Airforces

12 // JANUARY 2018 #358 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS Continental Europe

Spanish

‘Orion

Alpha’

retired

Above: P.3A-01 ‘22-21’ makes a last fl ypast during its fi nal fl ight from Morón to Cuatro Vientos as callsign ‘CISNE 31’. It will eventually be preserved at the

Museo del Aire at Cuatro Vientos. José Ramón Valero

THE EJÉRCITO del Aire

(Spanish Air Force)

concluded operations

with its sole P-3A Orion

on November 14, 2017,

when the final example,

P.3A-01 ‘22-21’, took off

for the last time from its

home base at Morón, near

Seville. The Orion landed

at Cuatro Vientos, Madrid

after retirement from

active duty. The aircraft

was built by Lockheed in

1965 and entered service

with the US Navy’s Patrol

Squadron (VP) 8 as

152153. After serving for
        eight years in different US
        Navy units the aircraft was
        acquired by the Spanish
        Air Force, with which
        it served for another
        44 years on maritime

surveillance missions

and later as a crew

trainer. After touching

down at Cuatro Vientos,

P.3A-01 was towed to the

nearby Maestranza Aérea

de Madrid (MAESMA),

Madrid’s rework centre,

to be kept in the depot

until being moved by road

to the Museo del Aire.

After the withdrawal

of the last P-3A ‘Orion

Alpha’, Grupo 22 at Morón

will operate just three

P-3Ms. Roberto Yáñez

New look

for Austrian

Hercules

ÖSTERREICHISCHE

LUFTSTREITKRÄFTE

(Austrian Air Force) C-130K

8T-CA arrived back at its

home base of Linz-Hörsching

after a major modernisation

programme conducted

by Marshall Group of

Cambridge in the UK. The

airlifter returned to Austria

approximately two months

late, on November 17, 2017

and is the first Austrian Air

Force Hercules to receive

this new grey paint scheme.

The remaining two Austrian

Hercules will also undergo

the upgrade programme.

Wolfgang Jarisch

Polish

Air Force

737-

delivered

A NEW VIP transport

Boeing 737-800 has been

delivered to the Polish Air

Force at 1. Baza Lotnictwa

Transportowego (1. BLTr,

1st Air Transport Base),

Warsaw-Okecie Airport.

The aircraft, 737-86X

0110 (c/n 61358/6370,

ex N893BA) arrived on

November 15 and was

officially named Marshal

Józef Piłsudski during a

welcoming ceremony.

It had originally been built

for Chinese airline 9 Air and

made its maiden flight on

April 13, 2017. Although

painted in full 9 Air colours,

the initial sale fell through and

it was instead purchased by

the Polish government. It

was ferried on October 23-

from Boeing Field, Seattle,

Washington, via Baltimore,

Maryland, to Dinard,

France, to be repainted in

Polish Air Force colours.

It is the first of three

737s that will enter Polish

service. The remaining two

will be Boeing Business

Jet 2 variants, which

are due for delivery in

2018. Dave Allport

Above: The Polish Air Force’s new Boeing 737-800, 0110, at 1. BLTr Warsaw-Okecie following delivery. Dowództwa Generalnego

Rodzajów Sił Zbrojnych

Wolfgang Jarisch