VP28 - BARBERS POINT, HAWAII, CIRCA 1956. CF7
The P2V-5 was the most numerous Neptune variant produced and would serve as the basis for the largest
number of sub-type modifications developed of any of the Neptune series.
First flown on 29 December 1950, twenty-three Model 426-42-06s (124865/124887) were built. The new
P2V-5 replaced the six cannon solid nose cone of the P2V-4 with an Emerson Aero 9B turret armed with a
pair of 20mm cannon. The 20mm tail turret as well as the .50 caliber machine gun armed dorsal turret
remained unchanged from the P2V-4. The P2V-5 was capable of carrying an 8,0001b load of mines,
torpedoes, bombs or depth charges and sixteen rockets on under-wing launch stubs, later reduced to 8 with
the addition of the J-34s. An APS-20 radar was mounted in the underbelly position just behind the nose
wheel doors. The wing tip fuel tanks were enlarged and were moved from an under wing tip position on the
P2V-4, to the outside center of the wing tips and could carry an additional 350 gallons of fuel in each tank.
In an emergency, the new tip tanks could be jettisoned. In addition, the forward portion of the starboard
wingtip tank housed a powerful searchlight with a moveable reflector and arc element that was linked by
servomotors to the nose turret guns. The port wingtip tank had APS-8 search radar mounted in its forward
portion. The increase in ASW/ECM equipment increased the aircrew to nine men. The Wright Cyclone R3350-30W engines remained unchanged from the P2V-4. The weight of the additional equipment without
an increase in power caused the top speed to drop to 341 mph. However, the added fuel capacity increased
the P2V-5's range to 4,750 miles.
They were followed by 147 Model 426-42-11s for the US Navy, the RAF and the RAAF, in which
accommodation was provided for an ECM operator, to increase crew size from eight to nine. 98 model 42642-13s were built for the US Navy (127781/127782 and 128327/128422), and were fitted during production
with a 17-ft (5'18-m) tail 'stinger' extension housing a MAD (magnetic anomaly detection) system. 80
Model 426-42-15s (131400/131479) had the MAD 'stinger' extension, an observation nose, and the
defensive armament reduced to two 0-50-in guns in the dorsal turret. The Marineluchtvaartdienst (MLD,
Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service) received twelve Model 426-42-16s which were similar to the 42642-13s (with MAD 'stinger', nose and dorsal turrets) but had revised crew accommodation. Finally sixtyfour Model 426-45-15s (131480/131543) which differed from the 426-42-15s in being powered by 3,500
hp R-3350-32W Turbo-Compounds were delivered to the US Navy the last of which was delivered in
September 1954.