Eye in the Sky Housing a powerful search radar antenna, the E-2's 24-foot diameter rotating dome is unmistakable. The first aircraft designated for Airborne Early Warning, the E-2 conducts air, sea, and land surveillance. It can control aircraft for tactical missions and carrier launch and recovery operations. Naval Air Test Center (NATC) personnel tested the first generation E-2A in the 1962-1964 timeframe. Unfortunately, E-2As proved to be unreliable in service. So, like the aircraft before you, E-2As were converted into E-2Bs in the early 1970s. E-2B reliability enhancements, including a new mission computer and improved avionics cooling, began a process of evolutionary improvement that led to the current E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, which was fielded in 2013. The C-2 Greyhound cargo aircraft is also derived from the basic E-2 airframe.
Our Display Aircraft Bureau Number 152476 was built as an E-2A and accepted by the Navy on 3 February 1966. Our Hawekeye served with various fleet squadrons before being converted to an E-2B in January 1971. As an E-2B, it served with NATC's Service Test Division as well as several fleet squadrons. Our E-2's last flight in July 1985 returned it to NAS Patuxent River, after logging 6,700 flight hours, 771 catapult launches, and 785 arrested landings. It joined the PRNAM
flight line in September 1986.
· Primary Mission: Airborne Early Warning, Command & Control
· Crew: Pilot, Copilot, Radar Operator/Flight Technician, Combat Information Center Officer, and Air Control Officer
· U.S. Service Timeline (E-2 Series): 1964 - present
· Max. Gross Weight: 51,000 lb
· Dimensions: 56.3 ft length, 80.6 ft wing span
· Propulsion: Two Allison T56-A-426 turboprop engines
· Max Operating Speed: 150 MPH (sea level)
· Armament: None
This aircraft is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida
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