Grumman C-1 Trader
C-1 Trader | |
---|---|
A C-1A Trader from Naval Air Station, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania in 1987 | |
Role | Transport |
Manufacturer | Grumman |
First flight | 4 December 1952 |
Retired | 1988 |
Primary user | United States Navy |
Number built | 87 |
Developed from | Grumman S-2 Tracker |
Developed into | Grumman E-1 Tracer |
The Grumman C-1 Trader is a carrier onboard delivery (COD) variant of the Grumman S-2 Tracker. It was replaced by a similar version of the Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, the Grumman C-2 Greyhound.
Design and development
The C-1 Trader grew out of a need by the United States Navy for a new anti-submarine airplane. In response to this Grumman began development on a prototype twin-engine, high-wing aircraft which it designated the G-89. In 1952 the Navy designated this aircraft the XS2F-1 and flew it for the first time on December 4 that year. During the rest of the 1950s three major variants emerged, the C-1 Trader being one of them. The C-1 (originally the TF-1) was outfitted to carry nine passengers or 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) of cargo and first flew in January 1955.
Operational history
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the C-1 Trader carried mail and supplies to aircraft carriers on station in the Pacific Ocean during the Vietnam War and also served as a trainer for all-weather carrier operations. Over its production life 87 C-1 Traders were built, of which four were converted into EC-1A Tracer electronic countermeasures aircraft.[1] The last C-1 was retired from USN service in 1988; it was the last radial-engine aircraft in U.S military service. As of 2010, approximately ten were still airworthy in civil hands, operating as warbirds.
In August 2010, Brazilian Naval Aviation announced that it will buy and modernize eight C-1 to serve in carrier onboard delivery (COD) and aerial refueling roles for use on its aircraft carrier São Paulo.[2]
Variants
- TF-1
- Carrier Onboard Delivery version of the S-2 Tracker with enlarged fuselage for nine passengers, redesignated C-1A in 1962, 87 built.
- TF-1Q
- Electronic Countermeasures conversion of the TF-1, redesignated EC-1A in 1962, four conversions.
- TF-1W
- Airborne Early Warning project that was developed in the WF-2 Tracer.
- C-1A
- TF-1 redesignated in 1962.
- EC-1A
- TF-1Q redesignated in 1962.
- KC-2 Turbo Trader
- Marsh Aviation modernization project for Air-to-Air Refueling, requested for the Brazilian Navy.[3]
Operators
Preserved aircraft
- Airworthy
- BuNo 136752 - privately owned in Phoenix, Arizona.[4]
- BuNo 136766 - privately owned in Carson City, Nevada.[5]
- BuNo 136773 - privately owned in Wilmington, Delaware.[6]
- BuNo 136778 - privately owned in Eufaula, Alabama.[7]
- BuNo 136781 - based at Pacific Coast Air Museum, Santa Rosa, California.[8][9]
- BuNo 146044 - privately owned in Topeka, Kansas.[10]
- BuNo 146048 - privately owned in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.[11]
- BuNo 146049 - privately owned in St. Louis, Missouri.[12]
- BuNo 146052 - based at Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas.[13]
- On display
- BuNo 136754 - National Museum of Naval Aviation, NAS Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida.[14]
- BuNo 136790 - Grissom Air Museum, Grissom ARB (former Grissom AFB), Kokomo, Indiana.[15]
- BuNo 136792 - Quonset Air Museum, (former NAS Quonset Point), North Kingston, Rhode Island. This aircraft was modified with the Grumman E-1 Tracer-type radome assembly (but no radar) and twin tails and served (under the designation XTF-1W) as the aerodynamic prototype for the E-1. After testing, it reverted to the transport role, (as C-1A) with radome removed but retaining the twin tails. Throughout, this aircraft retained the S-2/C-1 upward folding wings, not the E-1 wing fold which were necessitated (by the radome atop the fuselage) to fold wings back along the sides of the fuselage.[16]
- BuNo 146034 - Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum, former NAS Willow Grove, Horsham, Pennsylvania.[17]
- BuNo 146036 - USS Midway Museum, San Diego, California.[18]
- BuNo 146045 - Beaufort MCAS (West Side), Beaufort, South Carolina.[19]
Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: two
- Length: 42.2 ft (12.9 m)
- Wingspan: 69.6 ft (21.2 m)
- Height: 16.3 ft (4.9 m)
- Empty weight: 18,750 lbs (8,504 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 29,150 lbs (13,222 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Wright R-1820-82WA Cyclone 9-cylinder radial piston engine, 1,525 hp (1,137 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 287 mph (462 km/h)
- Range: 1,300 miles (2,092 km)
See also
- Related development
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
- ↑ Donald, David; Daniel J. March (2001). Carrier Aviation Air Power Directory. Norwalk, CT: AIRtime Publishing. ISBN 1-880588-43-9. Cite uses deprecated parameter
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(help) - ↑ Brazilian navy buys Traders
- ↑ "Brazilian Traders set for modernisation" Fight Global, 14 Dec 2011 Retrieved: 23 December 2011
- ↑ "FAA Registry/N71456." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "FAA Registry/N6193Z." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "FAA Registry/N6193N." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "FAA Registry/N778SR." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "FAA Registry/136781." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Grumman C-1A Trader/136781." Pacific Coast Air Museum. Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "FAA Registry/N189G." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "FAA Registry/N7171M." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "FAA Registry/N81389." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "FAA Registry/N81193." faa.gov Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Grumman C-1A Trader/136754." National Naval Aviation Museum. Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Grumman C-1A Trader/136790." Grissom Air Museum. Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Grumman C-1A Trader/136792." Quonset Air Museum. Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Grumman C-1A Trader/146034." Wings of Freedom Museum. Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Grumman C-1A Trader/146034." USS Midway Museum. Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Grumman C-1A Trader/146045." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 27 April 2016.
External links
Media related to Grumman C-1 Trader at Wikimedia Commons
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