Black Hills Aviation Lockheed P2V-5F Neptune
MODEL BY:
H. Davidson
Model Scale:
1/72
MODEL ADDED:
N/A
historical significance
First Albuquerque Visit: 1976
Additional Information:
The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a land-based maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon, and was replaced in turn by the Lockheed P-3 Orion. The first aircraft flew in May 1945, production began in 1946, and the aircraft was accepted into service in 1947. P-2/P2Vs have been employed in aerial firefighting roles by operators such as Minden Air Corp and Neptune Aviation Services. The fire fighters can carry 2,080 US gallons of retardant and have a service life of 15,000 hours.
The P2V-5F variant includes the addition of two J34 jet engines to increase power on take-off along with 3,500 horsepower R-3350-32W piston engines. The P2V-5F was re-designated the P-2E in 1962.
Black Hills Aviation was founded in 1958 by Arnold Kolb and based in Alamogordo New Mexico. Arnold Kolb was a pillar in the aerial firefighting community and his legacy remains with the Aerial Firefighting Industry Association. Kolb was known for rebuilding World War II aircraft and engineering many aerial firefighting improvements and also redesigned retardant tanks that were certified to improve coverage on forest fires. Black Hills Aviation operated Boeing B-17s from 1964-1980 and the Lockheed P-2V Neptunes beginning in 1974. Black Hills Aviation redesigned and improved the tank system on the Neptune in 1978. The company was sold to Neptune Aviation Services, Inc. in 1993.
Black Hills Aviation was contracted by the US Forest Service to help fight the 1976 Priest Canyon Fire in New Mexico. They used their P2V-5F Neptune N-9855F to help fight this fire and operated out of the Cibola Borate fire station at Kirtland Air Force Base.
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