Hawkeye - Jan Van Waarde 2010

8/13/2019 Hawkeye - Jan Van Waarde 2010

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The followi ng article deals with the two earliest models ofthe Hawkeye, the E-2A and E-2B, both of which usually donot get more than a few lines of text in the history books.In order to set the record st raight, I have documented theearly history of the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye.

In the early 1950s, the capabilities of Airborne Early Warning(AEW) systems experienced rapid growth with the advent ofadvanced electronics (for the time). There were significant de-velopments in land-based AEW, resulting in both the Air Forceand Navy using various types of the Lockheed C-121. TheNavy was also focusing on carrier-based AEW aircraft and therapid developments were also reflected in the various types ofaircraft used. Initially, adapted versions of the Grumman TBF

Avenger were used to perform the mission, but in the late 1955the Bureau of Aeronautics issued a Request For Proposals foran advanced carrier-based AEW aircraft. It was realized thatthis was a demanding requirement and the aircraft would not beready until the 1960s, so work on aninterim AEW aircraft started as well.

This interim aircraft was a specialdevelopment of the Grumman S-2Tracker, the E-1B Tracer (also knownas the WF-2 before 1962), which en-tered service in 1958. This aircraft,fondly known as the Willy Fudd (itsdesignation) or Stoof With A Roof,retained the fuselage and wings ofthe proven S-2 Tracker, but gaineda new tail as well as a large fixedradome, containing a sophisticated

AN/APS-82 radar. Although quitesuccessful, obsolescence loomedand it was evident that the aircraftcould be substantially improved.

Also, developments in airborne ra-dars and tactics dictated the use of asomewhat bigger airframe.

On 5 March 1957, the Grumman de-sign was selected as the new AEW

platform, which made Grumman the sole supplier of carrier-based AEW aircraft. The new aircraft was a completely newdesign, the Grumman Model 123, and was to become the E-2Hawkeye, named after a fictional early American scout in localfolklore. Basically, the E-2A was an all-weather carrier-capable

AEW aircraft and was designed to operate from the Essex-classcarriers (like Intrepid and Bon Homme Richard). The constraintscaused by this requirement dictated much of the Hawkeyesfeatures. Limitations included the size of the carriers elevators,hangar overhead space, wind-over-deck requirements, flightdeck geometry, deck strength, catapult capacity and locationof jet blast deflectors. In the end, the Hawkeye rarely flew fromany of these type of carriers. The E-2 was equipped with two4050 SHP T56-A-8 turboprops (the same as used in the P-3and C-130), a large 24-foot rotating radome mounted on thefuselage (containing an AN/APS-96 radar system), a distinctivefour-finned tail assembly, a toilet in the back of the fuselage and

H a w k e y e

The early years: E-2A & E-2BJan van Waarde

One of the most commonly photographed E-2B squadrons is VAW-115. Based at NAF Atsugi, it was the subject of choice for manyaviation photographers in Japan. E-2B 151706/NF-603 is seen here on final approach to Atsugi on 21 December 1978. The markingson the fuselage are: dark green/yellow/dark green, the tail markings consist of the same colours. (Masumi Wada via Paul Minert)

This photograph shows the first prototype of the Hawkeye, 148147, on the platform at NASPautuxent River (MD) in July 1963. The front half of the outer tailfin as well as the wing-tip arepainted in day-glo. Note the code 1 on the front fuselage, as well as the Hawkeye logo. Thisaircraft was later converted to one of the C-2 Greyhound prototypes. (Paul Minert)


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five crewmembers, two of which were pilots and three radar op-erators, these were called Ravens. The fuselage working sta-tions were labeled the Combat Information Center (CIC). TheCIC consisted of three working stations and was supervised bythe CIC Officer who was the mission commander (the pilotswere only responsible for flying the aircraft). The other two work-ing stations were occupied by two Radar Operators. Lt BrianWhiz Whisenant recalls: the seats of the Ravens were tilted 6degrees left cheek down, which caused a temporary conditionknown as Hawkeye Butt after sitting like that for hours. Doingyour job, staring at the screens while listening to the radios and

the CIC officer, was daunting at times. However, I now have theuncanny ability to be able to simultaneously watch TV, listen tothe radio and carry on a meaningful conversation with my wife!Before the advent of the E-2A, E-1B crews evaluated radar tar-gets on their own, tracked them by hand and reported them byvoice, while the E-2A provided automatic tracking, evaluationand reporting. The system was designed was planned to workin an automatic mode with a modern interceptor like the F-4Phantom. The computer system automatically decided whichinterceptor to assign to a target, and provided the pilot of thePhantom with a heading and range. The Hawkeye was a verysophisticated aircraft for its time; the use of small computers tocoordinate all functions within the aircraft was unprecedented.For the crews, the Hawkeye was much more comfortable tooperate than the WF-2 Willy Fudd. Apart from having completecabin pressurization as well as air conditioning, the aircraft alsocame with Doppler and an Inertial Navigation System (INS)which made life much easier for the aircrafts navigators. It wasalso able to lock on a TACAN beacon (TACtical Air Navigation),following which the autopilot would flythe aircraft there. According to a 1966issue of Naval Aviation News, it wascomparable to dialing in an interstateroute number and pressing a buttonon the dashboard of your car while itdrives itself automatically from Wash-ington DC to New York City!

The Hawkeyes prototype (148147)made its first flight on 21 October

1960, flown by Grumman test pilotTom Attrdige. At the time, it was stilldesignated W2F-1, but with the adop-tion of the universal aircraft designa-tion system on 18 September 1962,this was changed to E-2A. At the timeof its first flight, none of the AEW sys-tems had been installed yet; the firstfully-configured prototype (148711)made its first flight on 19 April 1961.

A short while later, on 19 December1962, an E-2A flown by Lt Cdr Lee MRamsey was the first Hawkeye to belaunched from a carrier, in this casethe USS Enterprise, which was the

Navys newest carrier at the time. TheHawkeye was the first aircraft withnose-tow gear ever to be launchedby a catapult, followed minutes laterby the first A-6A. The new A-6A wasalso being tested on a carrier for thefirst time. A novel feature of the Hawk-eye was the first use of this nose-towgear, which all naval aircraft use now-adays. Before that time, aircraft werelaunched using a bridle, which couldbe a dangerous and time-consumingpractice; five or six men were need-ed to fix a cable, while a single mancould handle an aircraft with the new

nose gear, which in turn led to quick-er launching schedules. As an aside,the Hawkeye was the first turbo-propaircraft to be launched by means ofa catapult, and, at the time, was the

aircraft with the largest wingspan to be flown off a carrier (untilthey tested a C-130 on Forrestal in 1963).

During 1961, flight tests were conducted with a radome-lessHawkeye; it was believed that should a Hawkeye ever require anew radome, it could be ferried to a depot (without a radome) tohave one fitted. In the end, this feature was never used. The ra-dome itself actually provided enough lift in flight to offset its ownweight and could be retracted by two feet to facilitate stowagebelow decks on board a carrier. Another unusual feature of theHawkeye, and one enabled by the aircrafts four tailfins, was the

ability to turn using rudders only, which was used to keep theradar dish level while flying orbits. In the early 1960s, the priceof an E-2A was around $10 million, of which $7 million was forthe electronic equipment! Due to the high price of the Hawk-eye, it was also dubbed the Ten million dollar gold CadillacThe aircraft was fitted with the Airborne Tactical Data System(ATDS) consisting of, as quoted in a contemporary issue of Na-val Aviation News, an auto-detect radar, airborne computers,a memory and a high-speed data link system. Remember, thisis from an era right after the invention of the transistor! The

ATDS relayed its information through high-speed data links toa Naval Tactical Data System on the ground. Data collected bythe NTDS allowed higher officers to make strategic decisions.The AEW mission was diverse (see later for a short list) and theHawkeye was designed to operate between 25,000 to 30,000ft,

giving it a radar range of over 200 nautical miles; it enabled it todetect aircraft operating up to 100,000ft. However, the E-2Asradar had a poor performance record detecting aircraft flyingover land; being a carrier aircraft, most of its operational mis-sions were flown over water. Over the next 45 years, the Hawk-

Top: E-2A 148711 of the NATC on a carrier during the types carrier suitability trials. Theaircraft;s wing tips and most of the tail surfaces have been painted day-glo orange. (RonMcNeil via Paul Minert). Bottom: E-2B 151702/TT-25 of RVAW-110 at NAS Moffett Field (CA)in July 1975. The structure in the background is the wall of Moffetts giant airship hangar. Onthe fuselage, a stylized Firebird (the squadrons nickname) has been painted, in red, whiteand blue. The fin colour is blue as well. (Paul Minert)


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eye mission evolved, although the basics remain the same.

The revolutionary design of the Hawkeye also attracted con-siderable interest from the USAF. In the summer of 1965, a15-man team tested and evaluated one of the Hawkeyes at theTactical Air Warfare Center at Eglin AFB (FL). It was envisagedthat the aircraft would be used in a forward-operating combatenvironment until a land-based command and control centerwould become operational. However, the type was never usedby the USAF who relied on larger C-130 and C-121 variantsto perform the mission. Other countries were interested in the

Hawkeye as well, and one aircraft was displayed at the 1965and 1967 Paris Air Salons. It would be another decade before

the type would be sold abroad.

The first E-2A entered service in January 1964. The first squad-ron to use the Hawkeye was VAW-11, who became operation-al on the type in 1965. At the time, there were just two largecarrier-based AEW-squadrons, VAW-11 and VAW-12, whichprovided detachments on board all the carriers of the US Navy.VAW-11 also made the first Hawkeye carrier deployment, onthe USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63). In 1967, however, the two largersquadrons were split up into several smaller squadrons, thesecontinue to exist. See below for details about these units.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Hawkeyes main operat-ing areas were patrol duties with the Navys Sixth Fleet in the

Chuck Berthe, a pilot assigned to VAW-123 in the late 1960s, remembers a remarkable episode from his time with the Hawkeye,he managed to put a Hawkeye into a roll during an air display:

During the 1968 cruise on board the USS Forrestal, aircraft from the ship were due to perform a show for members of the NATOStaff College at Naples, Italy. During the briefing, details of the various elements were discussed. These included an F-4 low Machpass, a number of F-4s shooting heat seekers at flares dropped by helos, and the final event (we the E-2 guys - werent con-sidered to be an event) was to be a nose to tail refueling of an F-4 hooked to an A-4 with a buddy store, hooked to the A-3 Whale.Then we were to fly-by at 1000 ft at 140 kts with the dome turning. The CAG said: Chuck, it reminds me of the time we had ablimp in the air show, we just couldnt decide what to do with the damn thing. That pretty much settled it. Our display aircraft, ourhangar queen, had just received a new vertical fin and it had to be tested for flutter. I decided to test the installation by diving toincrease speed and doing some sharp, but small rudder inputs as the speed increased to see if there was any tendency to flutter(things can get awfully boring on a long Med deployment). I had started a dive from about 20,000ft and it seemed a shame to wasteall that hard-earned airspeed, so I pulled the nose up and did a slow, easy aileron roll. I might have reached just under 2G in thepull up, but the roll was essentially 1G. My co-pilot, Al Henderson, softly said Oh my God! The chief came forward and in a moremature voice said What the hell was that supposed to be? We discussed the situation and I asked if they thought it would be agood idea to do it in our fly-by. They allowed it was probably not a good idea, but we should do it anyway.In those days, an E-2A wasnt held in high regard. I told the CAG we would come down the chute with the big guys and they some-what reluctantly allowed us to participate. So, we came in behind the daisy chain fueling team (It seems that none of them hadachieved a successful hook up, and to make matters worse the F-4 Sidewinders hadnt hit the flares either) and, pushing over from5,000ft, we passed by the port side at about flight deck level and did an easy pull up, followed by a gentle aileron roll, climbing allthe time, and rolled out at about 1,000ft. No big deal really. As we prepared to land I began to consider some of the consequencesfrom this action. When we landed, the ultimate insult was being met by the Maintenance Officer, who said he was going to have toground the airplane. I asked him What the hell for? He said For overstress. I said Since when is 1 to 2 G overstress? He justglared at me as I slunk away, heading towards the catwalk, to go to my room. I really didnt have the balls to go to the ready roomat that point (at that time I fully expected to be hung by the yardarm or whatever). As I got to the catwalk, a young Lt fighter pilotfrom one of the fighter squadrons ran up to me, I swear he had tears in his eyes, and said: Chuck, that was the damnedest thing

I ever saw, and he presented me with his squadron patch. After about 20 minutes, I decided to face the music and went aft tothe ready room. All hell had broken loose, squadron morale was higher than Id ever seen it, and my crew was not in trouble (theyprobably had blamed it all on me), and for some reason, neither was I. From that time on, VAW-123 was held in much higher regardby the Air Group, not because my guys were damn good, and they were, but because I had done a stupid thing out of frustration.Was it a smart thing to do? Certainly not. Was it worth it? As it turned out, yes. Those were good times. Unfortunately, at the timewe probably didnt realize how good they were. We were too young.

This photograph shows the wing-folding mechanism to good effect. One disadvantage of this system is the fact that a folded wingblocks out most of the squadron markings. This E-2B, 152483/AG-722 of VAW-122, only has a dark blue rudder and wing-tips asdistinguishing features. The photograph was taken at NAF Naples, Italy, in August 1973. (Carlo Tripodi via Angelo Romano)


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Mediterranean, and combat operations while operating fromthe carriers off the coast of Vietnam. Although designed as anairborne early warning command and control center, the air-craft performed a variety of tasks in Vietnam, quickly makingthe aircraft indispensable for carrier operations. The aircraftsmissions included:Cyclic Operations used for air and surface detection overwater. The aircraft was stationed in a random barrier track de-termined by the carriers position and UHF communicationsrange, the altitude was between 10,000 and 20,000 ft. The E-2provided radar coverage and communications with aircraft and

surface units, monitoring radio frequencies.Alpha Strike Two E-2s were launched as the first aircraft foran Alpha Strike to provide radar detection over land. The mainE-2 flew at high altitude and acted as the controller. Due topoor radar detection capabilities over land, the back-up aircraftflew at low altitude about 15-30 miles off the coast, enablingthe Hawkeye to detect aircraft at a range of 100 miles. If anybogeys were detected, they were handed over to the high E-2which vectored the fighters towards it. Often, control of an actualintercept was carried out by USAF AEW forces (Red Crown).Strike Control the Hawkeyes secondary mission. Due to itsability to precisely place an aircraft, strike aircraft often usednavigational vectors provided by the E-2. This was especiallyuseful during bad weather or at night.Middleman The E-2 often acted as middleman during airstrikes, relaying info from the strike forces back to the carrier.Often, it proved to be impractical to monitor all frequencies dur-ing a strike, so any signals were relayed back to the carrier,where a large staff was better able to decide implications ofactions taken.Nighthawk- a joint Army-Navy effort, in which an 131st AvCoOV-1B Mohawk, equipped with SLAR radar, flew along the Vi-etnamese coast at night looking for targets. Once they foundone, the E-2A flying nearby would mark the targets and vectora pouncer to it (usually one or two A-4s or A-7s). When firstemployed in 1967, this proved quite effective. On 17 April, amission led by VAW-116 destroyed 14 enemy trucks in a singlemission.Various others a variety of other missions could be performed,like surface surveillance to detect a surface threat for the carrierbattle group, providing coordination for RESCAP forces duringSAR missions and tanker coordination, during which they pro-vided control for aircraft wanting to join up with a tanker.

However, not all was well with the Hawkeye program. Especial-ly the electronics suffered from severe teething problems. Most

importantly, the radar system failed to meet specifications andwas notoriously unreliable. In the majority of all missions, theHawkeye would have a systems breakdown which forced themto abort the mission. One crewmember put it like this: Whenthey worked, they were great. However, when they didnt, whichhappened all the time, they were much worse than the E-1Bs.

Although state-of-the-art, the mission computer system was

regarded as the weakest point. Other serious problems werethe failure to provide sufficient cooling to the electronics, butthe airframe itself also suffered from corrosion problems, whichwas very undesirable in a carrier environment! Unfortunately,the Navy had awarded Grumman four production contractsbefore any of the electronics had been properly tested. Theproblems led to several groundings early in the aircrafts career;there even were several congressional hearings related to thereliability problems of the Hawkeye, where Grumman officialswere unable to promise that they would be able to fix all theproblems. This uncertainty finally led to the cancellation of allproduction contracts on 15 January 1965, those aircraft alreadyin production were completed (the 59th aircraft, 152489, wasdelivered in February 1967), but production (of the E-2C) didnot resume until the early 1970s. In the meanwhile, followingthe congressional hearings, the Navy and Grumman startedworking together to remedy all the problems and in essencethis was the start of the E-2B program.

Improvements in state-of-the-art computer systems led to themore advanced E-2B. As said, the analogue E-2A was not the

The E-2B was also used by two reserve squadrons, including VAW-88 on the west coast, to which 151724/ND-012 on this photographis assigned. Note the stylized ND code, which is sometimes misread. The arrow on the fuselage and the fin-tip colour are a very darkblue. Although probably difficult to see, the aircraft carries five ki lls below the cockpit window. Four of these are of Soviet Bears, butthe fifth appears to be of an RAF Shackleton! (NAS Fallon, may 1981, Michael Grove via Paul Minert)

E-2B 150539/NF-010 of VAW-115 on approach to Atsugi in1974. Note the difference in tail markings compared to the pho-tograph on the opening page. (Paul Minert)


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most reliable aircraft, and it was thought the improved E-2Bwould fix the problems. Also, experience gained during combatoperations in Vietnam led to new insights. The airframes weremodified with advanced AN/APS-120 radar, expanded com-mand and control capabilities and an advanced programmablehigh-speed digital Litton L-300 computer system with improveddata storage capabilities. It was now able to simultaneouslytrack 300 targets, both in the air and on the ground, althoughthere were still problems detecting aircraft flying over land. Allthis new equipment was enough to warrant a new designation,the E-2B, but on the outside it was virtually identical to the older

E-2A. The E-2Bs first flight was made on 20 February 1969and 49 remaining E-2As were modified to the new standard,with a few more being converted to TE-2A pilot training aircraft.With the E-2B, the Navy was finally able to get the performancethey wanted in the first place. A more ambitious program toimprove reliability and performance was launched in April 1968and constantly improving radars and other equipment led to the

development of the much-improved E-2C. This Hawkeye ver-sion made its first flight in 1971, entering service in 1973. TheE-2C falls outside the scope of this article, however, and maybe dealt with in the future.

On 7 July 1975 the E-2B community at NAS North Island cer-emoniously moved to NAS Miramar. The event was markedby a fly-in of a single E-2B from each of the squadrons fromNorth Island: RVAW-110, VAW-112, VAW-114, VAW-116 andVAW-117. The other squadrons, VAW-111 and VAW-113 wereaway on cruise, but their squadron flags were flown to NAS

Miramar. All the E-2Bs involved were flown in by the squadroncommanding officers. However, not all official squadron histo-ries mention the above date as the date they officially moved!

Even though the E-2C had been available since 1973, the E-2Bremained in frontline service until 1985, albeit in slowly dwin-dling numbers. The final units were the Reserve squadrons;VAW-115 was the last regular unit to fly the E-2B.

Squadrons:

For ease of reference, I have separately listed the units that used these early Hawkeyes below, including unit-specific operationaldetails and, in the grey boxes, a list of the cruises made with the aircraft.

In the early 1960s, VAW-11 was based at NAS North Island(CA), and provided numerous small EA-1E and E-1B detach-ments on board the West Coast carriers. The squadron alsoprovided training for the (ground) crews.

In the autumn of 1963, the unit sent nine officers with previousAEW experience to Bethpage for five weeks of training withGrumman; these included five pilots who had also spent twoweeks of engine training with General Electric in Indianapolis,all this in preparation for the arrival of the first E-2A (150535) atNAS North Island on 19 January 1964. Initial ly, this aircraft wasused to train both crew members and maintenance personnel.It was to be some time before the aircraft would be fully op-erational and ready to go on a cruise. In November 1964, thesquadron got acquainted with carrier operations and deployedfour E-2As on board the USS Oriskany during exercise Silver

Lance.

In the summer of 1965, the squadron prepared for the firsttwo fully-fledged Hawkeye cruises, and Det. Charlie went onboard Kitty Hawk on 21 June for the first few weeks of CarrierQualifications. The very first operational Hawkeye cruise wasmade by VAW-11 Det. Charlie on board the USS Kitty Hawk,it started on 19 October 1965. In fact, this was also the E-2s

combat debut; after stops at Pearl Harbor and Cubi Point, KittyHawk took position off the coast of Vietnam and the Hawkeyesstarted flying surveillance missions off the North Vietnamesecoast. The Det almost lost two E-2s on 29 April, when the jetwash of an F-4 on the catapult blew one E-2 (705) into another(706). Both aircraft still had their wings folded at the time ofthe accident, but the propeller of 705 neatly sliced the wing off706. Both aircraft were eventually repaired. The Kitty Hawkcruise was quickly followed by another one on the USS Ranger,which departed the USA on 10 December 1965, with VAW-11Det. Foxtrot on board.

In its heyday, VAW-11 was the largest aircraft squadron in theentire US Navy, with about 200 officers and 800 airmen as-signed. The narrow command structure of the squadron pre-sented problems for command and leadership career oppor-tunities. Both VAW-11 and VAW-12 joined forces and a team,led by Capt Bob Yount, worked out a plan to split up the twosquadrons into a number of smaller squadrons, eliminatingthe need to provide detachments on board the carriers (entiresquadrons would now deploy) and providing better AEW careeropportunities. In February 1967 they went to the Pentagon andpresented their plan to the CNO and representatives of BuAer

VAW-11

VAW-11 was the first operational Hawkeye squadron in the US Navy and one of their aircraft, 150533/RR-774. is seen here at NASGlenview on 30 July 1966. It still was an E-2A at the time. (Richard Sullivan via Stephen Miller)


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(Bureau of Aeronautics) and BuPers (Bureau of Personnel).The response was very favorable and the plan was executed

just two months later in April 1967, when the major reorganiza-tion of the Airborne Early Warning squadrons of the US Navytook place, with VAW-11 on the West Coast being split up inseveral smaller squadrons on 20 April. These squadrons, VAW-111 through VAW-116, usually consisted of four but sometimesfive aircraft. VAW-11 itself was redesignated Carrier AirborneEarly Warning Wing 11 (CAEWW-11) and became responsiblefor the AEW force on the East Coast. At the same time, thesquadrons Hawkeye schoolhouse gained independence as

RVAW-110.E-2A 150533/RR-707 of VAW-11 is just starting to retract itsundercarriage. (date unknown, via Angelo Romano)

19oct65 13jun66 VAW-11 det.C CVA-63/Kitty Hawk E-2A RR-70x Vietnam 151714/706, 151716/, 151718/707, 151719/ (151716 and 151719 carried code 704 and

705, tie-up unknown.10dec65 25aug66 VAW-11 det.F CVA-61/Ranger E-2A NK-73x Vietnam 151717/, 151720/, 151721/735 + one more12may66 03dec66 VAW-11 det.D CVA-64/Constellation E-2A NL-75x Vietnam 151724/752, 151722/753, 151723/, 151725/ (latter two carried code 750 and 751, tie-up

unknown)

29jul66 23feb67 VAW-11 det.A CVA-43/Coral Sea E-2A RR-74x Vietnam 151702/740, 151703/741, 151704/742, 151705/74305nov66 20jun67 VAW-11 det.C CVA-63/Kitty Hawk E-2A NH-70x Vietnam /704, 150535/705, /706, 150533/707, 151709/19nov66 06jul67 VAW-11 det.M CVAN-65/Enterprise E-2A RR-75x Vietnam 150540/, 150541/, 151706/, 151707/VAW-11 det.C was redesignated VAW-114 on 20apr67. VAW-11 det.M was redesignated VAW-112 on 20apr67.

VAW-12On 7 February 1966, the squadron received its first E-2A attheir home base NAS Norfolk (VA), and became the first EastCoast squadron to operate the type. The first VAW-12 person-nel had actually set up shop at NAS North Island (CA) in thefall of 1965, where VAW-12 was to gain their initial operational

experience. The main VAW-12 contingent arrived early in 1966and started preparing for the arrival of the first Hawkeye asVAW-12 Det. North Island. At North Island, they were working inconjunction with FAETUPac (Fleet Airborne Electronic TrainingUnit, Pacific), VAW-11 and previously trained VAW-12 crews,teaching the newbies how to operate the aircraft end the so-phisticated electronics. The complexity of the aircraft had ledto the decision to establish the detachment, this was dictatedby the fact that VAW-11 was the only operational squadron,and they were the only ones with intimate knowledge of howto operate the Hawkeye. In June 1966, however, with sufficientnumbers of personnel trained in the aircraft, the Detachment

was inactivated again and all VAW-12 Hawkeyes moved backto NAS Norfolk, where VAW-12 started its own training pro-gram. Details of the units only cruise can be found under theVAW-122 heading.

Both VAW-11 and VAW-12 were large squadrons; they provided

detachment on board the East coast carriers with the E-1B andE-2A and consisted of about 200 officers and 800 enlisted per-sonnel. See VAW-11 for more info about the split-up. VAW-12was split up in three smaller squadrons on 1 April 1967. Thesesquadrons, VAW-121, -122 and -123, usually consisted of fourand sometimes five aircraft, of which VAW-121 continued to flyE-1Bs and never operated any of the early Hawkeye models(but see under VAW-121 heading). VAW-12 itself was redes-ignated Carrier Airborne Early Warning Wing 12 (CAEWW-12)on 1 April 1967 and became responsible for the AEW force onthe West Coast.

10jan67 20sep67 VAW-12 det.66 CVA-66/America E-2A AE-75x Med 152481/, 152483/, 152484/, 152485/VAW-12 det.66 was redesignated VAW-122 on 01apr67.

As VAW-12 flew Hawkeyes for a year only, photographs of this unit are hard to come by and I regret to say I failed in my efforts...

VAW-78

E-2B 150537/AF-010 in the plain markings of reserve squadronVAW-78. Only distinguishing feature is the yellow lightning bolton the forward fuselage. (March 1978, Paul Minert)

The squadron, nicknamed Fighting Escargots (a referenceto the E-2s unimpressive top speed), was established at NASNorfolk (VA) on 1 July 1970 to provide AEW coverage for theReserve East Coast ASW squadrons. It was a Naval Reservesquadron and initially flew the old E-1B Tracer, being part ofReserve Air Wing CVWR-20. On 21 February 1978, the squad-ron received their first E-2B. Although the unit was a reservesquadron, the squadrons pilots remained fully carrier qualifiedand often the annual Active Duty Training periods were spent

on a carrier. Additionally, the squadron participated in numer-ous exercises around the USA and in the Caribbean. Startingin March 1983, the squadron transitioned to E-2Cs and contin-ued to fly these until 2005, when VAW-78 was disestablished.

All four E-2Bs were transferred out or sent to storage at DavisMonthan, with the last pair leaving on 21 April 1983.


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Pictured at Miramar in June 1980, is E-2B 151715/AF-012 of VAW-78. It carries the units full markings, with a yellow lightning boltoutlined in black, as well as black and yellow fin-tips. After service with the unit, the aircraft was stored at AMARC. (Paul Minert)

VAW-88

VAW-88 Cottonpickers also was a Reserve squadron andwas established at NAS North Island on 1 June 1970, althoughthey moved to NAS Miramar in late 1975. After flying E-1Bs forsome years VAW-88 received their first E-2B Hawkeye on 16September 1976. They were part of Reserve Air Wing CVWR-30. The squadrons pilots remained carrier qualified and quiteoften, periods of training were spent on board on available car-riers, or at various exercises around the USA. Together with therest of CVWR-30, VAW-88 also deployed to NAS Fallon on aregular basis for summer camp, including 1979 and 1982.

Another of the regular destinations of the unit was the Car-

ibbean. In February 1985, for instance, the unit deployed toNAS Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, for a CVWR-30 air wingcoordination and tactics training exercise. All other CVWR-30squadrons took part in this exercise, which included intercept-ing enemy bombers at a distance of over 1,000 miles), livemissile firings, and conducting a strike over 1,200 miles awayfrom base, all this only using CVWR-30 assets.

VAW-88 also became the final operational unit to fly the E-2B;the final E-2B in active service, 151724/ND-011, was flown to

Davis Monthan AFB on 24 September 1986. The unit startedconverting to the E-2C earlier in the year.

Showing off VAW-88s final set of markings is E-2B 152487/ND-014, photographed on 18 March 1986. (R E Rys via Paul Minert)

RVAW-110RVAW-110 was established as the training squadron at NASNorth Island on 20 April 1967, and nicknamed Firebirds.

They took over the training role from VAW-11 and initially thesquadrons complement consisted of E-1B as well as E-2Aaircraft. They trained naval aviators, but also Naval Flight Of-ficers (NFOs), flight technicians and maintenance personnel.

Although the unit was a training unit, they could be mobilized intimes of war. The E-1Bs were retired in 1977; by that time the

unit also operated E-2Cs.

Official Navy records (the Allowances and Location of Navy Air-craft for December 1975) lists the home base of RVAW-110 asboth NAS North Island (with nine aircraft) and NAS Miramar (asingle aircraft), while the same document for March 1976 liststhe unit at NAS Miramar only, so they must have moved basesaround that time. Also, on 1 May 1983, the squadron was rede-


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E-2B 151702/TT-325 is showing off RVAW-110s markings like they were on 11 September 1977. The photograph was taken atWestover AFB (MA). (Lionel Paul via Stephen Miller)

signated VAW-110. Demand for operational E-2B crews dwin-dled in the early 1980s and in 1985 the squadrons final E-2B was retired. The unit was finally decommissioned in Septem-ber 1994 and all E-2 training was transferred to VAW-120.

VAW-111

On 20 April 1967, VAW-11 was splitup in six different squadrons, in-cluding VAW-111. Initially, the unitremained based at NAS North Is-land (CA) as the sole West Coastsquadron flying the E-1B, but in thesummer of 1974 they too had tosuccumb and started flying E-2Bs.

Along with the rest of the AEW force,VAW-111 moved from NAS North Is-

land to NAS Miramar in the autumnof 1975. VAW-111 only made a sin-gle deployment with the Hawkeyeand lost all aircraft in 1976, the finalaircraft was transferred out on 8 Oc-tober 1976. The squadron remainedon cadre status, but due to a reduc-tion in the Pacific Fleet forces, thesquadron was finally disestablishedon 22 June 1979.

VAW-111 flew E-2Bs for just a few years and made one single deployment with the type, tothe Mediterranean, on board the USS Forrestal as part of CVW-17. The AA tail code designwas standard for the wings aircraft. A yellow lightning bolt outlined in black was painted onthe forward fuselage, along with the units badge. The photograph was taken on board theForrestal during a port visit to Naples on 28 July 1975. (Angelo Romano)

05mar75 22sep75 CVA-59/Forrestal E-2B AA-70x Med 151707/701, 150540/702, /703, /704. The latter pair is 151720 and 152477, tie-ups unknown.

VAW-112

On 20 April 1967, Det Mike of VAW-11, the first Hawkeye unitever to go on a cruise on board the USS Enterprise, was re-designated VAW-112, and nicknamed Golden Hawks. Thesquadrons home base was NAS North Island (CA).

When the squadron was activated in 1967, it was already ac-tive as VAW-11 Det.M and supported combat operations overSouth and North Vietnam, providing AEW cover for the fleetand the Navys Alpha Strikes. Similar deployments were madeon board the Enterprise in 1968 and 1969. During the first ofthose, Enterprise crossed the Pacific in two weeks time and ar-rived at Sasebo on 19 January 1968. Next stop was going to beSubic Bay, but the capture of the intelligence ship USS Puebloby the North Koreans on 23 January caused a diversion and forthe next month, Enterprise operated in the Sea of Japan. On18 February, the ship headed south and the first strike againstVietnam was flown on 22 February. On 6 January 1969, thenext cruise started, but on 14 January 1969, while operating

in the vicinity of Hawaii, a fire severely damaged Enterprise. AVAW-112 Hawkeye and several CVW-9 aircraft were airborneat the time, but the Hawkeye was able to coordinate them andall were able to divert to NAS Barbers Point. For the next twomonths, Enterprise was at Pearl Harbor for emergency repairs.Two E-2As had received fire and shrapnel damage and werereplaced by two replacement aircraft on 17 February. Finally,on 6 March 1969, Enterprise had been repaired and was ableto depart Pearl Harbor. On 31 March, the first strike over Viet-nam was flown.

On 9 December 1969, the unit received their first E-2B, 151705.However, it was sent back to Grumman in January for addi-tional mods and the final E-2As, 150531 and 150534, weretransferred out in February. The unit was without any aircraftuntil March 1970, when two E-2Bs were received. However,due to a temporarily diminished need for AEW units, VAW-112was temporarily inactivated on 15 April 1970 and was placed


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in cadre status.

On 2 July 1973, the unit was reactivated again and resumedE-2B Hawkeye operations (151705 was the first to be assigned,on 11 July). On 23 July 1975, the unit moved to NAS Miramar(CA). The unit made four cruises with the E-2B, two Pacificcruises on board the USS Ranger (with CVW-2) and anothertwo to the Mediterranean on board USS Nimitz (with CVW-8).

And although these cruises were relatively uneventful, severalinteresting things happened. On 19 February and again on 25

August 1976, a VAW-112 E-2B controlled a group of Phan-

toms that escorted two Soviet Tu-95s that were looking for theRanger Battle Group. Between 18 and 28 February 1978 thesquadron detached a single E-2B to RAF Lossiemouth for aJoint Maritime Course exercise. In late January 1980, shortlyafter the beginning of the Iranian hostage crisis, Nimitz sailedto Gonzo Station in the Gulf of Oman, staying there until theend of April 1980.

The 1979/1980 cruise on Nimitz started on an unusual note:USS Nimitz and CVW-8 were playing the star roles in the Hol-lywood blockbuster move The Final Countdown! This highlyrecommended movie highlights the dilemma of changing his-tory: Nimitz is transported back in time by a freak electricalstorm and finds itself near Hawaii just before the Japanese at-tack on Pearl Harbor, in a position to obliterate Japanese forcesand stop the US from entering WWII. The movie was actuallyfilmed in the Atlantic, the scenes where Nimitz enters the portof Pearl Harbor actually shows the USS Kitty Hawk! There aresome great air-to-air scenes in the movie, some of which also

include VAW-112 Hawkeyes.

On 26 May 1980, VAW-112 returned from its last E-2B cruise onthe USS Nimitz and started converting to the new E-2C, the firstone was received on 28 June 1980. In 1977, while still flyingthe E-2B, the squadrons tail markings consisted of a black andgold tail. The squadron called this the Tijuana Taxi paint job!

The photograph above was taken at NAS Miramar in October 1973 and shows E-2B 151717/NE-012 of VAW-112. At the time, thesquadron was still working up (again), having been in inactive status for a few years. (Nelson Hare via Stephen Miller)

19nov66 06jul67 CVAN-65/Enterprise E-2A RR-75x Vietnam 150540/, 150541/, 151706/, 151707/ - was redesignated from VAW-11 det.M.03jan68 18 jul68 CVAN-65/Enterprise E-2A NG-70x Vietnam 150535/701, 150540/702, 151704/703, 151705/70406jan69 02jul69 CVAN-65/Enterprise E-2A NG-01x Vietnam 150531/010, 150534/, 151705/ Only three aircraft known, last two did not join the cruise

until 17feb69 and were replacement aircraft for two aircraft damaged in the fire.07may74 18oct74 CVA-61/Ranger E-2B NE-01x WestPac

150531/, 150537/ (dep 21aug), 151708/ (dep 18sep), 151712/ (arr 18sep),151719/ (dep 18sep), 151724/ (arr 21sep), 152479/ (dep 15sep). A complicated listwith several aircraft changes towards the end of the cruise.

30jan76 07sep76 CV-61/Ranger E-2B NE- WestPac & IO 150532/ (dep 12aug), 150535/ (dep 11aug), 151706/ (arr 11aug), 151709/ (dep

12aug), 151716/ (dep 11aug), 152476/ (arr 11aug), 152480/ (arr 13aug), 152488(arr 11aug). A complicated situation; a complete exchange of aircraft with VAW-115.

01dec77 20jul78 CVN-68/Nimitz E-2B AJ-01x Med 151708/010, 151719/011, 152477/012, 152478/01310sep79 26may80 CVN-68/Nimitz E-2B AJ-01x Med 150532/010, 151710/011, 151709/012, 151716/013

VAW-113

The Black Eagles were commissioned at NAS North Island

(CA) on 20 April 1967 following the split-up of VAW-11, andwere flying the E-2A. A few days later, on 29 April, VAW-113started their first deployment to the Western Pacific aboard theUSS Constellation. During this war cruise, the squadron sup-ported Navy operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, off Vietnam. Theyspent several periods on the line between 28 May and 12 No-

vember 1967. Among the missions flown was the Nighthawk

mission (see main text).Over the next eight years, the squadron was closely involvedin the war effort in Vietnam. Initially by flying AEW cover forthe Navy aircraft flying missions over Vietnam, making a totalof five war cruises on board the USS Constellation and Enter-prise. During late 1972, the squadron actively supported the


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Linebacker II bombing effort over North Vietnam, and duringthe 1974/1975 cruise the squadron also supported and coordi-nated Operation Frequent Wind, the US evacuation of Saigon.During this cruise, VAW-113 became the first Hawkeye unit todeploy with F-14A Tomcats in the same Air Wing, and was in-strumental in establishing tactics between the Tomcat and theHawkeye.

In 1971, the squadron converted to the new E-2B and on 16July 1975, they moved to NAS Miramar (CA). On 28 Novem-ber 1979, the squadron assisted in the interception of no less

than four Soviet Tu-95 Bears in the Pacific off Guam. The initialaircraft was detected 415 NM from the USS Coral Sea and sev-

eral VMFA-323 Phantoms were directed towards the aircraft forescort duties; they picked up the aircraft 180 NM from the BattleGroup. This was the first of several dozen intercepts of Sovietaircraft looking for the Battle Group during this cruise. Laterthat cruise, between 08 February and 28 April 1980, the CoralSea was on Gonzo Station in the Gulf of Oman, monitoring Iranduring the hostage crisis.

After returning from the 1983 cruise, the unit started convertingto the E-2C with the first example arriving in October; they madetheir first deployment with it in 1985. The last E-2B (151712)

was retired in November 1983.

The units nickname Black Eagles is reflected in this aircrafts fuselage markings. All markings are in black, while the modex and tailcode are outlined in white. The photograph was taken at NAS Fallon in May 1981. (Michael Grove via Paul Minert)

29apr67 04dec67 CVA-64/Constellation E-2A NK-75x Vietnam 151710/750, 150537/751, 150534/752, 150532/753.29may68 31jan69 CVA-64/Constellation E-2A NK-73x Vietnam

151710/730 (became 010), 150537/731 (became 011), 151721/732 (became 013), 151720/733(became 012). The codes were officially changed on 6 October 1968.11aug69 08may70 CVA-64/Constellation E-2A NK-01x Vietnam 151708/010, 151719/011, 151720/012, 151721/01311jun71 12feb72 CVAN-65/Enterprise E-2B NK-01x Vietnam /010, 151714/011, /012, /013. The three missing Hawkeyes are 150535, 151710 and

151713, tie-ups unknown.12sep72 12jun73 CVAN-65/Enterprise E-2B NK-01x Vietnam 150535/, 151710/, 151713/, 151719/17sep74 20may75 CVAN-65/Enterprise E-2B NK-01x WestPac /010, /011, /012, 151710/013. The latter aircraft was was reassigned to VAW-117 on

11mar75. The other aircraft assigned to the squadron during the period were 151704, 151725,152478 and 152489. It is unknown if these all went along on the cruise.

30jul76 08mar77 CVN-65/Enterprise E-2B NK-60x WestPac 151712/, 151717/, 151722/ plus one more

04apr78 30oct78 CVN-65/Enterprise E-2B NK-60x WestPac 151704/ (arr 24may), 151706/ (dep 24may), 151707/ (dep 06sep), 151712/ (dep 15sep), 151714/ (arr 27jun), 151722/, 152483/, 152488/ (dep 27jun). Another

complicated set-up with three aircraft exchanges with VAW-115 at Atsugi.13nov79 11jun80 CV-43/Coral Sea E-2B NK-60x WestPac & IO 151713/601, 152482/602, 150534/603, 151718/604. During the cruise there were two aircraft

exchanges with VAW-115: 152488 was exchanged with 151718 on 04feb80 while 150534departed on 18feb80, according to the official squadron records in exchange with 150535 (butthis does not appear to be correct when looking at the aircraft record cards)

20aug81 23mar82 CV-43/Coral Sea E-2B NK-60x WestPac & IO 151712/600, 152477/601, 152478/602, 152489/60321mar83 12sep83 CV-43/Coral Sea E-2B NK-60x World cruise 151702/600, 151712/601, 151713/602, 152482/603

VAW-114

On 20 April 1967, det Charlie of VAW-11 was redesignatedVAW-114. The unit was nicknamed Hormel Hawgs and wasflying E-2As, based at NAS North Island (CA). They were partof CVW-11 on board the USS Kitty Hawk and half a year afterbeing established, they started their first combat cruise to Vi-

etnam and the Gulf of Tonkin. A total of four war cruises weremade, but upon return from the 1970/1971 cruise, the squadronstarted converting to the new E-2B; they were the first squad-ron to convert to the type, with the first example, 151725, beingassigned to the unit on 17 April 1970. VAW-114s final E-2A,


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A pleasant photograph of E-2B 152476/NH-601 of VAW-114, taken during final approach to NAF Atsugi, Japan, on 8 September1975. Most of the markings are red, including the chevron on the fuselage and tail fin. (Masumi Wada via Paul Minert)

151713, was transferred out to VAW-113 on 20 August 1970.

During the 1972 cruise, the squad-ron actively supported LinebackerI operations. This was a combinedUSAF and Navy aerial interdictioncampaign against North Vietnam,executed between May and October1972. This was a truly massive effort,with numerous strikes being flown.

By March 1976, the unit had movedto NAS Miramar (CA). The officialdate remains unknown, but this wassometime between December 1975and March 1976. During a ceremonyon 6 June 1978, VAW-114 becamethe first Pacific Fleet squadron toreceive the E-2C, in this case BuNo158641.

151713/NH-013 of VAW-114 still was an E-2A when it was photographed at NAS NorthIsland in September 1969. (Harry Tyrpak via Stephen Miller)

18nov67 28jun68 CVA-63/Kitty Hawk E-2A NH-74x Vietnam 151724/740, 151725/741, /742, /743. There are three candidates for the final two aircraft:

151709, 151713 and 151722, which were all assigned to the unit at the time of this cruise.30dec68 04sep69 CVA-63/Kitty Hawk E-2A NH-01x Vietnam

151725/010, 151724/011, 151722/012, 151713/01306nov70 17jul71 CVA-63/Kitty Hawk E-2B NH-01x Vietnam 151725/010, 150534/011, 150533/012, 150531/01317feb72 28nov72 CVA-63/Kitty Hawk E-2B NH-01x Vietnam /010, /011, 150533/012, 151725/013. The two missing aircraft are 150541 and 151709,

tie-ups unknown.23nov73 09jul74 CVA-63/Kitty Hawk E-2B NH-01x WestPac 150533/, 151704/, 151713/, 151714/21may75 15dec75 CV-63/Kitty Hawk E-2B NH-60x WestPac 150538/ (arr 05sep), 150541/ (arr 05sep), 151706/ (dep 06oct), 151708/ (arr 06oct),

151719/ (arr 06oct), 152476/ (dep 05sep), 152480/ (dep 06oct), 152488/ (dep 05sep).This was a complete change-over of aircraft with VAW-115. Until 23sep75, the unit also had151712 assigned, but this was transferred to VAW-113 and is presumed to have remained homeat North Island.

15feb77 05oct77 CV-43/Coral Sea E-2B NL-60x WestPac

150532/ (arr 09sep), 150535/ (arr 23jun), 151704/ (dep 03aug), 151709/ (arr03aug), 151714/ (dep 25may), 151716/ (arr 26may), 151725/ (dep 22jun), 152479/(dep 09sep). Again, another complete exchange of aircraft with VAW-115, this time over alonger period. VAW-114 also had 150538 (dep 19may) and 150541 (dep 29mar) assigned, butthese were transferred to VAW-116 and VAW-88 respectively and did not go along on the cruise.


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VAW-115

On 20 April 1967, VAW-11 was split up insix different squadrons, including VAW-115,which was nicknamed Liberty Bells. Initial-ly, the unit was based at NAS North Island(CA). Initially flying E-2As, the squadronmade five combat cruises to Vietnam onboard the USS Ranger and the USS Mid-way, often with just a few months at home.

Another hot-spot was North Korea; on 23

January 1968 the North Koreans seizedthe US intelligence ship USS Pueblo, andon 27 January, USS Ranger was divertedto the Sea of Japan to monitor the situa-tion. While in the area, the Ranger BattleGroup was intercepted by large numbersof Soviet aircraft (mostly Tu-16 Badgers)on numerous instances. They departedthe area again on 10 March and continuedto Vietnam. In April 1969, they were backin the same area for a week following theshoot-down of an EC-121 by the North Ko-reans on the 15th.

In late 1970, the unit converted to E-2Bs.With these aircraft, the unit moved to NAF

Atsugi in Japan in September 1973 (onboard the Midway) and became the onlyforward-based Hawkeye squadron in theUS Navy, and VAW-115 is still based inJapan to this very day. Usually, the carri-ers based in Japan tend to make shorter,but more numerous deployments. Also,they often work closely with the allies inthe Far East, being involved in numeroussmall-scale exercises. On one of theseshort deployments, off South Korea in April1974, VAW-115 detected no less than 110incoming Soviet Bear and Badger recon-naissance flights over a period of less than

three days! All of these were interceptedand escorted by VF-151 and VF-161 Phan-toms. A notable one was the cruise that started on 31 March1975; Midway supported the evacuation of US citizens andforces from the besieged city of Saigon as Operation FrequentWind. However, the carrier acted as the helicopter base (fixed-wing operations continued from the Coral Sea) and VAW-115did not see a lot of action during the operation. Everyone re-members the footage of Hueys being pushed over the side ofthe carrier, because there was a shortage of parking space!

During exercise Team Spirit 79 Midway was bounced by 8Soviet Bears and 15 Badgers; VAW-115 E-2Bs again control-led the interception of all of these aircraft. However, the favorwas repaid and aircraft from the USS Midway in their turn had alook at the Minsk Task Group in the Indian Ocean in May 1979.

During 1980, Midway and VAW-115 operated in the PersianGulf, while US forces monitored the US embassy hostage cri-sis in Iran, where the entire US staff of the embassy was heldhostage by Iranian students. On 1 September 1983, Korean AirLines flight 007 was shot down by Russian fighters just westof Sakhalin island; a detachment of VAW-115 was set up atMisawa and participated in the coordination of the rescue andsalvage operations.

VAW-115 was the last active duty squadron to operate the E-2B.Early in 1985 the squadron started preparing for the arrival ofthe E-2C; they had flown over 31,000 accident-free hours withthe E-2B, making about 5,000 arrested landings. The first E-2Cactually arrived at Atsugi from Kisarazu on 29 March 1985, withthe fourth and final aircraft arriving a few days later on 2 April.

The above photographs show two different sets of markings for VAW-115. Top: E-2B151718/NF-600 is being positioned on Midways port cat on 1 November 1981 (USNavy photo). Bottom: 152488/NF-604 on approach to Atsugi on 16 March 1979, show-ing off the squadrons earlier markings. (Masumi Wada via Paul Minert)

04nov67 25may68 CVA-61/Ranger E-2A NE-75x Vietnam 151712/750, 151714/751, 151716/752, 151717/75326oct68 17may69 CVA-61/Ranger E-2A NE-01x Vietnam 151712/010, 150533/011, 151716/012, 151717/013.14oct69 01jun70 CVA-61/Ranger E-2A NE-01x Vietnam 151712/010, 151714/011, 151716/012, 151717/01316apr71 06nov71 CVA-41/Midway E-2B NF-01x Vietnam 151709/010, 151716/011, 151719/012, 151721/013 (w/o)10apr72 08mar73 CVA-41/Midway E-2B NF-01x Vietnam 150538/, 151705/ (w/o), 151706/, 151714/, 152480/ Aircraft 151706 was the

replacement for the unfortunate 151705 and arrived on 14jan73.11sep73 05oct73 CVA-41/Midway E-2B NF-01x to Japan 150539/010, 151712/011, 151714/, 151718/012, 151724/014. At the time the squadron

had five Hawkeyes assigned. It is not known if all five went along on the cruise.Only the most important cruises, which lasted at least two months, are listed below:29jan74 06mar74 CVA-41/Midway E-2B NF-01x WestPac18oct74 20dec74 CVA-41/Midway E-2B NF-01x WestPac31mar75 29may75 CVA-41/Midway E-2B NF-01x WestPac04oct75 19dec75 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac & IO


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11jan77 01mar77 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac27sep77 21dec77 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac & IO07apr79 18jun79 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac & IO30sep79 20feb80 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac & IO14jul80 26nov80 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac & IO23feb81 05jun81 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac & IO26apr82 18jun82 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac14sep82 11dec82 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac & NorPac02jun83 14aug83 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac28dec83 23may84 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPac & IO

01feb85 28mar85 CV-41/Midway E-2B NF-60x WestPacFor reference, although some gaps remain, a list has been compiled which lists the units aircraft sorted by code:NF-010 150539 (31may73/08dec74) 150538 (08dec74/1975)NF-011 151712 (24apr73/18sep74) 151708 (18sep74/1975)NF-012 151718 (05jun73/08dec74) 150541 (08dec74/1975)NF-014 151724 (13apr73/21sep74) 151719 (18sep74/1975)NF-600 151718 (mar81/nov81) 152479 (03sep81/nov83) 1984 unknown 151709 (mar85) 152479 (oct85)NF-601 150538 (1975/05sep75) 152476 (05sep75/06oct75) 151706 (06oct75/11aug76) 150532 (12aug76/

09sep77) 152479 (09sep77/06sep78) 151707 (06sep78/26jun79) 151702 (26jun79/05nov80) 151714 (25nov80/aug81) 151710 (05feb82/nov83) 151720 (nov83/17dec85)

NF-602 150541 (1975/05sep75) 152488 (05sep75/06oct75) 152476 (06oct75/11aug76) 150535 (11aug76/23jun77) 151725 (22jun77/30oct78) 150535 (02nov78/1980) 150534 (18feb80/81) 151709 (15oct81/82/nov83)

NF-603 151708 (1975/06oct75) 152480 (06oct75/13aug76) 151709 (12aug76/03aug77) 151704 (03aug77/24may78) 151706 (24may78/11aug79) 152484 (11aug79/05nov80) 151719 (05nov80/81) 151720(16oct81/1982) 152480 (04dec81/mar85)

NF-604 151719 (1975/06oct75) 152488 (06oct75/11aug76) 151716 (11aug76/26may77) 151714 (25may77/27jun78) 152488 (27jun78/04feb80) 151718 (04feb80/dec80)

VAW-116

E-2B 151717/NG-012 of VAW-116 seen on display at NAS Miramar in November 1970. The unit had just completed a cruise to Viet-nam on board the USS Coral Sea. (Paul Minert)

On 20 April 1967, VAW-11 at NAS North Island (CA) was splitup in six different squadrons, including VAW-116, also knownas the Sun Kings. Initially the unit flew E-2As and these par-ticipated in three combat cruises to Vietnam on board the USSCoral Sea. During the first two of these, the squadron changedthe modexes of their Hawkeyes (see cruise list).

In 1970, the squadron started converting to the newer E-2B andanother two combat cruises were made with these, this timeon board the USS Constellation. CVW-9 aircraft had somevery successful MiG encounters during the 1972 cruise; VAW-116 was actively involved in Randy Cunninghams three MiG-kills on 10 May 1972, and also coordinated the SAR effort afterhe was shot down following his final kill. It was not all work,though: on 13 December 1972, the squadron hosted Sun KingSweetheart Day. Wives and girls of squadron members ac-companied their men to work and watched them go through atypical working day at North Island. On 25 November 1974, anE-2B of the squadron became the first aircraft to be launched

from a US carrier in the Persian Gulf since 1948! Nowadays,there is a near-continuous presence there. Their presence in1974 was due to exercise Midlink, a large exercise with Iran,Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which included USAF F-111s, RAFVulcans, Iranian Phantoms and Pakistani B-57s.

On 11 June 1975, the squadron was assigned to CVW-8 anew East Coast CVW - and the next month, a short cruise onboard the equally new USS Nimitz started. Upon return from

the cruise on 24 September 1975, VAW-116 did not return toNAS North Island, but moved into new quarters at NAS Mira-mar (CA). In late 1977, the squadron was reassigned to CVW-17, another East Coast outfit.

In October 1976, VAW-116 and the USS Nimitz participatedin exercise Display Determination. During the exercise, an80-ship strong convoy, including the carriers Nimitz, America,HMS Ark Royal and FNS Clemenceau, made an eight-daysweep of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to eastern Turkey.


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In the late 1970s, the squadron had a special relationship with849 sqn of the Royal Navy (flying the Gannet). Between 6 and19 November 1976, the squadron deployed an E-2B (150537/

AJ-011) to RAF Lossiemouth for exercises with the RAF. An-other E-2B (152489/AA-013) deployed to RAF Lossiemouth for

more exercises between 22 April and 8 May 1978.

Upon return from the 1978 cruise, VAW-116 started convertingto E-2Cs, the first pair of which was delivered in March 1979.The final E-2B, 152476, left for VAW-78 on 21 February 1979.

26jul67 08apr68 CVA-43/Coral Sea E-2A NL-70x Vietnam 150539/701, 151711/702, 151715/703, 151719/704, but effective from 09nov67, the codes

were changed to: 150539/760, 151711/761, 151715/762 and 151719/763.07sep68 18apr69 CVA-43/Coral Sea E-2A NL-01x Vietnam

150539/760, 151711/761, 151715/762, 151703/763, but effective from 09oct68, the codeswere changed to: 150539/010, 151711/011, 151715/012 and 151703/013.23sep69 01jul70 CVA-43/Coral Sea E-2A NL-01x Vietnam 150539/010, 151703/011, 151711/012 (w/o), 151715/01301oct71 01jul72 CVA-64/Constellation E-2B NG-01x Vietnam 151704/010, 151712/011, 151717/012, 151718/01305jan73 11oct73 CVA-64/Constellation E-2B NG-01x Vietnam /010, /011, 151716/012, 151717/013. The two missing aircraft are 150531 and 150534,

tie-ups unknown.21jun74 23dec74 CVA-64/Constellation E-2B NG-01x WestyPac & IO 150534/, 150537/ (dep 16sep), 150538/ (dep 08dec), 150539/ (arr 08dec),

150541/ (dep 08dec), 151718/ (arr 08dec), 152479/ (arr 15sep). Two separateaircraft exchanges here: The sep74 exchange was with VAW-112, while the dec74 exchangewas with VAW-115.

16jul75 24sep75 CVN-68/Nimitz E-2B AJ-71x NorLant

/710, 151715/711, 151718/712, 151725/713. The missing aircraft is either 150531 or150534, which were both assigned to the unit during this cruise.07jul76 07feb77 CVN-68/Nimitz E-2B AJ-01x Med 149819/010, 150537/011, 150539/012, 152485/013.04apr78 26oct78 CV-59 Forrestal E-2B AA-01x Med 150538/010, 152476/011, 152480/012, 152489/013

VAW-117

On 1 July 1974, VAW-117 was estab-lished in Hangar 310 at NAS North Is-land (CA), and took on the nicknameWallbangers. A few months later,on 15 October 1974, the squadronreceived its first E-2B, 151713, and

started training (including a few weeksat Fallon) for their first cruise, whichstarted on 15 October 1975, on boardthe USS Independence. The squad-ron was part of CVW-7, an East Coast

Air Wing, and the squadrons first twodeployments took them to the Medi-terranean.

On 8 July 1975, the unit officiallymoved to NAS Miramar (CA). On 1March 1978, the squadron was reas-signed to CVW-2 on the West Coastand made two E-2B Pacific deploy-ments on the USS Ranger., duringboth of which several aircraft were

swopped with VAW-115.In 1981, the squadron started converting to E-2Cs. Actually,

15oct75 05may76 CV-62/Independence E-2B AG-77x Med 152484/771, 151710/772, 150533/773, 152483/774.30mar77 21oct77 CV-62/Independence E-2B AG-60x Med 151710/, 151715/, 151718/, 152484/21feb79 22sep79 CV-61/Ranger E-2B NE-60x WestPac The situation during this cruise remains unclear. Along with several aircraft swops, eight

aircraft were assigned to the unit during this cruise, of which 150539, 151702 (to VAW-115on 26jun), 151706 (arr 11aug, ex VAW-115), 151707 (arr 26jun, ex VAW-115), 152482and 152484 (to VAW-115 on 11sep) may have been the ones that actually went along, witha few aircraft swops with VAW-115. Theres no confirmation, though!

10sep80 05may81 CV-61/Ranger E-2B NE-60x WestPac & IO /600, 152484/601, /602, 152479/603. One of the missing two aircraft is 151725.

Other aircraft were involved in this cruise: 151702 (arr 05nov), 151714 (dep 25nov),151719 (dep 05nov) and 152484 (see above - arr 05nov). Two of these were transferredto VAW-115, while the others came from VAW-115. There are no other tie-ups for thecodes used during the deployment.

E-2B 151714/NE602 of VAW-117 is showing off the units markings in March 1980. Thetriangles on the fuselage are red and yellow, the fin tips are red and the NE tail code isoutlined in yellow. (Paul Minert)

159500 was to first to arrive on 6 July 1981, followed by 159499nine days later. All four E-2Bs were transferred out during June1981.


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RVAW-120

RVAW-120 Greyhawks was established at NAS Norfolk (VA),on 1 July 1967, and became the East Coast training squad-ron for the Hawkeye and E-1B communities. Apart from thepilots and intelligence officers in the aircraft, the squadron alsolearned the mechanics their trade (known as FRAMP FleetReplacement Aviation Maintenance Personnel). In the last fourmonths of 1967, the squadron graduated eight E-1B and nineE-2A pilots, as well as twelve NFOs (the radar operators). Dur-ing 1968, the yield was 38 E-1B pilots and twelve NFOs, as

well as 26 E-2A pilots and 22 NFOs. Later, the C-2 Greyhoundtraining mission was added. Although the unit was a training

unit, they could be mobilized in times of war. Initially, the unitused E-1Bs, TE-2As and a few E-2As, but the latter were re-placed by E-2Bs in 1970. As of 1987, the Hawkeye pilots hadto go through 30 weeks of flight training, while the NFOs hadto go through 37 weeks of training to learn how to operate theaircrafts radar systems.

The squadrons first E-2C arrived on 31 May 1973. All E-2Btraining was transferred to RVAW-110 at North Island and con-

sequently, RVAW-120 lost its final E-2B on 15 October 1974(150540) and the final TE-2A on 31 July 1974 (150530); thelatter was lost in a fatal accident on that date.

E-2B 152481/GE-712 of RVAW-120 during a visit to NAS Albany (GA) on 6 May 1973, at the time the home of the RA-5C Vigilantefleet. It carries no distinctive markings, except for the squadron badge behind the cockpit window. (Bill Sides via Stephen Miller)

VAW-121Although not officially listed as an E-2B squadron, the unit hadten (!) E-2Bs assigned between 01apr67 and 01jul67, eventhough VAW-121 remained active as an E-1B unit. The mostlogical explanation lies in the demise of VAW-12 on 01apr67,and the fact that RVAW-120 was not commissioned until01jul67; most of the ten aircraft involved ended up with thetraining unit, RVAW-120, and it would appear that VAW-121acted as a holding pool of these aircraft for three months,

perhaps even conducting some training. Moreover, VAW-121scommanding officer, Capt Sheldon L Corner, assumed com-mand of RVAW-120 when it was established. On the otherhand, no Hawkeyes are mentioned in the squadrons officialOperational Report for 1967. It is unlikely that any of these E2-Bs carried VAW-121 markings. The ten involved are: 149818,149819, 150530, 152476, 152477, 152478, 152479, 152480,152482 and 152489.

VAW-122

A quiet day on board the USS America early in 1968 shows E-2A 152483/AE-724,with another pair of Hawkeyes, some VA-82 and VA-86 A-7As and VF-33 and VF-103 F-4Js parked on the bow. Before the unit would depart for the cruise, 152483was to be recoded AE-722. (US Navy photo via Angelo Romano)

On 1 April 1967, while the USS America was70 miles north of Crete, det.66 of VAW-12was redesignated VAW-122, and nicknamed

Steeljaws. At that time, the unit was flying theE-2A and was the first of the new east-coastVAW squadrons to be deployed. The unit washomeported at NAS Norfolk. One positive as-pect of being a fully-fledged and independentsquadron was the squadrons ready room.Previously, they had occupied a corner in theback of VA-36s ready room (flying A-4Cs) onboard the USS America, but after having beenupgraded to squadron status, they now occu-pied half of the same ready room! Moreover,the squadrons new C/O, CDR Ted Newark,was the most senior CO in the Air Wing, muchto the dismay of the fighter and attack units.

Shortly after being established, the unit partic-

ipated in exercise Phiblex 10-67, which wasthe first Sixth Fleet test of the new E-2A, whichpitted it against the E-1Bs flying off the USSSaratoga. Despite highlighting the computerproblems that the E-2A was suffering from, it


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E-2B 152478/AC-730 is about to be catapulted from the USS Saratoga during the1970 cruise to the Mediterranean. (via Angelo Romano)

In June 1967, just two months after being commissioned, thesquadron departed for a combat cruise to Vietnam on boardthe USS Forrestal. However, on 29 July 1967, just four daysafter arrival on Yankee Station, disaster struck when a devas-

tating fire and a series of ravaging explosions rattled Forrestal,leaving 134 sailors killed and another 161 injured, and 21 air-craft, including seven Phantoms and eleven Skyhawks, weredestroyed. A VAW-123 Hawkeye (modex AA-701) was on thecatapult, at full power and ready to launch to control an AlphaStrike to Hanoi and Haiphong, when the explosions started.The aircraft was never launched. VAW-123 was the luckiestsquadron on board; they did not have any personnel injured,and did not have any of its aircraft severely damaged. Forrestallimped to Cubi Point for temporary repairs, before returning toNorfolk on 14 September 1967. The ship was put into dry dock

as it needed some major repairs.

By the summer of 1968, Forrestal had been re-paired and VAW-123 took their E-2As on boardthe carrier again, but this time for a peacefulcruise to the Mediterranean apart from thetragic loss of E-2A 152486 (for details see pro-duction list). The squadrons next two cruisesalso brought them to the Mediterranean, the lat-ter with E-2Bs (the first of which 152487 - hadbeen received on 1 December 1970), and with

CVW-3 on the USS Saratoga. The 1971 cruisehad some unexpected events: on 6 August theship entered port in Athens, and VAW-123 per-sonnel were greeted by many of their families,who had flown in from the USA and had takenadvantage of the stay that was scheduled to lastfor 2 weeks. Prior to departure on 16 August, aboiler room was flooded and the ships depar-ture had to be postponed until 20 August, butthe next day, while flight operations were beingconducted, another boiler room was flooded! Allaircraft airborne at the time diverted to Souda

Bay and Saratoga l imped back to Athens. This time, the carrierdid not depart until 6 September 1971.

In April 1972, another combat cruise to Vietnam started, also

on USS Saratoga. The squadron actively supported combatoperations from Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin, spend-ing 175 days on the line, and was also involved in supportingLinebacker II bombing operations against North Vietnam. Uponreturn from this cruise, early in 1973, the unit started conver-sion to the new E-2C, with the first example being received on15 November of that year. The final E-2B had already beentransferred out on 21 September 1973. They were the first op-erational squadron to receive the new and improved Hawkeye;they were also the first to take them on the boat.

06jun67 14sep67 CVA-59/Forrestal E-2A AA-73x Vietnam 152482/, 152486/, 152487/, 152488/22jul68 29apr69 CVA-59/Forrestal E-2A AA-73x Med

152480/, 152482/, 152486/733 (w/o), 152487/17jun70 11nov70 CVA-60/Saratoga E-2A AC-73x Med 151718/, 152478/730, 152480/723 (code incorrect?) + one more07jun71 31oct71 CVA-60/Saratoga E-2B AC-73x Med 151707/730, 150532/731, 152487/732, 150537/73311apr72 13feb73 CVA-60/Saratoga E-2B AC-01x Vietnam /010, 152489/011, /012, 152479/013. The two missing aircraft are 151706 and

152487, tie-ups remain unknown.

VAW-124

A very plain-looking VAW-124 E-2B, 152489/AJ-740, at an open house in July1973. (Paul Minert)

VAW-124 Bullseye Hummers was established at NAS Norfolk(VA) on 1 September 1967. They started flying the E-2A on1 October 1967; on that date the first two examples, 152476and 152478, were received. The final one came in on 1 Janu-

ary 1968. In April 1968, the squadron started their first cruise,a peaceful Mediterranean cruise with CVW-7 on board Indy.However, in April 1970, the squadron moved over to USS

America and made the first of two cruises to Vietnam.

Between 16 and 27 August 1971, VAW-124 participated inexercise National Week X, a large naval exercise conducted

in the Mediterranean. One remarkable happening during thisexercise was the first non-stop flight of a Hawkeye across the

Atlantic. Departing Norfolk, the aircrafts route took it over New-foundland and Lajes before it landed on the USS America. On

5 June 1972, the USS America and VAW-124departed for the Gulf of Tonkin again, and spent147 days on the line, flying combat missionsduring many of them. VAW-124 also supportedthe Linebacker II bombing campaign. They werestill on station when the peace agreement wassigned on 28 January 1973.

Meanwhile, in 1971, the squadron had con-verted to E-2Bs. The first one, 151715, arrivedwith the squadron on 3 February 1971. In June1973, HMS Ark Royal came into Mayport (FL)for a port visit. Two Gannet AEW.3s of 849 sqnB flight came to NAS Norfolk and worked withVAW-124 for a few days, exchanging ideas on

AEW tactics.In late 1974, the squadron converted to E-2Cs,


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E-2B 152479/NG-012 of VAW-124 is revving up the engines prior to launch from the USS America towards the end of 1970. Notethat the squadrons nickname, Bullseye Hummers is reflected in the design on the nose. (via Angelo Romano)

with the first example, 158641, arriving on 19 November. Asan aside, the squadrons current nickname, Bear Aces, wasnot adopted until a deployment to Keflavik in 1980, when the

squadron intercepted and controlled a large number of inter-cepts of Soviet Tu-20 Bear reconnaissance aircraft.

30apr68 27jan69 CVA-62/Independence E-2A AG-74x Med 152476/, 152477/, 152478/, 152479/10apr70 21dec70 CVA-66/America E-2A NG-01x Vietnam 152476/740, 152477/741, 152479/742, 152489/743 (these were recoded 010 to 013

respectively by June)06jul71 16dec71 CVA-66/America E-2A AJ-01x Med 151708/, 151715/, 151720/, 152483/05jun72 24mar73 CVA-66/America E-2B AJ-74x Vietnam 151702/, 151708/, 151720/, 152483/03jan74 03aug74 CVA-66/America E-2B AJ-74x Med

/740, 152484/741, 152485/742, /743. The three missing aircraft are drawn from151707, 151708, 151715 and 152488, but it remains unknown which ones actually wentalong for the cruise.

VAW-125

Just a few moments more, and E-2B 149819/AB750 of VAW-125 will be airborne from the USS John F Kennedy. The photographwas taken on 8 November 1973. (Navy photo Ted McManus via Angelo Romano)

VAW-125 was commissioned at NAS Norfolk (VA) on 1 October1968. Their nickname was Torch Bearers, but this was laterchanged to Tiger Tails. Although the unit initially started flyingthe E-2A, and a work-up period started that took the squadron

to the Caribbean.

The squadron had a relatively peaceful existence in the early1970s; four cruises to the Mediterranean were made between1969 and 1973 but only the first one was with the E-2A, with


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CVW-3 on board the USS Saratoga, the others were with theE-2B, with CVW-1 on the USS John F Kennedy. The unit hadbecome the first operational squadron on the East Coast to re-ceive the improved E-2B. The first one, 151707, arrived with theunit on 9 February 1970. The cruise on USS John F Kennedy

that started on 14 September 1970 actually was the first E-2Bcruise. In June 1973, the six-day war between Israel and itsneighbors started, and USS JFK was on hand to monitor thesituation. In 1974, the unit converted to the E-2C.

09jul69 22jan70 CVA-60/Saratoga E-2A AC-75x Med 149819/, 152482/, 152488/, 152489/14sep70 01mar71 CVA-67/John F Kennedy E-2B AB-75x Med 151706/, 151707/, 152483/, 152484/18nov71 10may72 CVA-67/John F Kennedy E-2B AB-75x Med 150540/750, 151715/751 (arr 09dec), 151722/752, 152482/753. The squadron also had

151706 assigned (dep 29feb72), but the squadrons official history does not quote thisaircraft as being on board JFK.

16apr73 01dec73 CVA-67/John F Kennedy E-2B AB-75x Med 149819/750, 150532/751, 150537/752, 152485/753

VAW-126

The squadron was established on 1 April 1969. The units nick-name was Closeout, they were based at NAS Norfolk (VA)and part of CVW-17 on the USS Forrestal. During the activationceremony on 1 April, VAW-126 took custody of their first twoE-2As, 151709 and 151718.

Four Mediterranean cruises were made; the first one with theE-2A, and in late 1970, after returning from their first cruise,they converted to E-2Bs (their first example, 152488, was re-ceived on 28 July 1970), which were their mount for the nextthree Med cruises. In 1974, the squadron started preparingfor the trip home following a cruise on the Forrestal, but on

9 September, while in the Atlantic, the unit (including 32,000lbs of supplies) cross-decked to the USS America, which wasequipped with a composite Air Wing (including USMC EA-6Asand VF-213, a west-coast Phantom squadron), for participa-tion in NATO exercise Northern Merger. After concluding theexercise, they finally returned home on 12 October 1974. Uponreturn to Norfolk, the squadron started conversion to the newer

E-2C, the first one was received early in 1975.

The squadrons current nickname, Seahawks, was adoptedin 1979 in memory of their squadron commander, CDR Clark,who had suddenly passed away that year.

This photograph was taken at NAS Norfolk on 26 August 1972, and shows E-2B 152488/AA-761 of VAW-126. All squadron markingsare in black, including the hook-like arrow below the modex. Although the propellers are turning, one would think they still had toremove the tie-down chains before attempting to take off in this aircraft! (Jack Morris via Stephen Miller)

02dec69 08jul70 CVA-59/Forrestal E-2A AA-76x Med150532/, 150541/ (dep 08jan70), 151704/762, 152482/760 (arr 08jan70), 152487/

05jan71 02jul71 CVA-59/Forrestal E-2B AA- Med 149819/, 151722/, 152482/, 152488/22sep72 06jul73 CVA-59/Forrestal E-2B AA-76x Med 151707/760, 152476/761, 152484/762, 152488/76311mar74 sep74 CVA-59 Forrestal E-2B AA-76x Med 150532/760, 149819/761, 152487/762, 152482/763sep74 12oct74 CV-66/America E-2B AA-76x Med 150532/760, 149819/761, 152487/762, 152482/763

Credits: Sid Nanson, Paul Minert, Rich Rentrop, Stephen Miller, Angelo Romano, Donald Safer, Chuck Berthe, Patrick Roegies,Takafumi Hiroe/GoNavy.jp, Naval Aviation News (various back issues), US Navy (for Allowances and Location of Naval Air Craft and

Annual Squadron History and Command Reports), The Hook, BAR, steeljawscribe.com.


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Much of the information presented below was gleaned from the official US Navy aircraft record cards and the acceptance, rede-signation and unit transfer dates presented below are the official dates. An interesting fact, for example, is that the W2F-1s wereredesignated as E-2As on 30nov62 on official records, but the official date the US Navy discarded its old designations and adoptedthe tri-service designations, is 18sep62. Apparently, this was not the case for the change from W2F-1 to E-2A? Another mysteryis why several squadrons appear in official records before they were actually activated. A case of reverse administration? Ratherunexpectedly, most of the Hawkeyes changed units at a breakneck pace, sometimes staying with their assigned units for just a fewweeks only. Actually, 151718 was assigned to RVAW-120 for just a single day in 1969! Needless to say, it probably was not repaintedin their colours! We expect that unit markings were not always applied during this quick succession of transfers, or that old markingswere retained for some time. Therefore, actual sightings of markings are also presented below, but we would very much like to learnof other codes carried. Furthermore, final fates of the aircraft are sometimes difficult to ascertain; most of the aircraft noted as beingpresent in one of the scrapyards next to Davis Monthan have probably been broken up and scrapped by now. Likewise, a number of

aircraft have been last seen at North Island, and were most likely scrapped (or reduced to spares) at the NARF there. Sometimescodes are double-dated, for instance coded AB-750 jan73/dec73 which implies that the code was carr ied between jan73 and dec73(at least); these dates and those coupled with codes are actual sightings.

148147 First Flight on 21oct60, accepted 24oct60 as a W2F-1, but retained by Grumman at Bethpage for development work. Rede-signated E-2A on 30nov62. Transferred to NATC at Patuxent River on 12jul63 and redesignated JE-2A the next day. Reverted to itsold designation E-2A on 21jan64 and returned to Grumman Bethpage the next day. Conversion to C-2A standard followed; it receiveda new fuselage. This was completed on 30nov64. As a C-2A, the aircraft was written off in a crash on 22jun65.

148148 Accepted on 31jan61 as a W2F-1 and retained by Grumman Bethpage for development work. Redesignated E-2A on30nov62, still retained as a test aircraft until it was converted to C-2A standard; this was completed on 28jan65. It served the fleetoperationally for the next 20 years.

148149 Accepted on 29apr61 as a W2F-1 and redesignated E-2Aon 30nov62. This aircraft was retained by Grumman and ended upbeing used for ground testing at Bethpage. It was finally SOC on

30may72. Thereafter, it became a ground instructional aircraft atMiramar with RVAW-110, oct75/apr78. By oct77 it had been paintedin full squadron markings and coded TT-00. At the time, it was stillmarked W2F-1 on the tail. The aircraft was noted at the NARF atNorth Island in oct79. Not noted since.

148711 Accepted on 30aug61 as a W2F-1; retained by Grum-man until 01nov62 when it was reassigned to the NATC at PaxRiver. There, it was redesignated E-2A on 30nov62. Returned toBethpage for additional work between 22jul63 and 02dec63 andreturned to the NATC again. It was redesignated JE-2A on 16jan64,but became an E-2A again on 27feb64. It was finally written off on17feb68. It crashed shortly after take-off from NAS Patuxent River

148712 Accepted on 19dec61 as a W2F-1 and redesignated E-2A 30nov62. Retained by Grumman (at one point flying around coded5) until 28mar64, when it was reassigned to the NATC at Patuxent River. It was redesignated JE-2A the next day, but reverted to

being an E-2A on 30jun64. Returned to Bethpage on 09jul64 and became one of the two E-2C prototypes; it was redesignated as anE-2C on 10sep69 and YE-2C on 25apr72. That period falls outside the scope of this article, but the aircraft served operationally withRVAW-120 and was SOC in 1982.

148713 Accepted on 30mar62 as a W2F-1, but was redesignated E-2A on 30nov62. Retained by Grumman Bethpage until it wasreassigned to VAW-11 on 26may64. Sent to the NAD at North Island for mods on 04mar65, and delivered to the training unit, RVAW-110, on 06may66. Redesignated TE-2A on 16aug68, but remained in use by RVAW-110 until the aircraft was returned to GrummanBethpage on 16feb70; it was officially redesignated E-2C two days later, on 18feb70, and became a YE-2C on 25apr72. The E-2Cperiod falls outside the scope of this article, but the aircraft served operationally with RVAW-120 and was SOC in 1982.

149817 Accepted on 28jun62 as W2F-1, but was redesignated E-2A on 30nov62. Retained by Grumman Bethpage until it wasreassigned to VAW-11 on 08may64. At one point the aircraft was coded RR-709 exact date unknown. Sent to the NAD at NorthIsland for mods on 04mar65, and delivered to the training unit, RVAW-110, on 06may66. Loaned to the NATC at Patuxent River fora few months, between 16apr68 and 14jun68. Redesignated TE-2A on 16aug68 and remained in use with RVAW-110 (coded TT-29in may69/aug71 and TT-337 in oct77) until it was SOC on 20oct77.

E-2A 148149 was a Grumman test machine, and is seen heremoments after becoming airborne in May 1968. Note the 3 onthe nose; it was the third prototype. (Paul Minert)

TE-2A 149817/TT-29 of RVAW-110 is seen here on the ramp at Edwards AFB in May 1969. Note the red Firebird on the tail fin. Thiswas one of just a handful TE-2As in use. (via Angelo Romano)


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149818 Accepted on 29sep62 as W2F-1 and was redesignated E-2A on 30nov62. Until 1967, the aircraft was used for developmentwork at Bethpage, with the Naval Missile Center at Point Mugu (noted coded 818 in jun64) and North Island, before it was assignedto VAW-121 on 07apr67. It was transferred to RVAW-120 on 01jul67, where it became a TE-2A on 20aug68 (it was coded GE-724in apr72/may72). Was transferred to RVAW-110 on 06mar73, and was seen wearing code TT-28 between feb74/dec75, TT-336 inoct77 and was finally SOC at NAS Miramar on 11apr78. It was still in use as a ground instructional aircraft with RVAW-110 in oct80,wearing the TT code only, but no modex. Never noted again and probably scrapped.

149819 Accepted on 31dec62, as an E-2A. Retained by Grumman Bethpage, except for a short period between 08jan64 and20apr64, when it was used by the NATC at Patuxent River. The aircraft was transferred to an operational unit, VAW-12, on 01sep66.To VAW-121 on 01apr67 and RVAW-120 on 01jul67. Transferred to VAW-125 on 01oct68 (seen with code AC-753 in sep69) and re-turned to RVAW-120 on 28jan70. The aircraft was officially redesignated E-2B on 01apr70 and transferred to VAW-126 on 18aug70.To RVAW-120 on 22apr72 and VAW-125 on 29dec72 (coded AB-750 apr73/dec73). Transferred to VAW-126 on 10dec73 (coded AA-761 mar74/oct74) and VAW-117 on 30nov74 (coded AG-771 apr75/may75). The aircraft went to VAW-116 on 05dec75 (coded AJ-010

jul76/nov76) and was transferred to reserve unit VAW-88 on 28feb77. The aircraft was initially coded ND-710 (sep77/oct77), but waslater recoded ND-010 (may79/jan83). Retired into storage at MASDC (2E006) on 08apr83 and SOC a few days later on 21apr83. Itofficially left storage on 09nov94 and moved over to the Consolidated Aeronautics Corporation scrapyard (aka Delcon), where it wasseen between nov94 and apr03. Not noted since.

150530 Accepted on 15feb63 as an E-2A. Retained by Grumman for development work and moved to North Island for more testsin 1966. Assigned to VAW-121 on 10jun67 but this was short-lived as the aircraft moved on to RVAW-120 on 01jul67. It was officiallyredesignated as a TE-2A on 20aug68, and remained active with RVAW-120. It was noted with codes GE-748 in jan69 and GE-725 in

jul74. It was lost in an accident at CGAS Elizabeth City (NC) on 31jul74, The port engines auto-feather system failed during take-off,following which directional control was lost by the pilot. The aircraft failed to gain height and crashed into a building on the airfield.One of the two pilots was able to egress the aircraft before it caught fire, but the second pilot was trapped inside the airplane and waskilled.

150531 Accepted on 28feb63 as an E-2A. Assigned to VAW-11 on 14feb64 but went back to Grumman in Bethpage on 14may64. Itsnext known assignment is RVAW-110 on 10feb67 (coded TT-22 in may67), moving on to VAW-112 on 08oct68 (noted as NG-010 infeb69). It went back to RVAW-110 on 26jan70 and officially became an E-2B on 15apr70. It was reassigned to VAW-114 on 21jul70 (itwas coded NH-013 in early feb72) and RVAW-110 on 07feb72. Next units were VAW-116 on 28sep72, VAW-112 on 16oct73 (codedNE-010 in dec73/feb74), VAW-114 on 05nov74 and VAW-116 on 09jul75 (it was seen with code AJ-710 sep75/nov75). It was dam-aged beyond repair in an accident at Offutt AFB (NE) on 02nov75. Due to strong headwinds, the aircraft unexpectedly ran out of fueland the engines quit on final approach about one mile from the runway, and the aircraft crashed. Although the pilot was seriouslyinjured, the rest of the crew was OK. 150531 was sent to NARF North Island for repairs on 11jan76, but apparently damage sustained

was too severe and the aircraft was SOC the next day.150532 Accepted on 30mar63 as an E-2A.Assigned to the NATC at Patuxent River on 21jan64; it was redesignated JE-2A the nextday, but reverted to its old E-2A designation on 01sep64. Its next assignment was RVAW-110 on 03oct66, followed by VAW-113 on08mar67 (it was noted as NK-753 in may67), RVAW-110 on 20dec67 and VAW-126 on 17jun69. It was officially redesignated asan E-2B on 01sep70 and assigned to VAW-123 on 19dec70 (noted as AC-731 jun71/oct71). Next assignments were VAW-122 on11apr72, VAW-125 on 19dec72 (coded AB-751 apr73/dec73), VAW-126 on 30nov73 (AA-760 mar74/oct74), VAW-112 on 14jun75(coded NE-601 oct75), VAW-115 on 12aug76, VAW-114 on 09sep77, VAW-117 on 20apr78 and VAW-112 on 27dec78 (initiallyreverted to is old code NE-601 in dec78, but was recoded AJ-010 feb79/apr80). It was placed in storage at MASDC (inventory No2E001) on 19jun80. It officially left storage on 09nov94 and moved over to the Consolidated Aeronautics Corporation scrapyard (akaDelcon), where it was seen between nov94 and apr03. Not noted since.

150533 Accepted on 23may63 as an E-2A and assigned to NATC on 30jan64. It was redesignated JE-2A the next day, but revertedto E-2A on 31jul64, on which date the aircraft was assigned to VAW-11, initially being coded RR-707 (date unknown), but it wasrecoded RR-774 by jul66 and had become NH-707 by nov66. On 20apr67 the aircraft was assigned to VAW-114 (coded NH-707 inapr67), RVAW-110 on 16nov67, VAW-115 on 24jun68 (was coded NE-751 in jul68/sep68, had become NE-011 by oct68) and RVAW-

110 again on 24jul69. Next followed the official redesignation as E-2B on 12apr70 and assignment to VAW-114 on 09jun70 (notedas NH-012 nov70/nov72), followed by VAW-117 on 24mar75 (as AG-773 oct75/may76), VAW-114 again on 26may76 and RVAW-11020aug76. Rather surprisingly, the aircraft was officially redesignated TE-2A on 28oct77 and remained active with RVAW-110. Withthat unit, the aircraft carried various codes, like TT-323 may77/oct77, TT-336 sep78/oct80 and NJ-336 oct82/apr83 until SOC on26jan84. A few months before that, on 01sep83, the aircraft had been relegated to ground instructional duties with RVAW-110, andwas noted with code OTT in jan84. Not noted since that time and probably scrapped.

The Naval Missile Center (NMC) at NAS Point Mugu operated just a single E-2 Hawkeye in its history, so this is quite a rare beast!The photo shows 149818 in their markings during a show at their home base on 15 May 1965. (Duane Kasulka via Stephen Miller)


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150534 Accepted on 05jun63 as an E-2A and assigned to NATC on 30jan64. It was redesignated JE-2A the next day, but revertedto E-2A on 31aug64, but went back to Grumman. It was assigned to RVAW-110 on 22nov66, VAW-113 on 23jan67 (noted with mo-dex NK-752 sep67), RVAW-110 on 15jan68 and VAW-112 on 17feb69, before it was redesignated E-2B on 16feb70. Next followedassignments to VAW-114 on 01jul70 (as NH-011 in nov70), RVAW-110 on 20jul71, VAW-116 on 27nov72 (noted as NG-010 apr74/may75), VAW-111 on 25jun76, RVAW-110 on 14sep76 (modex TT-324 carried in oct77), VAW-113 on 31aug79 (as NK-603 oct79)and VAW-115 on 18feb80 (noted as NF-602 feb80), before it was sent to NARF North Island on 27jan82, where it was SOC a fewdays later on 01feb82. Seen on the dump at North Island apr85, not noted since and probably scrapped.

150535 Accepted on 31jul63

Hawkeye - Jan Van Waarde 2010

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