abandoned airplanes at Curacao

Have you ever thought of where your or your dad's first car may be now ? And who may be driving it ?

Can you remember the smell of the interior, the sound of the engine ?
Can you remember the feelings of pride when the united family was admiring the new shiny vehicle ?
Or was it a second hand car with layers of paint over the corroded parts ?

I know for sure that my secondhand opel is now driving around in Africa. Probably with a cracked windshield and iron wire to hold the bumper, and almost certainly with the sticker "Baby on board " still on the trunk lid.

For those of you who really want to know : The Lockheed P-2H Neptune is a land based maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft. It was designed during WWII and is powered by two piston engines and two jet pods to assist in take-off and for extra power when required to reach submarine contacts. Its first flight was on 15 May 1945 and squadron delivery was in March 1947. More than 1100 were built.

Hover over the photos to see the exact same aircraft in better times ...