The third P2V-1, named the TRUCULENT TURTLE, was stripped down, fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks plus an extended nose, and set an unrefueled long distance flight record in September 1947. The TURTLE flew from Perth, Australia, to Columbus, Ohio, with a crew of four Navy officers and a young kangaroo, covering 18,089.3 kilometers (11,235.6 miles) in 55 hours 17 minutes. This record stood until 1962, when an Air Force B-52H flew non-stop from Okinawa to Madrid, Spain, a distance of 20,177 kilometers (12,532.3 miles). The TURTLE is now on display at the US Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, Florida.
The Neptune handled well on takeoff and landing, could climb rapidly for an aircraft of its configuration, and had good single-engine performance. It had a top speed of 485 KPH (300 MPH) and a range of 6,650 kilometers (4,130 miles). The interior was comfortable by the standards of military aircraft of the time, reducing crew fatigue on long ocean patrols. The flight surfaces of the aircraft were fitted with alcohol de-icers, and the wings could provide flotation for a time if the aircraft were ditched at sea.
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Boy, I get tired of people saying the airplane was named "The Truculent Turtle." Read the nose, morons. It was "The Turtle." Some Navy PIO decided that wasn't enough, and besides, he wanted to show off his erudition, so his press releases called it "Truculent."
ReplyDeleteWhen you look at the aircraft that were ready to be put into service just as the WW2 ended you realize there was no way that the Allies could have lost the war. Not just the jets, but the conventional aircraft such as the P2V-1, F8F Bearcat, F-82, B-36, etc. were in a completely different league than the axis powers- even when compared to the handful of wonder weapons that caused us some grief.
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