High Gallery
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Military Aircraft Lockheed CP-140 AURORA Photo By Coll B. Thouanel |
| Requiring a replacement for its piston engine Canadair CP-107 Argus maritime reconnaissance aircraft, in the early 1970s the Canadian Armed Forces started the process of finding a turboprop powered successor. In 1976 the CAF announced an order for 18 CP-140 Aurora aircraft based on the airframe and power plant of the Lockheed P-3 Orion combined with the avionics and data processing equipment of the same company's S-3A Viking carrier borne anti submarine aircraft. The first example of the Aurora flew in March 1979, and completion of the production order allowed the CP-140 to be allocated to four squadrons, namely Nos 404 and 405 at Greenwood in Nova Scotia on Canada's east coast, and Nos 407 and 415 at Comox in British Columbia on the west coast. To free these aircraft for the full time maritime reconnaissance role. |
TECHNICAL DATA
| Description | Specifications |
| Manufacturer: Lockheed | Length: 116 ft. 10 in. |
| First Flight: March 1979 | Height: 33 ft. 8.5 in. |
| Model: | Wing Span: 99 ft 8 in. |
| Crew: Eleven | Wing Area: 1,300.0 sq. ft. |
| Nickname: Aurora | Empty Weight: 61,491 lb. |
| Basic Role: Maritime reconnaissance and anti submarine aircraft. | Max. Weight: 135,000 lb. |
| Other
Versions: CP-140 Aurora maritime reconnaissance
and anti submarine model.
Cp-140A Arcturus Arctic patrol and SAR model. |
Armament: Up to 20,000 lb of disposable stores. |
| Principal User: Canada. |
Propulsion |
|
Performance |
Power Plant: Allison T56-A-14 turboprops. |
| Range: Radius 1,150 miles for an 8 hour patrol. | Horsepower: 4,910-ehp. |
| Max. Speed: 432 mph at optimum altitude. | No. Of Engines: Four |
| Ceiling: 28,250 ft. | |
| Climb Rate: 2,890 ft. per minute. |