Lockheed P-3 Orion —

such a superbly fitted airframe for the task assigned it: long range, long loiter time, reliability, plenty of munitions on board to complete a mission, crew devotion bordering on worship, and just a tiny bit of noise and vibration. The 737 varriant replacing this icon does not , in my humble opinion, provide enough improvement , but did keep Boeing busy for a while.

I have spent quite a bit of time trying to see it airborne - european air forces and navies have a few, but they rarely fly. I've actually seen Lockheed Electra flying before I've managed to see an Orion.