The Midway midair involved a P-3B (153426) from VP-4 and a Coast Guard C-130 on a night SAR looking for a Danish freighter. The two aircraft were both at the same altitude in the same area and collided nearly head on. Fortunately, the 130 pulled up and the P-3 broke down and right limiting the damage. The P-3 lost eight feet of its port wing including the entire aileron. Basically everything outside of the #1 propeller arc. They made it back to Midway for a “semi” routine landing. Lockheed sent a bunch of mechanics out to take the aircraft apart to put it on a barge and tow it back to Hawaii for repair or salvage when the Patrol Plane Commander asked why they couldn’t just cap the wing, install a short aileron, and fly it to NAS Alameda, CA. He said that apart from having to hold the yoke hard to the right, it flew just fine! They ended up doing just that. It got a new wing and was returned to service for many years.
This P-3 had a tough life. In 1967 it was damaged when its landing gear broke through the ramp at NAS Sangley Point, Philippines. It also suffered a fire in the hydraulic load center in 1975! One rugged airplane.
