P2V-3 / MODEL 326

The P2V-3, designated as Lockheed Model 326, featured upgraded 2,300hp (3,200hp with water injection) Wright Cyclone R-3350-26W engines and three-bladed Hamilton Standard props, boosting its top speed to 338mph. It was the first Neptune model to use jet augmenter engine exhaust stacks while retaining the ASW radar and firepower of the P2V-2. The P2V-3 first flew on 6 August 1948, with 83 units built, including various sub-models. Delivered in January 1950, the P2V-3 served in Korea, performing ground attacks with its nose-mounted cannons and wing-mounted rockets. It also undertook ASW, patrols, rocket, and night bombing missions, mine laying, daylight bombing, and reconnaissance.

The P2V-3, designated as Lockheed Model 326, featured upgraded 2,300hp (3,200hp with water injection) Wright Cyclone R-3350-26W engines and three-bladed Hamilton Standard props, boosting its top speed to 338mph. It was the first Neptune model to use jet augmenter engine exhaust stacks while retaining the ASW radar and firepower of the P2V-2. The P2V-3 first flew on 6 August 1948, with 83 units built, including various sub-models. Delivered in January 1950, the P2V-3 served in Korea, performing ground attacks with its nose-mounted cannons and wing-mounted rockets. It also undertook ASW, patrols, rocket, and night bombing missions, mine laying, daylight bombing, and reconnaissance.

In response to the increasing threat posed by the Soviet Union, the P2V-3C variant was developed to provide the U.S. aircraft carrier fleet with a long-range patrol bomber capable of being launched from a carrier deck. 

One P2V-2 and eleven P2V-3 aircraft were modified to serve as carrier-launched nuclear bombers. To reduce weight and enable the P2V-3Cs to carry a 9,700 lb (4,400 kg), 14-kiloton Mk.I atomic bomb along with extra fuel, modifications included the removal of the astrodome, underbelly radome, nose armament, dorsal turret, wing rocket attachment points, the tail skid, and the installation of additional fuel tanks. The 20mm tail turret was retained for defensive purposes. These aircraft were delivered between September 1948 and August 1949. 

BuNo 122969 was experimentally equipped with an arrester hook beneath the aft fuselage for airfield dummy deck landings at NAS Patuxent River; however, no actual carrier landings were performed by this or any other Neptune aircraft. 

The validity of this concept was demonstrated on 3 March 1949, when a P2V-3C, loaded to a gross weight of 74,000 lb (including a simulated 10,000 lb nuclear bomb load), successfully took off with JATO assistance from the deck of the USS Coral Sea. The strategic objective was to launch a nuclear-armed Neptune from a fast carrier, fly to its target, deliver the ordnance, and then either proceed to a friendly base or return to the carrier and ditch alongside it. Most targets within the Soviet Union were within range of a carrier-launched P2V-3C Neptune. 

Sixteen P2V-3 Neptunes were modified to become P2V-3Bs, including ten P2V-3Cs and six P2V-3Ws. The -3B variant featured the ASB-1 Low Level Radar Bombing System, used in the A-3 Skywarrior.

The P2V-3W early warning aircraft is fundamentally comparable to the standard P2V-3, except for the addition of the APS-20 search radar and a significantly larger belly-mounted radome to house the larger dish antenna of the APS-20. The maiden flight of the first P2V-3W occurred on August 12, 1949. A total of thirty units of the P2V-3W were manufactured.Skywarrior.

The P2V-3Z, with only two units produced (122986 and 122987), was a combat transport aircraft featuring a special interior and heavy armor plating. The nose armament and dorsal turret were removed, and four bladed props replaced the normal three bladed props. The -3Z Neptune transported VIPs into combat areas comfortably and safely.