U. S. Navy/Marine Aircraft

Part 2 of 8 – CACCLW, VAW, VAQ & VMAQ

 

A Sailors tale of his Tour of duty in the U.S. Navy (August 1977 to February 1983) Operation Evening Light and Eagle Claw - 24 April 1980

 

Book - ISBN NO.

978-1-4276-0454-5

EBook - ISBN NO.

978-1-329-15473-5

 

 

Operations Evening Light and Eagle Claw (24 April 1980) Iran and Air Arm History (1941 to 1980)

 

Book ISBN NO.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

EBook ISBN NO.

978-1-329-19945-3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U. S. Navy/Marine Aircraft

Part 1 of 8 – CVW, VFA, VMFA, VMA & VMFA(AW)

Part 2 of 8 – CACCLW, VAW, VAQ & VMAQ

Part 3 of 8 – VQ, CFLSW & COMFLELOGSUPPWING

Part 4 of 8 – TACAMO, FLELOGSUPPRON, CFLSW, VR & Cnic // Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans

Part 5 of 8 – VRC & VS

Part 6 of 8 – VFC & CNATRA

Part 7 of 8 – Naval Training Aircraft Photos; UAV Squadrons; COMOPTEVFOR, VX / HX - Air Test and Evaluation Squadron, CPRW-2, CPRW-5, CPRW-10, CPRW-11 and VP

Part 8 of 8 – VT

 

 

 

Ripples appear along the fuselage of a US Navy E-2C due to loads from landing on the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DN-SD-07-00030.jpg

 

 

Two US Navy E-2C Hawkeye flying by Mount Fuji, Japan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:E-2C_Hawkeye_and_Mount_Fuji.jpg

 

 

The first two E-2D prototypes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:E-2D_Hawkeyes_in_flight_c2009.JPG

 

 

A US Navy E-2C of VAW-117 approaches to land on the flight deck of the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), clearly showing the new eight-bladed propellers installed on all of the Navy's E-2Cs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:E-2C_Landing.jpg

 

CACCLW [Commander, Airborne Command Control and Logistics Wing]

 

Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron—CARAEWRON

 

“Each Carrier Airborne Early Warning squadron usually consists of four E-2C Hawkeyes, The Hawkeye's primary mission is to provide all-weather airborne early warning, airborne battle management and command and control (C2) functions for the Carrier Strike Group and Joint Force Commander. Additional missions include surface surveillance coordination, air interdiction, offensive and defensive counter air control, close air support coordination, time critical strike coordination, search and rescue airborne coordination and communications relay. The E-2 Hawkeye and C-2 Greyhound are built on the same airframe and have many similar characteristics. For this reason, both airframes are trained for in the same Fleet Replacement Squadron” (Ref. [2] & List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons - Wikipedia & Navy web site).

 

Navy – Home / Facebook Public History Web Site
VAW-77 / VAW-77	VAW-112  / VAW-112	VAW-113 / VAW-113
VAW-77 / VAW-77 Nightwolves E-2C Reserve Tactical Support Wing JRB New Orleans Images for VAW-77 Comm. 17 Nov. 1995 –  Present	VAW-112 Golden Hawks E-2C CVW-9 NAS Pt. Mugu Comm. 20 Apr. 1967 – May 1970 Activated 3 July 1973 –  Present	VAW-113 Black Eagles E-2C CVW-14 NAS Pt. Mugu Comm. 29 Apr. 1967 –  Present
VAW-115 / VAW-115	VAW-116 / VAW-116 / VAW-116	VAW-117 / VAW-117
VAW-115 Liberty Bells E-2C CVW-5 NAF Atsugi, Japan Images for vaw-115 Comm. 20 Apr. 1967 –  Present	VAW-116 Sun Kings E-2C CVW-2 NAS Pt. Mugu Comm. 20 Apr. 1967 –  Present	VAW-117 Wallbangers E-2C CVW-11 NAS Pt. Mugu Comm. 1 Jul. 1974 – Present
VAW-120 / VAW-120	VAW-121 / VAW-121	VAW-123 / VAW-123
*VAW-120 Grey Hawks E-2C C-2 Fleet Replacement Squadron NS Norfolk Comm. 6 July 1948 – Sept. 1994	VAW-121 Blue Tails E-2C CVW-7 NAS Norfolk Comm. 1 Apr. 1967 – Present	www.cacclw.navy.mil/vaw123 VAW-123 Screwtops E-2C CVW-1 NAS Norfolk Comm. 1 Apr. 1967 –  Present
VAW-124 / VAW-1244	VAW-125 / VAW-125	VAW-126 / VAW-126
VAW-124 / VFW-124 Bear Aces E-2C CVW-8 NAS Norfolk Comm. 1 June 1943 – Present	VAW-125 Tigertails E-2C CVW-17 NAS Norfolk Comm. 1 Oct. 1968 - Present	VAW-126 Seahawks E-2C CVW-3 NAS Norfolk Comm. 1 Apr. 1969 – Present
*The history of VAW-120 starts on 6 July 1948 when Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron TWO (VAW-2) was created at NAS Oceana. In September 1994 VAW-120 became the single site Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) after VAW-110 was decommissioned. Thus VAW-120 is now the sole training squadron for all E-2C and C-2A aircrew.
References include List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons at Wikipedia; others and navy web sites all linked herto.

 

 

A Marine EA-6A Intruder over Cherry Point, 1978. The two-seat EA-6A would be followed by the four-seat EA-6B Prowler.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EA-6A_Intruder_over_Cherry_Point_crop.jpg

 

EA-6B ADVCAP

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EA-6B_AIP.jpg

Advanced Capability EA-6B

 

“The Advanced Capability EA-6B Prowler (ADVCAP) was a development program initiated to improve the flying qualities of the EA-6B and to upgrade the avionics and electronic warfare systems. The intention was to modify all EA-6Bs into the ADVCAP configuration, however the program was removed from the Fiscal Year 1995 budget due to financial pressure from competing Department of Defense acquisition programs.

 

The ADVCAP development program was initiated in the late 1980s and was broken into three distinct phases: Full-Scale Development (FSD), Vehicle Enhancement Program (VEP) and the Avionics Improvement Program (AIP).

 

FSD served primarily to evaluate the new AN/ALQ-149 Electronic Warfare System. The program utilized a slightly modified EA-6B to house the new system.

The VEP added numerous changes to the aircraft to address deficiencies with the original EA-6B flying qualities, particularly lateral-directional problems that hampered recovery from out-of-control flight. Bureau Number 158542 was used. Changes included:

 

· Leading edge strakes (to improve directional stability)

· Fin pod extension (to improve directional stability)

· Ailerons (to improve slow speed lateral control)

· Re-contoured leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps (to compensate for an increase in gross weight)

· Two additional wing stations on the outer wing panel (for jamming pods only)

· New J52-P-409 engines (increased thrust by 2,000 lbf (8.9 kN) per engine)

· New digital Standard Automatic Flight Control System (SAFCS)

 

The added modifications increased the aircraft gross weight approximately 2,000 pound (900 kg) and shifted the center of gravity 3% MAC aft of the baseline EA-6B. In previous models, when operating at sustained high angles of attack, fuel migration would cause additional shifts in CG with the result that the aircraft had slightly negative longitudinal static stability. Results of flight tests of the new configuration showed greatly improved flying qualities and the rearward shift of the CG had minimal impact.

 

The AIP prototype (bureau number 158547) represented the final ADVCAP configuration, incorporating all of the FSD and VEP modifications plus a completely new avionics suite which added multi-function displays to all crew positions, a head-up display for the pilot, and dual Global Positioning/Inertial navigation systems. The initial joint test phase between the contractor and the US Navy test pilots completed successfully with few deficiencies.

 

After the program was canceled, the three experimental Prowlers, BuNo 156482, 158542 and 158547, were mothballed until 1999. During the next several years, the three aircraft were dismantled and reassembled creating a single aircraft, b/n 158542, which the Navy dubbed "FrankenProwler". It was returned to active service 23 March 2005” (Ref. Harvill, Brian (29 April 2005). "VAQ-141 ‘FrankenProwler’ rejoins the fleet". Northwest Navigator -  http://www.northwestnavigator.com/index.php/navigator/whidbey/vaq_141_frankenprowler_rejoins_the_fleet & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EA-6B).

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GRUMMAN_EA-6_PROWLER.png

 

Data from US Navy Fact File,[7] US Navy history page[11]

 

Specifications (EA-6B)

 

General characteristics

 

· Crew: four (one pilot, three electronic countermeasures officers)

· Length: 59 ft 10 in (17.7 m)

· Wingspan: 53 ft (15.9 m)

· Height: 16 ft 8 in (4.9 m)

· Wing area: 528.9 ft² (49.1 m²)

· Empty weight: 31,160 lb (15,130 kg)

· Max. takeoff weight: 61,500 lb (27,900 kg)

· Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney J52-P408A turbojet, 10,400 lbf (46 kN) each

 

Performance

 

· Maximum speed: 566 knots (651 mph, 1,050 km/h)

· Cruise speed: 418 kt (481 mph, 774 km/h)

· Range: 2,022 mi (tanks kept) / 2,400 mi (tanks dropped) (3,254 km / 3,861 km)

· Service ceiling: 37,600 ft (11,500 m)

· Rate of climb: 12,900 ft/min (65 m/s)

· Wing loading: 116 lb/ft² (560 kg/m²)

· Thrust/weight: 0.34

 

Armament

 

· Guns: None

· Hardpoints: 5 total: 1× centreline/under-fuselage plus 4× under-wing pylon stations with a capacity of 18,000 pounds (8,164.7 kg) and provisions to carry combinations of:

o Missiles: Up to 4× AGM-45 Shrike or AGM-88 HARM Anti-radiation missiles

o Other:

▪ Up to 5× 300 US gallons (1,100 L) external drop tanks

▪ Up to 5× AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS) external pods

 

Avionics

 

· AN/ALQ-99 on board receiver (OBS), AN/ALQ-99 pod mounted jamming system (TJS)

USQ-113 communications jamming system

Ref. 7 - EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft". USN Fact File - http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=900&ct=1 - United States Navy. 5 August 2003 & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EA-6B).

Ref. 1 - "EA-6B Prowler". Naval Historical Center - http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,138857,00.html - United States Department of the Navy).

References include  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EA-6B.

 

 

An EA-6B patrols the skies over Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1995.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EA-6B_Prowler_supporting_Joint_Endeavor_from_CVN-73.jpg

 

 

EA-6B Prowler takes off from Eielson AFB. Note the tint of the gold embedded in the canopy. The gold provides protection from electromagnetic interference and prevents some EM emissions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EA-6B_Prowler_takes_off_from_Eielson_AFB.jpg

 

An EA-6B Prowler from VAQ-138 carrying two wing mounted jamming pods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EA-6B_Prowler_from_VAQ-138.jpg

 

 

Two EA-6B Prowlers over Turkey flying in support of Operation Northern Watch, 2002.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EA-6B_Prowlers_supporting_Northern_Watch.jpg

 

 

A U.S. Navy EA-6B Prowler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Usnavy.ea6b.prowler.750pix.jpg

 

 

An EA-18G of VAQ-129 "Vikings" aligns itself for an at-sea landing aboard USS Ronald Reagan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_090217-N-3610L-243_An_EA-18G_Growler_assigned_to_the_.jpg

 

 

An EA-18G Growler of VAQ-141 "Shadowhawks" on the flight deck of USS George H.W. Bush

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_101013-N-5446H-041_An_EA-18G_Growler_assigned_to_Electronic_Attack_Squadron_%28VAQ%29_141_is_on_the_flight_deck_of_the_aircraft_carrier_USS_Geo.jpg

 

 

COMVAQWINGPAC [Commander, Electronic Attack Wing Pacific]

 

Carrier Tactical Electronics Warfare Squadron—VAQRON

 

“A typical Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron consists of four EA-6B Prowlers. The primary mission of the Prowler is Electronic Attack (EA), also known as Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) in support of strike aircraft and ground troops by interrupting enemy electronic activity and obtaining tactical electronic intelligence within the combat area. Navy Electronic Attack squadrons carry the letters VAQ (V-fixed wing, A-attack, Q-electronic). Most VAQ squadrons are carrier based, however a number are "expeditionary", deploying to overseas land bases.When not deployed (either on land or carrier) are home-ported at NAS Whidbey Island. . Two exceptions are VAQ-136 (forward deployed to NAF Atsugi, Japan) and Reserve VAQ-209 based at Andrews AFB, Md.” (Ref. [1] & List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons - Wikipedia & Navy web site).

 

Navy – Home / Facebook Public History Web Site
VAQ-33 / VAQ-33	VAQ-34 / VAQ-34	VAQ-129 / VAQ-129
*VAQ-33 / VAQ-33 / VAQ-33 THE FIREBIRDS "BRAND X" Comm. 31 May 1949 – 1 Oct. 1993	*VAQ-34 A short History of VAQ-34 VAQ-34 Images for VAQ-34 Comm. 0900 1 Mar.1983 – Present	VAQ-129 Vikings EA-6B EA-18G Fleet Replacement Squadron NAS Whidbey Island Comm. 1 Sep. 1970 – Present
VAQ-130 / VAQ-130	VAQ-131 / VAQ-131	VAQ-132 / VAQ-132
VAQ-130 / VAQ-130 Zappers EA-18G CVW-3 NAS Whidbey Island VAQ-130 Lands its First Growler Aboard Truman Comm. 1 Sep. 1959 – Present	VAQ-131 Lancers EA-6B CVW-2 NAS Whidbey Island Comm. 1946 – Present	VAQ-132 Scorpions EA-18G Expeditionary NAS Whidbey Island Comm. April, 1957 – Present
VAQ-133 / VAQ-133	VAQ-134 / VAQ-134	VAQ-135 / VAQ-135
VAQ-133 Wizards EA-6B CVW-9 NAS Whidbey Island Comm. 4 Mar. 1969 – Present	VAQ-134 Garudas EA-6B CVW-17 NAS Whidbey Island VAQ-134 Garudas Comm. 7 June 1969 – Present	VAQ-135 Black Ravens EA-18G Expeditionary NAS Whidbey Island Comm. 15 May 1969 – Present
-VAQ-136 / VAQ-136	VAQ-137 / VAQ-137	VAQ-138 / VAQ-138
VAQ-136 / VAQ-136 Gauntlets EA-6B Expeditionary NAF Atsugi, Japan VAQ-136 Links VAQ-136 Gauntlets Images for VAQ-136 Comm. 6 Apr. 1973 – Present	VAQ-137 Rooks EA-6B CVW-1 NAS Whidbey Island Comm. 14 Dec. 1973 – Present	VAQ-138 Yellowjackets EA-18G Expeditionary NAS Whidbey Island Comm. February 1976 – Present
VAQ-139 / VAQ-139	VAQ-140 / VAQ-140	VAQ-141 / VAQ-141
VAQ-139 Cougars EA-6B CVW-14 NAS Whidbey Island Comm. 1 July 1983 – Present	VAQ-140 Patriots EA-6B CVW-7 NAS Whidbey Island Comm. 1 Oct. 1985 – Present	VAQ-141 / VAQ-141 Shadowhawks EA-18G CVW-5 NAS Whidbey Island Comm. ? – Present
VAQ-142 / VAQ-142	VAQ-209  / VAQ-209
VAQ-142 / VAQ-142      Gray Wolves EA-6B Expeditionary NAS Whidbey Island Comm. 1 June 1988 – Present	VAQ-209 Star Warriors EA-6B Reserve Tactical Support Wing Andrews AFB Joint Base Andrews, Maryland VAQ-209 Returns to Joint Base Andrews Following Deployment to ... - 7 Nov 2011 More videos for VAQ-209 » Comm. 1 Oct. 1977 – Present
*Decommissioneed
+Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan press release R-12-12
-In February 2012, the Navy announced that the Shadowhawks would be transferred to NAS Atsugi in the spring of 2012 to join Carrier Air Wing 5 and the USS George Washington (CVN-73) replacing VAQ-136.
References include List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons at Wikipedia; others and navy web sites all linked herto.

 

 

EF-10B Skyknight of VMCJ-1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EF-10B_VMCJ-1_DaNang.jpg

 

 

An EA-6A Intruder of VMCJ-1 at Da Nang, 1970

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EA-6A_VMCJ-1_DaNang_Jun1970.jpg

 

 

EA-6A Intruder of VMAQ-2 – 1980’s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EA-6A_Intruder_over_Cherry_Point.jpg

 

 

VMAQ-1 Prowler on the tarmac at Al Asad Air station in Western Iraq in January 2006

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VMAQ1atAlAsadJan06.jpg

 

Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadrons

 

“VMAQ squadrons operate the EA-6B Prowler[76] and are tasked with providing electronic attack, electronic counter-countermeasures, radar jamming and suppression of enemy air defense using the AN/ALQ-99 jamming pod[77] and the AGM-88 HARM. Each of the four squadrons operates five aircraft and are land-based, although they are capable of landing on board U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.[78][79] The Marine Corps has recently solidified plans to install a next-generation jammer on the F-35 Lightning II. It has joined the EA-18G Growler as the launch platform for the jammer, which is scheduled to enter service in 2018” (Ref. [80] of List of active United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons – Wikipedia & Navy web site)..

 

 

Navy – Home / Facebook Public History Web Site
VMAQ-1 / VMAQ-1		VMAQ-2 / VMAQ-2			VMAQ-3 / VMAQ-3
VMAQ-1 Banshees MAG-14, 2nd MAW MCAS Cherry Point, NC Comm. 1 July 1992 – Present		VMAQ-2 Death Jesters MAG-14, 2nd MAW MCAS Cherry Point, NC Comm. 15 Sep. 1952 – Present			VMAQ-3 Moon Dogs MAG-14, 2nd MAW MCAS Cherry Point, NC Comm. 1 July 1992 – Present
VMAQ-4 / VMAQ-4
VMAQ-4 Seahawks MAG-14, 2nd MAW MCAS Cherry Point, NC Comm. 7 Nov. 1981 – Present
*VMO-1 (1943 to 1993)	*VMO-2 (1943 to 1943)		*VMO-2 (1943 to 1993)	*VMO-6 (1920 to 1933)		*VMO-155               (1942-1945)
VMO-2  on  TDY at the Island Mindoro, Philippines
References include List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons at Wikipedia; others and navy web sites all linked herto.