98-540: The Grumman S-2 Tracker ( S2F prior to 1962) is the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy . Designed and initially built by Grumman , the Tracker was of conventional design — propeller-driven with twin radial engines, a high wing that could be folded for storage on aircraft carriers, and tricycle undercarriage. The type
196-406: A Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) AN/ASQ-8 mounted on an extendable rear mounted boom were also fitted. Early model Trackers had an Electronic Support Measures (ESM) pod mounted dorsally just aft of the front seat overhead hatches and were also fitted with a smoke particle detector or " sniffer " for detecting exhaust particles from diesel-electric submarines running on snorkel . Later S-2s had
294-417: A 35–40 lb (16–18 kg) cone-shaped steel drum on a 5 ft (1.5 m) shaft, intended to be thrown at a submarine. Firing Lyddite shells, or using trench mortars , was tried. Use of nets to ensnare U-boats was also examined, as was a destroyer, HMS Starfish , fitted with a spar torpedo . To attack at set depths, aircraft bombs were attached to lanyards which would trigger their charges;
392-462: A comparable WW2 submarine; in addition, they recharged their batteries using a snorkel and could complete a patrol without surfacing. This led to the introduction of longer-ranged forward-throwing weapons, such as Weapon Alpha , Limbo , RBU-6000 , and of improved homing torpedoes. Nuclear submarines , even faster still, and without the need to snorkel to recharge batteries, posed an even greater threat; in particular, shipborne helicopters (recalling
490-473: A deliberately lit fire in a hangar at Nowra destroyed or badly damaged a large proportion of the RAN's complement of Trackers. Of the 14 original aircraft, one was away from Nowra undergoing maintenance at the time of the fire and three aircraft were damaged but only two of these were repaired. The destroyed aircraft were subsequently replaced with 16 ex-USN aircraft. The replacement aircraft were all S-2Gs, including
588-403: A device intended for countermining , a "dropping mine". At Admiral John Jellicoe 's request, the standard Mark II mine was fitted with a hydrostatic pistol (developed in 1914 by Thomas Firth & Sons of Sheffield) preset for 45 ft (14 m) firing, to be launched from a stern platform. Weighing 1,150 lb (520 kg), and effective at 100 ft (30 m), the "cruiser mine"
686-423: A four-door fire retardant tank replacing the weapons bay and adjacent mid-fuselage section. Firecats were made in two variants: the piston-engined Firecat and the turboprop-powered Turbo Firecat. In 1958, CAL FIRE , then CDF, contracted with a private air tanker service for the use of their converted World War II aircraft. By 1970 the department began to evaluate the use of former military Grumman S-2 aircraft. Over
784-410: A large role. The use of nuclear propulsion and streamlined hulls has resulted in submarines with high speed capability and increased maneuverability, as well as low "indiscretion rates" when a submarine is exposed on the surface. This has required changes both to the sensors and weapons used for ASW. Because nuclear submarines were noisy, there was an emphasis on passive sonar detection. The torpedo became
882-407: A large, modern submarine fleet, because all had fallen in the grip of Mahanian doctrine which held guerre de course could not win a war. At the beginning of the conflict, most navies had few ideas how to combat submarines beyond locating them with sonar and then dropping depth charges on them. Sonar proved much less effective than expected, and was no use at all against submarines operating on
980-703: A long tail boom (fixed-wing aircraft) or an aerodynamic housing carried on a deployable tow line (helicopters). Keeping the sensor away from the plane's engines and avionics helps eliminate interference from the carrying platform. At one time, reliance was placed on electronic warfare detection devices exploiting the submarine's need to perform radar sweeps and transmit responses to radio messages from home port. As frequency surveillance and direction finding became more sophisticated, these devices enjoyed some success. However, submariners soon learned not to rely on such transmitters in dangerous waters. Home bases can then use extremely low frequency radio signals, able to penetrate
1078-656: A meeting with their American counterparts in June 1917. In October 1918, there was a meeting in Paris on "supersonics", a term used for echo-ranging, but the technique was still in research by the end of the war. The first recorded sinking of a submarine by depth charge was U-68 , sunk by Q-ship HMS Farnborough off County Kerry , Ireland 22 March 1916. By early 1917, the Royal Navy had also developed indicator loops which consisted of long lengths of cables lain on
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#17327800463581176-575: A ram with which to sink submarines, and U-15 was thus sunk in August 1914. During June 1915, the Royal Navy began operational trials of the Type D depth charge, with a 300 lb (140 kg) charge of TNT ( amatol , as TNT supplies became critical) and a hydrostatic pistol, firing at either 40 or 80 ft (12 or 24 m), and believed to be effective at a distance of 140 ft (43 m);
1274-471: A result, in the latter half of 1943, US subs were suddenly sinking Japanese ships at a dramatically higher rate, scoring their share of key warship kills and accounting for almost half of the Japanese merchant fleet. Japan's naval command was caught off guard; Japan had neither the anti-submarine technology or doctrine, nor the production capability to withstand a tonnage war of attrition , nor did she develop
1372-598: A semi-autonomous oceangoing unmanned naval vessel. Today some nations have seabed listening devices capable of tracking submarines. It is possible to detect man-made marine noises across the southern Indian Ocean from South Africa to New Zealand. Some of the SOSUS arrays have been turned over to civilian use and are now used for marine research. Several countries developed anti-submarine missiles including United States , Russia , China , South Korea , Japan and India . Anti-submarine missiles give flexibility in terms of
1470-636: A series of accidents caused by the advanced age and fatigue of the airframes. The Uruguayan Navy received the first three S-2A Trackers on 10 April 1965 at the Capitan Curbelo Navy Base. On 15 September 1982, one S-2G arrived. On 2 February 1983, another two S-2Gs arrived. By September 2004, the remaining Uruguayan Trackers were not in flight condition. From the late 1970s until the mid-1990s Conair Aviation of Abbotsford, British Columbia , Canada took possession of retired Canadian and U.S. Trackers and converted them into Firecats , with
1568-571: A ship by an underwater vehicle are generally believed to have been during the American Revolutionary War , using what would now be called a naval mine but what was then referred to as a torpedo. Even so, various attempts to produce submarines had been made prior to this. In 1866, British engineer Robert Whitehead invented the first effective self-propelled torpedo, the eponymous Whitehead torpedo ; French and German inventions followed soon thereafter. The first submarine with
1666-507: A similar idea was a 16 lb (7.3 kg) guncotton charge in a lanyarded can; two of these lashed together became known as the Depth Charge Type A. Problems with the lanyards tangling and failing to function led to the development of a chemical pellet trigger as the Type B. These were effective at a distance of around 20 ft (6.1 m). Perhaps the best early concept arose in a 1913 RN Torpedo School report, describing
1764-522: A single prototype. The Turkish Navy had retired its entire Tracker fleet 1994, so these aircraft were readily available for modification. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) undertook a study in 1997 to investigate if it was possible to convert any of these S-2Es for firefighting. After re-engining with Honeywell TPE331 turboprop engines, at a cost of about $ 3 million per aircraft, it was expected to provide at least twenty years of service. TAI ordered an S-2T Turbo Tracker upgrade kit for conversion of one of
1862-719: A torpedo was Nordenfelt I built in 1884–1885, though it had been proposed earlier. By the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War , all the large navies except the Germans had acquired submarines. Nevertheless, by 1904, all powers still defined the submarine as an experimental vessel and did not put it into operational use. There were no means to detect submerged U-boats, and attacks on them were limited at first to efforts to damage their periscopes with hammers. The Royal Navy torpedo establishment, HMS Vernon , studied explosive grapnel sweeps; these sank four or five U-boats in
1960-454: Is used for first detecting, then classifying, locating, and tracking a target submarine. Sensors are therefore a key element of ASW. Common weapons for attacking submarines include torpedoes and naval mines , which can both be launched from an array of air, surface, and underwater platforms. ASW capabilities are often considered of significant strategic importance, particularly following provocative instances of unrestricted submarine warfare and
2058-542: The R1 was the first ASW submarine. 211 of the 360 U-boats were sunk during the war, from a variety of ASW methods: This period saw the development of active sonar ( ASDIC ) and its integration into a complete weapons system by the British, as well as the introduction of radar . During the period, there was a great advance due to the introduction of electronics for amplifying, processing, and displaying signals. In particular,
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#17327800463582156-493: The Admiralty . To attack submerged boats, a number of anti-submarine weapons were derived, including the sweep with a contact-fused explosive. Bombs were dropped by aircraft and depth charge attacks were made by ships. Prior to the introduction of dedicated depth charge throwers, charges were manually rolled off the stern of a ship. The Q-ship , a warship disguised as a merchantman, was used to attack surfaced U-boats, while
2254-685: The Grumman AF Guardian , which was the first purpose-built aircraft system for anti-submarine warfare . The Guardian operated in two aircraft "hunter-killer" pairs, with one aircraft (the AF2-W) carrying the detection gear to find the submarine and to direct the second aircraft, the AF-2S, which carried weapons to attack and destroy the submarine. The Tracker combined both functions in one aircraft, saving deck space aboard carriers and making for more efficient operations. Grumman's design (model G-89)
2352-791: The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). 99 Trackers were actually built by DHC, with the first Canadian-built aircraft flying on 31 May 1956. From 1957 onwards, these aircraft operated from the newly deployed aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure and various shore bases. All the Canadian Trackers were built to the earlier "A" model airframe design with a length of 42 feet (13 m) (c.f. 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m) for later model Trackers) in order to fit in Bonaventure ' s hangar. In 1960–1961, 17 CS2F-1 aircraft, which had been relegated to training and utility duties by
2450-660: The Second World War , the Allies developed a huge range of new technologies, weapons and tactics to counter the submarine danger. These included: Italian and German submarines operated in the Mediterranean on the Axis side while French and British submarines operated on the side of the Allies. The German Navy sent 62 U-boats to the Mediterranean; all were lost in combat or scuttled. German subs first had to pass through
2548-589: The Whiskey and Zulu classes. Britain also tested hydrogen peroxide fuels in Meteorite , Excalibur , and Explorer , with less success. To deal with these more capable submarines new ASW weapons were essential. This new generation of diesel electric submarine, like the Type XXI before it, had no deck gun and a streamlined hull tower for greater underwater speed, as well as more storage battery capacity than
2646-511: The Wolfpack achieved initial success, but became increasingly costly as more capable ASW aircraft were introduced. Technologies such as the Naxos radar detector gained only a temporary reprieve until detection apparatus advanced yet again. Intelligence efforts, such as Ultra , had also played a major role in curtailing the submarine threat and guiding ASW efforts towards greater success. During
2744-530: The blimps of World War I) have emerged as essential anti-submarine platforms. A number of torpedo carrying missiles such as ASROC and Ikara were developed, combining ahead-throwing capability (or longer-range delivery) with torpedo homing. Since the introduction of submarines capable of carrying ballistic missiles , great efforts have been made to counter the threat they pose; here, maritime patrol aircraft (as in World War II) and helicopters have had
2842-508: The carrier onboard delivery (COD) (US-2A conversions,) maritime patrol, and ASW roles. They were extensively used in the 1982 Falklands War , first from Veinticinco de Mayo , from where they detected the British task force, and then from the mainland when the carrier returned to port after the sinking of the cruiser ARA General Belgrano . In the 1990s, six remaining airframes were refurbished by Israel Aerospace Industries with turboprop engines as S-2T Turbo Trackers. As of 2010, with
2940-491: The postwar era, ASW continued to advance, as the arrival of nuclear submarines had rendered some traditional techniques less effective. The superpowers of the era constructed sizable submarine fleets, many of which were armed with nuclear weapons ; in response to the heightened threat posed by such vessels, various nations chose to expand their ASW capabilities. Helicopters , capable of operating from almost any warship and equipped with ASW apparatus, became commonplace during
3038-493: The unification of Canadian forces in 1968. After Bonaventure was decommissioned in 1970, all remaining Canadian Trackers were transferred to shore bases. This limited their usefulness for ASW patrols, and between 1974 and 1981 gradually all but 20 were placed in storage and the remainder were stripped of their ASW gear. The remaining active-duty Trackers served until 1990 on fisheries protection and maritime patrol duties. A handful of Trackers were kept in flying condition until
Grumman S-2 Tracker - Misplaced Pages Continue
3136-484: The "life and death" urgency in the Atlantic. However, US Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood pressured the ordnance department to replace the faulty torpedoes; famously when they initially ignored his complaints, he ran his own tests to prove the torpedoes' unreliability. He also cleaned out the "deadwood", replacing many cautious or unproductive submarine skippers with younger (somewhat) and more aggressive commanders. As
3234-470: The "range recorder" was a major step that provided a memory of target position. Because the propellers of many submarines were extremely loud in the water (though it doesn't seem so from the surface), range recorders were able to gauge the distance from the U-boat by sound. This would allow mines or bombs around that area to be detonated. New materials for sound projectors were developed. Both the Royal Navy and
3332-526: The 1960s. Increasingly capable fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft were also widely used, capable of covering vast areas of ocean. The Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD), diesel exhaust sniffers , sonobuoys and other electronic warfare technologies also became a staple of ASW efforts. Dedicated attack submarines , purpose-built to track down and destroy other submarines, became a key component as well. Torpedo carrying missiles, such as ASROC and Ikara , were another area of advancement. The first attacks on
3430-594: The AN/AQA-3 and later AQA-4 detection sets, whereas the introduction of active sonobuoys (pingers) and AN/AQA-7 with the S-2G conversion saw these removed. Smoke dispensers were mounted on the port ventral surface of the nacelles in groups of three each. The Tracker was eventually superseded in U.S. military service by the Lockheed S-3 Viking ; the last USN Tracker operational squadron (VS-37 with S-2G models)
3528-659: The Allied merchant convoys and strategic shipping lanes to any degree that German U-boats did. One major advantage the Allies had was the breaking of the Japanese "Purple" code by the US, so allowing friendly ships to be diverted from Japanese submarines and allowing Allied submarines to intercept Japanese forces. In 1942 and early 1943, US submarines posed little threat to Japanese ships, whether warships or merchant ships. They were initially hampered by poor torpedoes, which often failed to detonate on impact, ran too deep, or even ran wild. As
3626-625: The CS2F designation were manufactured in Canada under license by de Havilland Canada . U.S.-built versions of the Tracker were sold to various nations, including Australia, Japan, Turkey and Taiwan . The Tracker had an internal torpedo bay capable of carrying two lightweight aerial torpedoes or one nuclear depth charge . There were six underwing hard points for rocket pods and conventional depth charges or up to four additional torpedoes. A ventrally-mounted retractable radome for AN/APS-38 radar and
3724-617: The CS2F-2, were transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy . From 1964, 45 CS2F-2s were upgraded by fitting revised electronic equipment and sensors, becoming CS2F-3s. Also in 1964, a pair of CS2F-1 aircraft were stripped of armament and ASW electronics, converted to transports, and subsequently used for carrier onboard delivery. The CS2F-1, -2, and -3 were redesignated as the CP-121 Mk.1, Mk. 2, and Mk. 3 respectively following
3822-470: The First World War. A similar approach featured a string of 70 lb (32 kg) charges on a floating cable, fired electrically; an unimpressed Admiral Edward Evans considered any U-boat sunk by it deserved to be. Another primitive technique of attacking submarines was the dropping of 18.5 lb (8.4 kg) hand-thrown guncotton bombs. The Lance Bomb was developed, also; this featured
3920-563: The Navy developed and introduced the Kyushu Q1W anti-submarine bomber into service in 1945. The Japanese depth charge attacks by its surface forces initially proved fairly unsuccessful against U.S. fleet submarines. Unless caught in shallow water, a U.S. submarine commander could normally escape destruction, sometimes using temperature gradients ( thermoclines ). Additionally, IJN doctrine emphasized fleet action, not convoy protection, so
4018-811: The Pacific, mainly against coastal shipping. In the immediate postwar period, the innovations of the late war U-boats were quickly adopted by the major navies. Both the United Kingdom and The United States studied the German Type XXI and used the information to modify WW2 fleet boats, the US with the GUPPY program and the UK with the Overseas Patrol Submarines Project. The Soviets launched new submarines patterned on Type XXIs,
Grumman S-2 Tracker - Misplaced Pages Continue
4116-569: The RAN's 816 Squadron , which embarked aboard the Majestic -class aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as part of the 21st Carrier Air Group whenever that ship was deployed; and with 851 Squadron , the S-2 training squadron. Australia initially acquired 14 S-2Es. During approximately 17 years of operation of the Tracker, the RAN lost only one S-2 during aircraft operations due to an accident at sea on 10 February 1975. However, on 4 December 1976,
4214-786: The ROCN Aviation Command on 1 July 1999. In 2013, the S-2s were transferred back into ROCAF service. In May 2017, all S-2Ts were withdrawn from active service. The Turkish Navy received a number of ex-U.S. Navy S-2E Trackers under the MAP program and operated them from the Cengiz Topel Naval Air Base starting in the 1960s. These were later supplemented by retired S-2A (or S-2N as called by the Dutch) airframes from Netherlands. Turkish Trackers were retired in 1994 after
4312-529: The S-2Es. Following its conversion in 1999, the aircraft was used during the 1999 Antalya wildfires and the Tüpraş Izmit Oil Refinery fire, started after the 1999 İzmit earthquake . Although up to fifteen aircraft were intended to be converted, the project was cancelled in 2002 for unclear reasons. TAI's Flight Test Engineering Group flew the lone converted aircraft as a testbed for new technology until
4410-640: The Type D*, with a 120 lb (54 kg) charge, was offered for smaller ships. In July 1915, the British Admiralty set up the Board of Invention and Research (BIR) to evaluate suggestions from the public as well as carrying out their own investigations. Some 14,000 suggestions were received about combating submarines. In December 1916, the RN set up its own Anti-Submarine Division (ASD), from which came
4508-409: The U.S. Navy fitted their destroyers with active sonars. In 1928, a small escort ship was designed and plans made to arm trawlers and to mass-produce ASDIC sets. Several other technologies were developed; depth sounders that allowed measurement by moving ships were a new innovation, along with a greater appreciation of the properties of the ocean that affected sound propagation. The bathythermograph
4606-433: The US submarine menace was slight in the beginning, Japanese commanders became complacent and as a result did not invest heavily into ASW measures or upgrade their convoy protection to any degree to what the Allies in the Atlantic did. Often encouraged by the Japanese not placing a high priority on the Allied submarine threat, US skippers were relatively complacent and docile compared to their German counterparts, who understood
4704-585: The WF Tracer and TF Trader, which became the Grumman E-1 Tracer and Grumman C-1 Trader in the tri-service designation standardization of 1962. The S-2 carried the nickname "Stoof" (S-two-F) throughout its military career; and the E-1 Tracer variant with the large overhead radome was colloquially called the "stoof with a roof.". Grumman produced 1,185 Trackers and another 99 aircraft carrying
4802-487: The best ships and crews went elsewhere. Moreover, during the first part of the war, the Japanese tended to set their depth charges too shallow, unaware U.S. submarines could dive below 150 feet (45m). Unfortunately, this deficiency was revealed in a June 1943 press conference held by U.S. Congressman Andrew J. May , and soon enemy depth charges were set to explode as deep as 250 feet (76m). Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood , COMSUBPAC , later estimated May's revelation cost
4900-552: The design also continued to provide excellent service with the naval forces of other countries for years after the U.S. retired them. For example, the Royal Australian Navy continued to use Trackers as front line ASW assets until the mid-1980s. Argentine Naval Aviation received seven S-2As in 1962, six S-2Es in 1978, and three S-2Gs in the 1990s. They were operated from both aircraft carriers, ARA Independencia and ARA Veinticinco de Mayo , and used in
4998-530: The early part of the Pacific War, Japanese subs scored several tactical victories, three successful torpedo strikes on the US fleet carriers Yorktown (CV-5), USS Saratoga and USS Wasp (CV-7), The Saratoga survived the attack and was repaired, while the Yorktown and Wasp were both abandoned and scuttled as a result of the attack. The USS North Carolina (BB-55) received a single torpedo in
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#17327800463585096-399: The end of World War II . While dipping hydrophones appeared before war's end, the trials were abandoned. Seaplanes and airships were also used to patrol for submarines. A number of successful attacks were made, but the main value of air patrols was in driving the U-boat to submerge, rendering it virtually blind and immobile. However, the most effective anti-submarine measure was
5194-440: The endurance of small submarines. Previously the emphasis had been largely on deep water operation but this has now switched to littoral operation where ASW is generally more difficult. There are a large number of technologies used in modern anti-submarine warfare: In modern times forward looking infrared (FLIR) detectors have been used to track the large plumes of heat that fast nuclear-powered submarines leave while rising to
5292-522: The fact a submarine of the day was often on the surface for a range of reasons, such as charging batteries or crossing long distances. The first approach to protect warships was chainlink nets strung from the sides of battleships , as defense against torpedoes . Nets were also deployed across the mouth of a harbour or naval base to stop submarines entering or to stop torpedoes of the Whitehead type fired against ships. British warships were fitted with
5390-504: The helicopter has been used solely for sensing and rocket delivered torpedoes used as the weapon. Surface ships continue to be an important ASW platform because of their endurance, now having towed array sonars. Submarines are the main ASW platform because of their ability to change depth and their quietness, which aids detection. In early 2010 DARPA began funding the ACTUV programme to develop
5488-405: The highly defended Straits of Gibraltar , where nine were sunk, and a similar number damaged so severely they had to limp back to base. The Mediterranean is calmer than the Atlantic, which made escape for U-boats more difficult and was ringed with Allied air bases. Similar ASW methods were used as in the Atlantic but an additional menace was the use by Italians of midget submarines. Operating under
5586-653: The introduction of submarine-launched ballistic missiles , which greatly increased the lethality of submarines. At the beginning of the twentieth century, ASW techniques and submarines themselves were primitive. During the First World War , submarines deployed by Imperial Germany proved themselves to be a capable threat to shipping, being capable of striking targets even out in the North Atlantic Ocean. Accordingly, multiple nations embarked on research into devising more capable ASW methods, resulting in
5684-570: The introduction of escorted convoys , which reduced the loss of ships entering the German war zone around the British Isles from 25% to less than 1%. The historian Paul E. Fontenoy summarised the situation as: "[t]he convoy system defeated the German submarine campaign ." A major contributing factor was the interception of German submarine radio signals and breaking of their code by Room 40 of
5782-457: The introduction of practical depth charges and advances in sonar technology; the adoption of the convoy system also proved to be a decisive tactic. After a lull in progress during the interwar period, the Second World War would see submarine warfare and ASW alike advance rapidly, particularly during the critical Battle of the Atlantic , during which Axis submarines sought to prevent Britain from effectively importing supplies. Techniques such as
5880-511: The largest and longest range vessels of their type and were armed with the Type 95 torpedo . However, they ended up having little impact, especially in the latter half of the war. Instead of commerce raiding like their U-boat counterparts, they followed the Mahanian doctrine, serving in offensive roles against warships, which were fast, maneuverable and well-defended compared to merchant ships. In
5978-472: The late 1990s but were no longer used for active service. DHC purchased a single U.S.-built S2F-1 from Grumman for testing avionics and anti-submarine systems and also for evaluating Engineering Change Proposals created by Grumman; it was initially given RCN serial number 1500 and counted as one of the 100 contracted airframes. In 1954, this aircraft was transferred to the RCN for operational testing, and assigned
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#17327800463586076-541: The launch platform. India developed supersonic long range anti-submarine missile called SMART . The missile helps to deliver torpedo 643 km away. In World War I , eight submarines were sunk by friendly fire and in World War II nearly twenty were sunk this way. Still, IFF has not been regarded a high concern before the 1990s by the US military as not many other countries possess submarines . VT-27 Too Many Requests If you report this error to
6174-580: The light aircraft carrier Karel Doorman until a fire in 1968 took that ship out of Dutch service. A total of 18 aircraft were converted to S-2N (for Netherlands) standard by Fairey Canada in 1968–1970 for ASW and MR use with 1 Sqn (at Hato International Airport ), of which four were converted to US-2N trainer/transport standards in May 1971. Most of the de Havilland Canada-built CS-2As were scrapped by 1970 or used for ground instruction. The last Tracker in MLD service
6272-409: The main weapon (though nuclear depth charges were developed). The mine continued to be an important ASW weapon. In some areas of the ocean, where land forms natural barriers, long strings of sonobuoys, deployed from surface ships or dropped from aircraft, can monitor maritime passages for extended periods. Bottom mounted hydrophones can also be used, with land based processing. A system like this SOSUS
6370-633: The mid-2010s. Many retired Trackers were sold to private owners for fire-fighting duties. Some were rebuilt and re-engined with turboprop engines. Although still in active service in South America, numbers of Trackers are on public display, mainly in countries that formerly operated the type. Data from Canada Aviation and Space Museum General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare ( ASW , or in
6468-478: The navy as many as ten submarines and 800 crewmen. Much later in the war, active and passive sonobuoys were developed for aircraft use, together with MAD devices. Toward the end of the war, the Allies developed better forward-throwing weapons, such as Mousetrap and Squid , in the face of new, much better German submarines, such as the Type XVII and Type XXI . British and Dutch submarines also operated in
6566-454: The navy proceeded with procurement and the delivery of four tanker aircraft are expected by 2021. As noted under Argentina above, Trackers of that country have been flown from the São Paulo until its decommissioning in early 2017. In 1954, de Havilland Canada (DHC) entered into a contract to build 100 Trackers under license to replace the outmoded Grumman TBM-3E Avengers being used by
6664-403: The next ten years CAL FIRE continued to build up its fleet of S-2A air tankers and in 1987, CAL FIRE began the process of converting their piston engines to turboprop. By 2005 all of CAL FIRE's airtanker fleet had been converted to S-2T air tankers. The Tracker was considered for Turkey's firefighting aircraft project. The project, which began in the late 1990s, never went beyond the conversion of
6762-476: The ocean's surface, to reach submarines wherever they might be. The military submarine is still a threat, so ASW remains a key to obtaining sea control. Neutralizing the SSBN has been a key driver and this still remains. However, non-nuclear-powered submarines have become increasingly important. Though the diesel-electric submarine continues to dominate in numbers, several alternative technologies now exist to enhance
6860-561: The older form A/S ) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships , aircraft , submarines , or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typically carried out to protect friendly shipping and coastal facilities from submarine attacks and to overcome blockades . Successful ASW operations typically involved a combination of sensor and weapon technologies, along with effective deployment strategies and sufficiently trained personnel. Typically, sophisticated sonar equipment
6958-464: The organizations needed (unlike the Allies in the Atlantic). Japanese antisubmarine forces consisted mainly of their destroyers, with sonar and depth charges. However, Japanese destroyer design, tactics, training, and doctrine emphasized surface nightfighting and torpedo delivery (necessary for fleet operations) over anti-submarine duties. By the time Japan finally developed a destroyer escort , which
7056-602: The original aircraft modified by the USN to that status. This saw the introduction of AQA-7 acoustic gear into RAN service and all RAN operational Trackers were subsequently modified to this standard. The Brazilian Air Force flew Trackers from the aircraft carrier NAeL Minas Gerais . Both the S-2A and S-2E were used (respectively as P-16A and P-16E). At the end of its service in Brazilian Air Force, one S-2T Turbo Tracker
7154-590: The retirement of Argentina's only aircraft carrier, the Trackers were annually deployed on board Brazilian Navy aircraft carrier São Paulo during joint exercises ARAEX and TEMPEREX. and with U.S. Navy aircraft carriers during Gringo-Gaucho maneuvers. As of 2023, at least one S-2T was reported still operational in the maritime surveillance role. Between 1967 and 1984 the Royal Australian Navy operated two Squadrons of S-2E and S-2G variants, based at NAS Nowra ( HMAS Albatross ). These aircraft served with
7252-695: The same attack with the USS Wasp, causing it to miss critical naval actions of the Guadalcanal campaign. Once the US was able to ramp up construction of destroyers and destroyer escorts , as well as bringing over highly effective anti-submarine techniques learned from the British from experiences in the Battle of the Atlantic , they would take a significant toll on Japanese submarines, which tended to be slower and could not dive as deep as their German counterparts. Japanese submarines, in particular, never menaced
7350-428: The same clear-water conditions in the Mediterranean – such that British submarines were painted dark blue on their upper surfaces to make them less visible from the air when submerged at periscope depth – the Royal Navy, mostly operating from Malta , lost 41 submarines to the opposing German and Italian forces, including HMS Upholder and HMS Perseus . Japanese submarines pioneered many innovations, being some of
7448-534: The same year, converting the remaining S-2E/G to a military S-2T configuration. The conversion involved the installation of two Garrett/Honeywell TPE-331-15AW turboprop engines, each rated at 1,227 kW (1,645 shp), with four-blade propellers This resulted in a payload increase of 500 kg. The upgrade also included new mission equipment of AN/AQS-92F digital sonobuoy processor, A/NARR-84 99-channel sonobuoy receiver, Litton AN/APS-504 radar, AN/ASQ-504 MAD and AN/AAS-40 FLIR. The 27 S-2Ts upgraded were transferred to
7546-514: The seabed to detect the magnetic field of submarines as they passed overhead. At this stage, they were used in conjunction with controlled mines which could be detonated from a shore station once a 'swing' had been detected on the indicator loop galvanometer . Indicator loops used with controlled mining were known as 'guard loops'. By July 1917, depth charges had developed to the extent that settings of between 50–200 ft (15–61 m) were possible. This design would remain mainly unchanged through
7644-589: The ships actually monitoring the enemy submarine. Submerged submarines are generally blind to the actions of a patrolling aircraft until it uses active sonar or fires a weapon, and the aircraft's speed allows it to maintain a fast search pattern around the suspected contact. Increasingly anti-submarine submarines, called attack submarines or hunter-killers, became capable of destroying, particularly, ballistic missile submarines. Initially these were very quiet diesel-electric propelled vessels but they are more likely to be nuclear-powered these days. The development of these
7742-537: The sniffer removed and had the ESM antennae moved to four rounded extensions on the wingtips. A 70-million-candlepower searchlight was mounted on the starboard wing. The engine nacelles carried JEZEBEL sonobuoys in the rear (16 in early marks, 32 in the S-2E/G). Early Trackers also carried 60 explosive charges, dispensed ventrally from the rear of the fuselage and used to create sound pulses for semi-active sonar (JULIE) with
7840-408: The successive generations of Allied airborne radar. The first generation of Allied airborne radar used a 1.7 meter wavelength and had a limited range. By the second half of 1942 the " Metox " radar detector was used by U-boats to give some warning from airborne attack. During 1943, the Allies began to deploy aircraft equipped with new cavity magnetron-based 10-centimeter wavelength radar (ASV III), which
7938-533: The successor of Minas Gerais , NAe São Paulo . Following the bankruptcy of Marsh Aviation in 2009 the program suffered delays and the upgrade of the airframes was resumed in partnership with Elbit Systems 's subsidiary, M7 Aerospace . The decommissioning of the São Paulo in 2017 means that the Brazilian Navy does not have an immediate need for carrier-based tankers, transports and AEW aircraft, however
8036-499: The surface, as U-boats routinely did at night. The Royal Navy had continued to develop indicator loops between the wars but this was a passive form of harbour defense that depended on detecting the magnetic field of submarines by the use of long lengths of cable lain on the floor of the harbour. Indicator loop technology was quickly developed further and deployed by the US Navy in 1942. By then, there were dozens of loop stations around
8134-624: The surface. FLIR devices are also used to see periscopes or snorkels at night whenever a submariner might be incautious enough to probe the surface. Satellites have been used to image the sea surface using optical and radar techniques. Fixed-wing aircraft, such as the P-3 Orion & Tu-142 provide both a sensor and weapons platform similar to some helicopters like the Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk , with sonobuoys and/or dipping sonars as well as aerial torpedoes . In other cases
8232-497: The term "Asdic", but relations with the BIR were poor. After 1917, most ASW work was carried out by the ASD. In the U.S., a Naval Consulting Board was set up in 1915 to evaluate ideas. After American entry into the war in 1917, they encouraged work on submarine detection. The U.S. National Research Council , a civilian organization, brought in British and French experts on underwater sound to
8330-489: The test code X-500 . In 1956, it was upgraded to CS2F-1 standards and assigned serial number 1501; it was last used as a stationary instructional airframe at Shearwater until 1972. It is not known whether this aircraft was ever assigned a U.S. Navy bureau number . The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force received 60 S2F-1s in 1957 from U.S. stocks, and were operated until 1984. After being received, six S2F-1s were reconfigured into four S2F-U and two S2F-C variants. The S2F-1
8428-513: The world. Sonar was far more effective and loop technology for ASW purposes was discontinued shortly after the conflict's end. The use and improvement of radar technology was one of the most important elements in the fight against submarines. Locating submarines was the first step in being able to defend against and destroy them. Throughout the war, Allied radar technology was much better than their German counterparts. German U-boats struggled to have proper radar detection capabilities and keep up with
8526-529: Was also a potential hazard to the dropping ship. During the First World War , submarines were a major threat. They operated in the Baltic, North Sea, Black Sea and Mediterranean as well as the North Atlantic. Previously, they had been limited to relatively calm and protected waters. The vessels used to combat them were a range of small, fast surface ships using guns and good luck. They mainly relied on
8624-530: Was deployed by the US in the GIUK gap and other strategically important places. Airborne ASW forces developed better bombs and depth charges , while for ships and submarines a range of towed sonar devices were developed to overcome the problem of ship-mounting. Helicopters can fly courses offset from the ships and transmit sonar information to their combat information centres . They can also drop sonobuoys and launch homing torpedoes to positions many miles away from
8722-578: Was disestablished in 1976. The last Navy S-2 was withdrawn from service on 29 August 1976. For many years the TS-2A version of the Tracker was used by U.S. Navy training units, culminating with its use by Training Squadron 27 ( VT-27 ), Training Squadron 28 ( VT-28 ) and Training Squadron 31 ( VT-31 ) for Student Naval Aviator training in the multi-engine pipeline with Training Air Wing FOUR (TRAWING 4) at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi , Texas. A number of Trackers live on as firefighting aircraft while
8820-408: Was evaluated as a possible upgrade, but due high costs the program was canceled. However, in 2010 the Brazilian Navy contracted Marsh Aviation to convert four S-2Ts to Airborne Early Warning configuration and upgrade four additional Grumman C-1 Traders for tanking and carrier onboard delivery transport duties. The latter were scheduled to be back in service by 2015 and were expected to operate from
8918-413: Was exported to a number of navies around the world. Introduced in 1952, the Tracker and its E-1 Tracer derivative saw service in the U.S. Navy until the mid-1970s, and its C-1 Trader derivative until the mid-1980s, with a few aircraft remaining in service with other air arms into the 21st century. Argentina is the last country to still operate the Tracker. The Tracker was intended as a replacement for
9016-540: Was for a large high-wing monoplane with twin Wright Cyclone R-1820 nine cylinder radial engines , a yoke type arrestor hook and a crew of four. Both the two XS2F-1 prototypes and 15 S2F-1 production aircraft were ordered at the same time, on 30 June 1950. The first flight was conducted on 4 December 1952, and production aircraft entered service with VS-26, in February 1954. Follow-on versions included
9114-674: Was invented in 1937, which became a common fixture amongst ASW ships within only a few years. There were relatively few major advances in weapons during the period; however, the performance of torpedoes continued to improve. During the Second World War , the submarine menace revived, threatening the survival of island nations like Britain and Japan which were particularly vulnerable because of their dependence on imports of food, oil, and other vital war materials. Despite this vulnerability, little had been done to prepare sufficient anti-submarine forces or develop suitable new weapons. Other navies were similarly unprepared, even though every major navy had
9212-515: Was more economical and better suited to convoy protection, it was too late; coupled to incompetent doctrine and organization, it could have had little effect in any case. Late in the war, the Japanese Army and Navy used Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) gear in aircraft to locate shallow submerged submarines. The Japanese Army also developed two small aircraft carriers and Ka-1 autogyro aircraft for use in an antisubmarine warfare role, while
9310-626: Was nicknamed Aotaka(あおたか, Blue Hawk) . They were replaced by the Lockheed P-3 Orion . The Netherlands Naval Aviation Service (Marineluchtvaartdienst - MLD), the air arm of the Royal Netherlands Navy , received 28 S-2A (S2F-1) aircraft under MDAP from the US Navy in 1960. An additional 17 Canadian-built CS-2A (CS2F-1) aircraft formerly operated by the Royal Canadian Navy were delivered between December 1960 and September 1961 after being overhauled by Fairey Canada. These aircraft were operated from Valkenburg Naval Air Base as well as from
9408-605: Was strongly influenced by the duel between HMS Venturer and U-864 . A significant detection aid that has continued in service is the Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD), a passive device. First used during the Second World War, MAD uses the Earth's magnetosphere as a standard, detecting anomalies caused by large metallic vessels, such as submarines. Modern MAD arrays are usually contained in
9506-600: Was undetectable by "Metox", in sufficient numbers to yield good results. Eventually the "Naxos" radar detector was fielded that could detect 10-cm wavelength radar, but it had a very short range and only gave a U-boat limited time to dive. Between 1943 and 1945, radar equipped aircraft would account for the bulk of Allied kills against U-boats. Allied anti-submarine tactics developed to defend convoys (the Royal Navy 's preferred method), aggressively hunt down U-boats (the U.S. Navy approach), and to divert vulnerable or valuable ships away from known U-boat concentrations. During
9604-721: Was withdrawn in January 1976, with some transferred to the Turkish Navy. The Peruvian Navy operated with S-2E and S-2G from 1975 until 1989, they were assigned to Naval Aviation Squadron N°12 (Escuadron Aeronaval N°12). A total of 12 S-2Es were bought from the U.S. Navy in 1975 and 4 S-2G in 1983. The Republic of China Air Force initially operated the S-2A in 1967. In 1976, they received S-2Es. The S-2As were later converted into target aircraft and later decommissioned in batches from 1979 to 1992. In 1986, several S-2Gs were purchased to make up for attrition. A modernization program began
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