| E-1 Tracer | |
|---|---|
| E-1B Tracer | |
| Role | Carrier AEW |
| Manufacturer | Grumman |
| First flight | 17 December 1956 |
| Introduction | 1958 |
| Retired | 1977 |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | 88 |
| Developed from | Grumman C-1 Trader |
The E-1 Tracer was the first purpose built airborne early warning aircraft used by the United States Navy. It was a derivative of the Grumman C-1 Trader and first entered service in 1958. It was replaced by the more modern E-2 Hawkeye in the early 1970s.
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The E-1 was designated WF under the old US Navy system; the designation earned it the nickname "Willy Fudd". Since the S-2 Tracker was known as S2F under the old system, that aircraft was nicknamed "Stoof"; the WF/E-1 with its distinctive radome gained the nickname "Stoof with a Roof."[1] The E-1 featured folding wings for compact storage aboard aircraft carriers. Unlike the S-2 and C-1 in which the wings folded upwards, the radome atop the fuselage necessitated the E-1 to fold its wings along the sides of the fuselage.[2]
The Tracer was fitted with the Hazeltine AN/APS-82 in its radome. The radar featured an Airborne Moving Target Indicator (AMTI), which analyzes the Doppler shift in reflected radar energy to distinguish a flying aircraft against the clutter produced by wave action at the ocean's surface. Separating a moving object from stationary background is accomplished by suitable hardware.
As one of the first carrier based early warning aircraft, the E-1 Tracer served from 1958 to 1977, although considered only an interim type, being replaced by the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye in the mid-1960s. During the early years of the Vietnam War, E-1s saw extensive service, providing combat air patrol (CAP) fighters with target vectors, and controlling Alpha strikes over North Vietnam. With a radius of 250-300 miles, the E-1B served as an early warning to strike aircraft, of enemy MiG's activity.[3]
By May 1973, most E-1Bs were retired, with only four RVAW-110 Tracers based at NAS North Island, California, still in service. These aircraft were soon retired during mid-summer 1973 and were ferried to the Davis-Monthan storage facility. The E-1B Tracer was struck from the inventory by 1977.
Data from Standard Aircraft Characteristics[4]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
none
There are five Tracers on museum display including an E-1B Tracer on the flight deck of the USS Yorktown (CV-10) at Patriot's Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, another at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City and[5]one at the New England Air Museum.[6]
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