerial surveillance mission with a rotodome adapted from the E-2 Hawkeye or an AN/APG-66 radar adapted from the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and for NASA for research and development.

There have also been unconfirmed claims of the CIA operating three P-3As, alternatingly described as having been painted all black or in the markings of the Taiwanese Air Force (RoCAF), for aerial surveillance and agent/leaflet delivery in the vicinity of the People's Republic of China. The veracity of these claims remains suspect.