Grumman | |||
E-1 / WF Tracer
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Photo: Robert Deering 6/13/2017 USS Intrepid Museum (CV-11) New York City, New York |
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The Grumman 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 Grumman
E-2 Hawkeye by
the 1970s.
The Tracer was fitted with the Hazeltine AN/APS-82
in its radome and fuselage. The radar
featured an Airborne Moving Target Indicator
(AMTI), which compares the video of one
pulse time to the next in reflected radar energy
to distinguish a flying aircraft from the
clutter produced by wave action at the
ocean's surface. The energy reflected from
an aircraft changes position rapidly
compared to the energy reflected from the
surrounding sea. 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.
By May 1973, most E-1Bs were retired, with
only four VAW-121 Tracers based at NAS
Norfolk, Virginia, still in service.
These aircraft were soon retired during
mid-summer 1977 following a final cruise on
board the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) and
were ferried to the Davis-Monthan storage
facility. The E-1B Tracer was struck from
the inventory by 1977.
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