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| Grumman C-1A Trader |
The
Grumman C-1 Trader was a COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) version of the S-2 Tracker sub hunter. An enlarged fuselage allowed it to carry 9 passengers or cargo to the deck of a bird farm at sea.
The S-2 prototype flew in 1952 and the C-1 cargo variant first flew in '55. The last one didn't leave Navy service until 1988.
I'll never forget the COD flight when the loadmaster spent most of our air time stuffing plastic bags into the cracks around the loading ramp. He never missed a beat, even when the oxygen masks dropped into the passengers' laps.
ReplyDeleteThese things were a lot more fun back when I was in my 20s.
I'll be really disappointed if that lil' guy didn't get the nickname of SLUF.
ReplyDeleteCalif. Dept. of Forestry has been running this upgraded version for awhile...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/S2T.pdf
Here's a fire drop...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSOjWerhDYc
Was the cargo hold full of rubber dog shit?
ReplyDeleteBGM
Sorry, Charlie Foxtrot, the SLUF (Short Little Ugly F***er) was the A-7 Corsair.
ReplyDeleteIt made up for its low speed with its short range.
Those nacelles are huge for having radials out front!
ReplyDeleteLoud inside and out, jerky, uninsulated, unpadded, unheated, un-air-conditioned, uncomfortable, smelling of part fuel, and part remnants of the last passengers' lunch, and reminiscent for all the world like going over Niagara Falls in a can of Spam whether departing or arriving.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless the crews took a perverse pride in adopting the "neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor dark of night" ethic of getting on or off the deck.
Here's to 'em.
My father flew S-2s with four squadrons (commanding one) off three carriers in the 60s, and various hangar queens were my playgrounds for much of my youth. Ah, memories.
ReplyDeleteGewehr98, in the antisub configuration, the nacelles also house the main gear and the sonobuoys.
Annd in the COD version, they had the multi-place life-rafts.
ReplyDelete**C&R Content** Rode one of these on and off the Lexington (CVT-16) more than once. The drop off the end when deck launching was WHEEEEEE!
There was one parked out front of Willow Grove NAS.
ReplyDeleteGerry
I have a pair of rudder pedals out of a C-1/S-2 around here somewhere.
ReplyDeleteRan across the following page looking for info about them:
http://wiseminds.com/thedigitalmirage/?p=21