Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Speedy-ish Delivery!

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.

11 comments:

Boyd said...

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.

These things were a lot more fun back when I was in my 20s.

Charlie Foxtrot said...

I'll be really disappointed if that lil' guy didn't get the nickname of SLUF.

RHT447 said...

Calif. Dept. of Forestry has been running this upgraded version for awhile...

http://www.fire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/S2T.pdf

Here's a fire drop...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSOjWerhDYc

BGMiller said...

Was the cargo hold full of rubber dog shit?


BGM

Anonymous said...

Sorry, Charlie Foxtrot, the SLUF (Short Little Ugly F***er) was the A-7 Corsair.
It made up for its low speed with its short range.

Gewehr98 said...

Those nacelles are huge for having radials out front!

Aesop said...

Loud 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.

Nonetheless 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.

RustyGunner said...

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.

Gewehr98, in the antisub configuration, the nacelles also house the main gear and the sonobuoys.

rickn8or said...

Annd in the COD version, they had the multi-place life-rafts.

**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!

Anonymous said...

There was one parked out front of Willow Grove NAS.

Gerry

Butch_S. said...

I have a pair of rudder pedals out of a C-1/S-2 around here somewhere.

Ran across the following page looking for info about them:

http://wiseminds.com/thedigitalmirage/?p=21