A former Spanish pilot tells two curious anecdotes about the excellent P-3 Orion

A maritime patrol aircraft that was in service in Spain for 49 years

A former Spanish pilot tells two curious anecdotes about the excellent P-3 Orion

@DefAviation Esp 3·24·2025 · 21:59 0

On December 16, 2022, the Spanish Air Force conducted its final flight with the P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

The interior of the P-3 Orion 'Cisne 31', a Spanish plane that tracked Soviet submarines
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Spain operated 12 P-3 Orions. The first three, of the P-3A variant, arrived in Spain on July 25, 1973, to replace the Grumman HU-16 Albatross of the 221st Squadron at the now-defunct La Parra Air Base, Jerez. One of these aircraft, the P.3-2, was lost in an accident on July 8, 1977, in which all six crew members died. In 1978, Spain leased four P-3Bs from the US Navy. The first three were returned between 1991 and 1992, while the fourth, the P.3-7, is at Cuatro Vientos Air Base, without engines.

The end of the final flight of "Cisne 31" with its landing at Cuatro Vientos Air Base on November 14, 2017 (Photo: Ejército del Aire).

In 1988, Spain purchased five P-3Bs from the Norwegian Air Force (P.3-08, P.3-09, P.3-10, P.3-11, and P.3-12). Three of them were modernized into P-3M versions (P.3-08, P.3-09, and P.3-12, being re-registered as P.3M-08, P.3M-09, and P.3M-12). Currently, after its retirement from service, the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum preserves one of the first three P-3As, P.3A-01 (originally P.3-01), with radio callsign "Cisne 31" and popularly known as the "Grandfather" by the crew of Group 22 of Wing 11, the unit that operated these aircraft.

The P-3A Orion P.3A-01 (22-21) flying over Torrejón Air Base during the Spanish Air Force's 75th anniversary airshow, on October 15, 2014 (Photo: Elentir).

Before serving in Spain, the P.3A-01 flew with the US Navy's VP-8 Tigers squadron from 1965 to 1973. Once in the Spanish Air Force, this aircraft carried out various missions, including tracking Soviet submarines sailing near Spanish waters. It made its last flight on November 14, 2017. This Monday, the Friends of the Air Museum Association published a video in which Colonel (R) Miguel Ángel de las Heras, former P-3 Orion pilot, explains what operations were like with this excellent aircraft, which won the affection of its crew. He also tells two curious anecdotes that happened to him while flying it. The second one will be very popular with mystery lovers (the video is in Spanish, you can activate automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):