Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War

Page 221

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P-3 Orion–Provisional Free Government of Kuwait

P-3 Orion

Military aviation authorities John W. R. Taylor and Gordon Swanborough describe the P-3 Orion in their Military Aircraft of the World as “a shore-based anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft.” The P-3 saw some action during the Persian Gulf War, flying 4 missions for the U.S. Air Force (as the variant EP-3, which are “special reconnaisance aircraft with radomes above and below the fuselage”), and 23 for the U.S. Navy.

Built by Lockheed, the P-3 is powered by four Allison T56-A-14 turboprop engines delivering 4,910 shaft horsepower (shp). At 99 feet 8 inches (30.37 m) in length, the P-3 weighs 61,491 pounds (27,890 kg) empty; its ability to carry assorted antisubmarine equipment and weaponry allows its maximum weight to boost to 142,000 pounds (64,410 kg). The P-3 has a maximum speed of 473 mph (761 km/h) and an unrefueled range of 1,550 miles (2,494 km).

In an article on the P-3’s work during the Persian Gulf War, it was said of the craft, “As a true multimission aircraft, the P-3 is constantly in high demand to perform a host of missions, including search and rescue, reconnaissance, communications relay, and intelligence gathering. . . . As in the maritime patrols of Vietnam, surveillance flights in support of Desert Shield, also known as maritime interdiction force operations, and in the North Arabian Gulf in support of Desert Storm, were the primary missions of the P-3s. The distinct advantage brought to maritime interdiction and the North Arabian Gulf by maritime patrol was the highly accurate standoff surveillance capability of the inverse synthetic aperture radar, complemented by its standoff weapons capability (Harpoon). Although the weapons were not employed by P-3s, the ability to identify surface contacts at an extended range and to provide accurate targeting to strike aircraft proved to be major contributing factors to the attrition of the Iraqi inventory of naval combatants and supporting units.”

References:

Brooks, Richard, Skip Hiser, and T. K. Hohl, “If It Was There, P-3s Found It,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 118:8 (August 1991), 41;

Taylor, John W. R., and Gordon Swanborough, Military Aircraft of the World (New York: Scribner’s, 1979), 72.

Pakistan

See Coalition Nations, Contributions of.

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

See Arafat, Yasir; Palestinian Militia.

Palestinian Militia

The Iraqi occupation army in Kuwait assembled about a thousand Palestinians to act as a garrison to fight Kuwaiti resistance. Authors James F. Dunnigan and Austin Bay describe the small force as “somewhere between an armed mob and a rabble in effectiveness.” The militia did not play a role in the eventual fight for the liberation of Kuwait.

References:

Dunnigan, James F., and Austin Bay, From Shield to Storm: High-Tech Weapons, Military Strategy, and Coalition Warfare in the Persian Gulf (New York: Morrow, 1992), 78.

Pan-Arabism or Pan-Arabist Thought

One of the fundamental principles of the constitution of the Arab Ba’ath party is that “the Arabs form one nation. This nation has the natural right to live in a single state and to be free to direct its own destiny.” This belief comprises what

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