This collectable model represents the P-3C Orion,the Navy"s standard maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Painstakingly built from Philippine mahogany by skilled craftsmen using a wealth of detail, this 1/85-scale model P-3C Orion makes a great gift for any pilot, naval aviator, aviation enthusiast or history buff. In February 1959, the United States Navy awarded Lockheed a contract to develop a replacement for the aging P2V Neptune. The P-3 Orion, initially designated P3V, was based on Lockheed"s successful L-188 Electra airliner and had its maiden flight on November 1959. Service deliveries of the P-3 began in in 1962, and the aircraft is still in front-line use. Over the years, more than 40 combatant and noncombatant variants of the P-3 have been developed due to its proven reliability. The P-3 is 116 feet long, with a wingspan of 99 feet. With a range of almost 5,000 miles, it is capable of very long patrols, and can carry a variety of weapons. The P-3 has an internal bomb bay under the front fuselage which can house conventional Mark 50 torpedoes or Mark 46 torpedoes or nuclear weapons. Additional underwing stations, or pylons, can carry other armament configurations including the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-84E SLAM, AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER, the AGM-65 Maverick, 5-inch Zuni rockets, and various other sea mines, missiles, and gravity bombs. Since its production in July 1962, it has had three major models: the P-3A, the P-3B and the P-3C. Paint schemes have changed from overall postwar blue, to white and gray in the 1960s and low-vis gray in the 1980s. The last P-3 Orion aircraft rolled off the production line at the Lockheed plant in April 1990.