Tourist,
You asked in post 103...As an aside, does anybody happen to know if any of the various Navys that do have MPAs rotate their sensor operators through airborne, surface and submarine roles?
I can see it might get expensive giving flying pay and submarine pay....
Many years ago I was speaking to a Dutch P-3 aviator who said that one of the acoustic operators on his crew had been in the sound room of a towed array Frigate in his previous tour - so it appears that the Dutch used to do it.
Reference flying pay and submarine pay, I can certainly see the advantages of having someone with submarine experience as part of the crew of any ASW platform. Poacher turned gamekeeper.....
By the way, isn't it frustrating when you ask a question and nobody answers it!!