Great Britain - ROYAL AIR FORCE

In the early years of the Cold War, the Royal Air Force faced a pressing need to modernize its maritime patrol capabilities. With the formation of NATO in 1949 and the growing threat posed by Soviet submarine activity, Britain’s Coastal Command required an interim solution while awaiting the full deployment of the domestically produced Avro Shackleton. Into this gap stepped the American-built Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune, which the RAF would designate as the Neptune MR.1.

Initially US security restrictions made the Neptune unavailable for export. Discussions between British and American government officials stressed the RAF's dilemma and consequential weakness in the NATO defense system. The security restriction was lifted, allowing the British to obtain Neptunes under MDAP provisions. It was planned that when the Shackleton became available to the Coastal Command, the Neptunes would be returned to the U.S.

During Spring 1951, the RAF placed their order for the P2V-5, the 52 RAF Neptunes comprising nearly one-third of the first 170 P2V-5s produced, highlighting the priority of the RAF order. Since the RAF Neptunes were purchased through the U.S. Air Force, they were assigned USAF serials instead of U.S. Navy Bureau Numbers, normally assigned aircraft under MDAP. After several months of training, the first two P2V-5s flew from Burbank to England arriving at St. Eval on 13 January 1952. 

The new aircraft were delivered with full nose, dorsal and tail turrets. 27 aircraft were later modified by Scottish Aviation Ltd. when the nose and tail turrets were replaced with the clear nose and MAD. Based at key maritime airfields, including RAF Kinloss and RAF Ballykelly, RAF crews participated in numerous NATO exercises and operational patrols. Their long range and endurance made them well-suited for extended missions patrolling the North Atlantic and surrounding waters, providing a critical layer of surveillance and deterrence during the period’s heightened geopolitical tension.

Despite their effectiveness, the Neptunes were always intended as a stopgap measure. By 1957, as Avro Shackleton MR.1/3 squadrons reached full strength, Coastal Command began retiring the Neptune. Its last RAF patrols flew from Ballykelly in late 1958. Though short-lived, the Neptune MR.1’s pioneering of sonobuoy tactics, MAD operations, and multi-national ASW coordination forged the template for Britain’s long-range maritime patrol doctrine—and blazed a path for the Shackleton and, later, the Nimrod.