Mystery War Plane in Pieces on Road in Sevierville, Tennessee

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This hidden roadside attraction was never meant to be.

1st, I'd like to start by saying, I am surely no expert on airplanes! I am not even an airplane or military buff, BUT even I am very intrigued by the sight of this huge plane, sitting on the roadside. My son, who is in aviation, immediately identified it as a P-3, and he was correct!

And through my research, I found some more interesting info about this plane, and why it is sitting in pieces on a backroad in Sevierville, Tennessee, just outside Pigeon Forge.

*Feel free to email me if you know of any additional info on this topic that may be of interest to readers!

The parking lot at Dunn's Market & Grill, at 2650 Upper Middle Creek Road in Sevierville is the temporary home to this airplane, which was originally transported into Sevier County to be transformed into a unique Airbnb.

Now, I am a huge fan of original, unique and unusual vacation rentals in our area. Here is a link to my page about them:

See Unique & Unusual Vacation Rentals in Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge

So this makes perfect sense to me. But unfortunately for the owner, this could not be accomplished due to the curvy, hilly, winding mountain roads we have here.

Apparently, it was impossible for this plane to make it to its destination, due to the terrain.

My photo of an abandoned military Navy plane in Sevierville, Tennessee

My photo of pieces of an abandoned P3 Orion Aircraft Navy Plane on a roadside on the outskirts of Sevierville and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

My picture I took of the pieces of an abandoned P3 Orion Aircraft Navy Plane on a roadside on the outskirts of Sevierville and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee — The P-3 Orion sits patiently waiting on the roadside just outside Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

See my YouTube Short video showcasing this distinctive aircraft

P3 Orion Navy Aircraft in flight — An Orion in flight

A P-3 Orion in flight over the ocean dropping smoke locators — Lockheed P-3 Orion Plane in flight over the ocean dropping smoky bombs to mark locations

This is a plane the Navy used to locate submarines underwater and do surveillance. It is known as a fierce submarine hunter.

According to the information I found, this particular aircraft on the roadside, is thought to have been manufactured in 1979. It was used by the Navy until 2007. It was then sold to NASA and used for spare parts until it was sold in Virginia, before making it's journey to Sevierville. It has been in place since around 2022 and as of my writing, it still remains in this spot as of August of 2024.