Lockheed P2V-7
Neptune N14447
(c/n 826-8010)
Lockheed Neptunes made excellent fire fighting
vehicles. As a matter of fact, I lived in Diamond
Bar, California in the late1960s and had my house saved by a P2V borate
bomber. This shot was
taken at
Fox Field, Lancaster, in California's Mojave Desert in the late
1990s. The aircraft was (and
still is) owned by Neptune Aviation, based in Missoula,
Montana. It was built in 1955 and was an
ex-RCAF
machine, serial number 24110. (Original BuAer 135587) They
were later re-designated
from P2V-7 to
P-2H. I understand it is still registered to Neptune Aviation
although must surely be
slated for retirement by now. Having said that, Tony Hancock
indicates it was at Missoula as late
as 2003, still in good shape and resplendent with an all red fin and
rudder.......