History: In the late 1940s, the US Navy decided it needed a new aircraft for its anti-submarine missions. Previously, the task had been accomplished by teams of two airplanes, one performing the "hunter" role with its radar, and the other acting as the torpedo-equipped "killer." Logistical problems and advancing technology soon negated the advantages of these two-aircraft attacks, and a single aircraft became the ideal. Grumman responded to this need with a twin-engine, high-wing prototype called the G-89. It featured a large payload capacity for sensors and weapons, a retractable search radar, a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) boom, searchlights, and other much-needed features. Folding wings and a tailhook made it aircraft-carrier capable.

The prototype aircraft first flew on 4 December 1952, under the US Navy designation XS2F-1. Three major variants appeared almost immediately, and their designations were finalized in 1962 as the S-2 Tracker, the E-1 Tracer, and the C-1 Trader. The S-2A, the first production version of the Tracker, entered anti-submarine service in February 154, and more than 500 were delivered to the US Navy and several other nations. Several of these were delivered as trainers and were called TS-2As.

Other variants included the S-2C (enlarged weapons-bay, larger tail to compensate for higher gross weight); US-2A/B/C (S-2s converted for utility use such as target towing and light transport); RS-2C (photo-reconnaissance); S-2D (increased wing span, larger tail, four-man crew in widened / lengthened fuselage, larger sonobouy payload); S-2E (modified with more advanced search equipment); S-2F (S-2Bs modified with this same equipment); CS-2F/CP-121 (deHavilland-built Trackers for the Royal Canadian Navy); and S-2G (the final advanced version of the Tracker, which served into the 1970s.)

The C-1 Trader, meanwhile, was delivered as a nine-seat transport for use as a Carrier On-board Delivery (COD) aircraft, and the E-1 (WF-2) Tracer was equipped with a large overhead radome containing a powerful APS-82 early-warning search radar. Even after the design was replaced in the US Navy by the jet-powered S-3 Viking, it lives on in several reincarnations. Taiwan purchased at least 32 S-2T Turbo Trackers, which are Grumman-modified S-2s powered by Garrett TPE-331 turboprop engines. Also, the S-2 has become a popular airplane for use as a firefighting water bomber, in the US and elsewhere.

Finally, several S-2s and C-1s are privately owned and flown as warbirds. They are well-loved for their toughness, reliability, and huge load-hauling capability. (What better way to attend an airshow or fly-in than by taking along six or eight friends and all the supplies you'd ever need?)

Nicknames: Stoof (S-2F variant); Stoof with a Roof / Willie Fudd (WF-2/E-1 Tracer variant)

Specifications (S-2E):
        Engines: Two 1,525-hp Wright R-1820-82WA Cyclone 9-cylinder radial piston engines.
        Weight: Empty 18,750 lbs., Max Takeoff 29,150 lbs.
        Wing Span: 72ft. 7in.
        Length: 43ft. 6in.
        Height: 16ft. 7in.
        Performance:
            Maximum Speed at Sea Level: 265 mph
            Patrol Speed at 1,500 ft: 150 mph
            Range: 1,300 miles
        Armament:
            One Mk 57 or Mk 101 nuclear depth bomb or similar in bomb bay.
            60 depth charges in fuselage
            32 sonobuoys in engine nacelles
            Six underwing hardpoints for bombs, rockets, or torpedos.

Number Built: 1,181 Trackers/Traders

Number Still Airworthy: Approximately 10 flown as warbirds; Unknown number in active military service worldwide, and as firebombers.

Thanks to Warbird Alley for this history.