Daniel Serrato's Grumman C-1A Trader "Mudflap Girl"

Daniel Serrato is the owner and operator of this rare Grumman C-1A Trader (BuNo 136778) Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) which is available for airshows, flybys, film.

To meet a Navy requirement for an aircraft combining search and attack capability in the carrier based antisubmarine role, Grumman designed a twin engine, high wing monoplane with 1,525 HP Wright R-1820-82WA piston engines, internal weapons bay, retractable search radar and 70 million candle power search light. To help locate a submarine under the water, the airplane was given a Magnetic Anomaly Detector, which was mounted in a retractable tail boom and sonobouy tubes with the equipment for picking up the sounds made by the submarine.

The first flight of a Grumman S2F-1 was made December 4, 1952. The first S2F-1 squadron was Antisubmarine Squadron TWO SIX (VS-26), entering service in February 1954. The airplane received the nickname of "STOOF" (S-Two-F). Torpedoes, depth charges and rockets were used for offensive measures, including its biggest "stick", a nuclear depth charge. The fuel tanks could contain 520 gallons of aviation gas, enough for a combat range of 841 sea miles or a 6 hours flight. The cruising speed was 130 knots and the top speed was 230 knots. A total of 755 S-2F-1's were built.

75 S-2F-1 (After 1960, S-2A) were converted to US-2B transport aircraft and target tug. All ASW equipment was removed, including the search light. These aircraft could be recognized by the absence of the sonobouy installations in the engine nacelles. These aircraft could carry five passengers and cargo in the weapons bay. The US-2B was flown by both US Navy and Marines Corps.

There were many different versions of the Tracker, including the TS-2A (trainer), S-2B (updated ASW gear), S-2C (larger weapons bay for nuclear depth charge), S-2D (new engine and added electronic countermeasures), and S-2E (updated ASW systems). There were two primary design spin-offs of the Tracker, the E-1 Tracer and the C-1 Trader. The Tracer or
WillyFudd or "Stoof with a roof" was an airborne Early Warning platform that took the Tracker airframe, modified it and put a large radome on top of the plane.

The C-1A TRADER was the Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) version of the S-2 Tracker anti-submarine aircraft. It could operate from land and carrier based sites and was the primary supply aircraft to the carries underway bringing carrier personnel, parts, and the mail. With a crew of three it could carry 8 passengers or up to 3000 lbs of cargo. It is tailhook equipped and could be either deck launched or catapulted from the ship.

The Tracker was not only used by the United States, but by many allied countries: Argentina, Australian, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, The Netherlands, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

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