Despite its humble appearance and specifications, the S-2 was well-equipped for its role—flying low and slow over wide expanses of ocean, methodically seeking any indication of a Soviet submarine.
The Grumman S-2 Tracker was the first single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to ever enter service with the US Navy. Debuting in 1954, the emergence of the S-2 reflected the changing nature of warfare—specifically the evolution of the Soviet submarine threat—early in the Cold War.
The S-2 was built to replace the Grumman AF Guardian, the first ASW aircraft to enter service with the US Navy, that operated as a two-aircraft “hunter-killer” pairs with the first aircraft equipped with detection equipment to find the submarine, and the second aircraft equipped with the weaponry to destroy the submarine. The S-2 essentially combined the detection and weaponry equipment of the two-aircraft Guardian pairing into one aircraft.
The S-2 Tracker was a practical advancement in US ASW technology. The simple consolidation of two aircraft’s worth of functions into a single airframe set a new standard for ASW operations that persists today, seventy years later. Indeed, the S-2 was the first to combine all of the essential ASW tools in one aircraft. For detections equipment, it came equipped with radar, sonobuoys, a rear boom-mounted magnetic anomaly detectors (MAD), a ventrally-mounted retractable radome for AN/APS-38 radar. Earlier versions of the S-2 also included Electronic Support Measures (ESM) pods and a “sniffer,” capable of detecting the smoke particles from the exhaust of a diesel-electric submarine engine running on snorkel. And for when all the high-tech gadgets failed, the S-2 was also equipped with an old-fashioned searchlight, with the power of 70 million candles.
But detection was only part of the S-2’s directive. It was also equipped to attack and destroy. Accordingly, it featured an internal torpedo bay capable of carrying either two aerial torpedoes or one nuclear depth charge; six underwing hardpoints for rockets and conventional depth charges; or four more torpedoes.
Everything, all of the detection equipment and weaponry, was combined into a very modest package. Conventionally styled with straight, shoulder-mounted wings, a large traditionally configured vertical stabilizer, and two Wright R-1820-82WA radial piston engines, the S-2 didn’t look much different from a puddle hopper that one might take on a regional flight. Indeed, the S-2’s performance wasn’t much better than civilian or commercial prop planes. With a maximum speed of 280 miles per hour, a cruising speed of 150 miles per hour, and a service ceiling of 22,000 feet, the S-2’s performance was drastically less impressive than contemporary Navy aircraft. Yet despite its humble appearance and specifications, the S-2 was well equipped for its role—flying low and slow over wide expanses of ocean, methodically seeking any indication of a Soviet submarine.
The S-2 would not have an especially prestigious service history, being phased out of the US Navy in 1976, to make way for the more advanced, jet-powered Lockheed S-3 Viking. But despite being retired from the US Navy, the S-2 would continue to service in foreign militaries into the 80s and 90s. And even today, a few S-2’s remain in service, albeit to hunt down forest fires rather than Soviet submarines.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
Image: Shutterstock / Duttagupta M K.
