p2vneptune

A photo of Eugene T. "Smokey" Rhoads (1891-1975), furthest left in the frame, in front of a Lockheed P2V Neptune. Rhoads, among the first handful of enlisted Naval Aviators, was a part of the crew of the Curtiss NC-4 "Nancy Boat", which successfully crossed the Atlantic in 1919. He'd later go on to be the Chief Inspector of Naval Aircraft at Lockheed. An error which has persisted for decades is the misspelling of his last name ("Rhodes," instead of the proper Rhoads), and the use of the wrong middle initial ("S" instead of "T" for Rhoads middle name, Taylor.) See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_NC-4 As for the aircraft, that is US Navy Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune, BuNo 135561 (c/n 726-7018). As per Joe Baugher's site: "Accepted at Burbank 17 Dec 54. Lockheed Burbank Dec 54 to Mar 55; NARF Jacksonville Mar 55; FASRON-109 Jacksonville Mar 55 to Apr 55; VP-18 Jacksonville Apr 55 to Mar 57; NARF Jacksonville Mar 57 to Sep 57; NARF Norfolk Sep 57 to Dec 57; NARF Alameda Dec 57 to Jun 58; VP-2 Whidbey Island Jun 56 to Aug 60; NARF Alameda Aug 60 to Dec 60; Lockheed Burbank Dec 60 to May 61 (P2V-7S conversion); VP-56 Norfolk May 61 to Feb 62: VP-23 Brunswick Feb 62 to Apr 63; VP-24 Norfolk Apr 63 to Aug 63; VP-30 Jacksonville Aug 63 to Oct 63; NAS Brunswick Oct 63 to Jul 67; NARF Norfolk Jul 67 to Jan 68; NARTU NAS South Weymouth Jan 68 to Jan 70 [code 7Z-211]; To storage at MASDC Davis-Monthan AFB 13 Jan 70; SOC 29 Jun 76."

P2V-7S, BuNo 147954. Assigned VP-17 Whidbey Island 1960-1962. To VP-31 North Island 1962-1969. To NAS New Orleans 1969-1970. To VP-94 New Orleans 1970-1971. To VP-68 Washington 1971. To VP-67 Memphis 1971. To VP-92 South Weymouth 1971. To VP-94 New Orleans 1971-1975. To MASDC 1975. SOC 1978. On display at Museum of Aviation, Warner Robins AFB, GA.

This must be a pre-delivery shot of a British MR.1 Looks very much like the Lockheed c/n 5151 on the nose and the USAF procurement serial 51-15946 under the wing. Same number on the rear fuselage? Stig

Stig Jarlevik Yes....it looks to be!