The Airplane Thread

[Llarry]

Tomcat Thursday!

Two squadrons of F-14D Tomcats on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). The only other aircraft on deck are four MH-60 helicopters, folded and parked by the carrier's island.

[Llarry]

The Grumman S-2 Tracker or "Stoof" was a long-serving U.S. Navy carrier-based antisubmarine aircraft that was one of the last operational piston engine-powered aircraft produced for the Navy. It also saw widespread use in other countries as both carrier- and land-based ASW and maritime patrol aircraft.

In the 1960s, the Navy decided that a modern replacement aircraft was needed for the S-2. Various options -- and various engines -- were considered and Lockheed, not normally a supplier of carrier aircraft but very experienced in land-based patrol & ASW airplanes such as the P-2 Neptune and the P-3 Orion, was selected to develop what became the S-3 Viking.

The prototype S-3 first flew in early 1972. It was powered by a new small turbofan engine, the General Electric TF34 (which also powered the A-10 Warthog). The test program went fairly smoothly and the first fleet S-3As were delivered in 1973, with the first full squadron deployment in 1976.

The S-3A was greatly improved over the S-2, with jet performance that far exceeded the older airplane's. Although initial plans were for embarkation on ASW carriers (older World War II-era ships that had been updated with angled decks, etc.) the Vietnam War had worn those ships out and they were retired about the time the S-3A entered service. The revised plan was to embark a small air ASW S-3 squadron on each attack carrier.

The Navy took delivery of 187 S-3As, and starting in 1987 updated the force with newer systems as the S-3B. In the fleet the S-3 acquired the nickname "Hoover" due to the distinctive sound of its TF34 engines.

With the end of the Cold War, the need for carrier-based ASW aircraft was considered less important. In 1999, the serving S-3Bs began to have their ASW systems removed, and the aircraft became an important asset in the aerial refueling role while retaining some weapons capability in low-threat environments. In 2004-2008 the refueling mission was assumed by F-18E/F Super Hornets and the S-3 was retired.

There was some sentiment afterwards for the return of S-3s from the boneyard to carrier decks, but that never happened and the carrier-based ASW mission is filled by MH-60R helicopters, which of course have far less range than the S-3.

Post-script: Six early S-3A airframes were converted to carrier-capable COD (transport) airplanes and flown by VRC-50 "Foo Dogs" for a number of years. They could carry a cargo pod on the wing station. See last photo (cargo pod not depicted.)