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| JMSDF P-3C at Hachinohe Air Base Photo @p_studio75 via Twitter |
The P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft needs no introduction. It is named after the great hunter Orion in Greek mythology. Designed by the Lockheed Corporation and first introduced into service with the United States Navy at the height of the Cold War in Aug 1962, it had since been adopted by numerous countries worldwide. Many are still in active service after almost six decades.
Operators of the P-3 included Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Canada, Brazil, Pakistan, and many others, even Iran. Among them Japan has the biggest fleet of the P-3C after the USA, numbering 110 aircrafts in total.
These P-3Cs were acquired to replace the earlier generation P-2J Neptune. Except the first three which were built by Lockheed and procured under the foreign military sales program, the rest totalling 107 airframes were produced by Kawasaki Heavy Industries under licence. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ( JMSDF ) received its first P-3C on 29 Apr 1981. Most of the aircrafts were configured for maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare but a small number were converted to OP-3C optical reconnaissance aircraft. A handful were purpose-built as UP-3C equipment testing aircraft, UP-3D electronic warfare trainer and EP-3 ELINT/SIGINT aircraft.
After decades of continuous service with the JMSDF, the P-3C is facing obsolescence and is being gradually replaced by the Kawasaki P-1. Many have already been scrapped or mothballed over the years and the P-3C numbers are dwindling. The total number of P-3C still in active service is said to be only 44 airframes by Mar 2021.
One of the latest airframe to be dismembered is P-3C serial number 5067 assigned to Fleet Air Wing 2 ( 第二航空群 ) at Hachinohe Air Base ( 八戸基地 ). It was a less advanced version with the Update II.5 configuration. Most of the JMSDF's active P-3 fleet has the Update III or III+ configuration. This aircraft was delivered to the JMSDF on 6th Nov 1990.
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| Dismantling P-3C s/n 5067. Video Capture : Fleet Air Wing 2 JMSDF |
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| Cut up fuselage of P-3C. Video Capture : Fleet Air Wing 2 JMSDF. |
The time-lapse video below was originally posted by Fleet Air Wing 2 on 21 Dec 2021 but the event must have taken place much earlier in the year in late summer or early autumn from the appearance of the foliage and the worksite in general.
It showed how a P-3C was completely cut up and scrapped, all within a matter of hours, well maybe half a day, gauging from the length of the shadows. Of course all the useful or sensitive parts like the radar and the turboprop engines would have already been removed, and likely the aircraft had also been drained of hydraulic fluid and other toxic chemicals that could potentially contaminate the environment. I am not certain if asbestos had been used as an insulating material in the construction of the P-3C as Japan only completely banned asbestos used in 2004 and this aircraft was constructed in 1990. Those yellow stuff from the fuselage looked suspicious. Fortunately, the workers were all seen wearing what looked like N95 respirator masks. Asbestos can cause mesothelioma, an aggressive malignancy that affects the lungs, and asbestosis, a progressive chronic lung disease, frequently only years or decades after initial exposure.
The P-3C Orion's days might be numbered in the JMSDF but rather than simply destroying them Japan might want to consider donating them to South East Asian nations that are in need of maritime patrol aircrafts like Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia. That fact that it had not been done so far could be the fear of retribution from China who has many territorial disputes with these countries. Hopefully some may be preserved, perhaps at the Kanoya Air Base Museum which have yet to receive a P-3 of any variant. One of each, P-3C, OP-3C, UP-3C, UP-3D and EP-3 would be great!
