Lockheed S-3B Viking
With the aging of the Grumman S-2 Tracker and the increasing effectiveness of Soviet submarines, the US Navy issued a requirement for a new carrier-based ASW aircraft. Lockheed won the contract, partnering with LTV to design carrier-specific equipment and Univac to design the ASW suite. The resulting S-3A Viking first flew in January 1972 and entered the fleet in February 1974.
While the S-2 integrated the hunter-killer team concept into a single airframe, the S-3 went one step further by completely computerizing the sub-hunting process, integrating the entire sensor suite into one system rather than in several as on the S-2. Initially, this employed a Univac AN/AYK-10 computer served by Texas Instruments AN/APS-116 radar and AN/ASQ-81 MAD sensor in a retractable tail boom. Flown by a crew of four, the S-3’s interior was so efficient that one aviation writer described it as the most compactly designed aircraft in history.
The S-3A--nicknamed "Hoover" for the sound of its engines-- acquired a reputation for being a reliable, easy to fly aircraft, and spawned a number of variants, including the US-3A carrier-onboard delivery (COD) transport aircraft and the ES-3A Shadow Elint variant. A dedicated KS-3A tanker never went into production, but S-3s were increasingly equipped with buddy refuelling packs. When the KA-6D Intruder dedicated tanker was retired from the US Navy in the mid-1990s, the S-3 took over the role, though its relatively slow speed meant it could not accompany strikes into enemy territory. Despite that, the S-3 always had the capability to carry not only antisubmarine ordnance such as torpedoes and depth charges, but also bombs and later the AGM-84 Harpoon antiship missile and AGM-65 Maverick AGM. The S-3’s antiship capability was used in both Gulf Wars: in 1991, a S-3 sank an Iraqi attack boat with conventional bombs, while in 2003 a S-3 destroyed an Iraqi command post with a Maverick in Basra.
Beginning in 1991, the S-3As in service were modified to S-3B standard, with upgraded avionics and a new APS-127V synthetic-aperature radar, giving the S-3B a significant ship-detection and SAR capability as well. Though the ES-3A was withdrawn from service in the mid-1990s, several S-3Bs were converted to littorial reconnaissance (Gray Wolf) and ground surveillance (Brown Boy) roles. With the reduction of submarine threats to the US Navy, the S-3 fleet is being gradually retired; those remaining in service have had their ASW equipment removed and serve primarily as tankers. Their role has been largely replaced by the SH-60B/F Seahawk series, and, aside from a handful of test aircraft, the S-3 was retired in 2009.
Other than a particularly significant modification, not much is known about S-3B BuNo 159766's career. It served with VS-32 ("Maulers") aboard USS America (CV-66) during the First Gulf War (Desert Storm). In the early 1990s, 159766 became the only S-3 modified to "Outlaw Viking" standard, with the OASIS III over-the-horizon airborne surveillance system; this acted similarly to the USAF JSTARS, in that it could give a carrier battlegroup an integrated overview of a battle area. OASIS could also target missiles. (159766 may have been already modified by Desert Storm: a photograph of the aircraft aboard the America shows several radar kill marks.) The Navy did not adopt the OASIS system, and 159766 was returned to S-3B standard in 1998. From that point on, it served with VS-41 ("Shamrocks") at NAS North Island, California until 2004, when it was donated to the USS Midway Museum.
When we visited the Midway in May 2021, the museum was taking advantage of the recent coronavirus closure to do some maintenance, including repainting 159766 in the low-visibility camouflage scheme currently used by Navy aircraft. Normally, 159766 is displayed with AGM-84 Harpoons, but they had been offloaded when we saw the aircraft.
Lockheed S-3B Viking
With the aging of the Grumman S-2 Tracker and the increasing effectiveness of Soviet submarines, the US Navy issued a requirement for a new carrier-based ASW aircraft. Lockheed won the contract, partnering with LTV to design carrier-specific equipment and Univac to design the ASW suite. The resulting S-3A Viking first flew in January 1972 and entered the fleet in February 1974.
While the S-2 integrated the hunter-killer team concept into a single airframe, the S-3 went one step further by completely computerizing the sub-hunting process, integrating the entire sensor suite into one system rather than in several as on the S-2. Initially, this employed a Univac AN/AYK-10 computer served by Texas Instruments AN/APS-116 radar and AN/ASQ-81 MAD sensor in a retractable tail boom. Flown by a crew of four, the S-3’s interior was so efficient that one aviation writer described it as the most compactly designed aircraft in history.
The S-3A--nicknamed "Hoover" for the sound of its engines-- acquired a reputation for being a reliable, easy to fly aircraft, and spawned a number of variants, including the US-3A carrier-onboard delivery (COD) transport aircraft and the ES-3A Shadow Elint variant. A dedicated KS-3A tanker never went into production, but S-3s were increasingly equipped with buddy refuelling packs. When the KA-6D Intruder dedicated tanker was retired from the US Navy in the mid-1990s, the S-3 took over the role, though its relatively slow speed meant it could not accompany strikes into enemy territory. Despite that, the S-3 always had the capability to carry not only antisubmarine ordnance such as torpedoes and depth charges, but also bombs and later the AGM-84 Harpoon antiship missile and AGM-65 Maverick AGM. The S-3’s antiship capability was used in both Gulf Wars: in 1991, a S-3 sank an Iraqi attack boat with conventional bombs, while in 2003 a S-3 destroyed an Iraqi command post with a Maverick in Basra.
Beginning in 1991, the S-3As in service were modified to S-3B standard, with upgraded avionics and a new APS-127V synthetic-aperature radar, giving the S-3B a significant ship-detection and SAR capability as well. Though the ES-3A was withdrawn from service in the mid-1990s, several S-3Bs were converted to littorial reconnaissance (Gray Wolf) and ground surveillance (Brown Boy) roles. With the reduction of submarine threats to the US Navy, the S-3 fleet is being gradually retired; those remaining in service have had their ASW equipment removed and serve primarily as tankers. Their role has been largely replaced by the SH-60B/F Seahawk series, and, aside from a handful of test aircraft, the S-3 was retired in 2009.
Other than a particularly significant modification, not much is known about S-3B BuNo 159766's career. It served with VS-32 ("Maulers") aboard USS America (CV-66) during the First Gulf War (Desert Storm). In the early 1990s, 159766 became the only S-3 modified to "Outlaw Viking" standard, with the OASIS III over-the-horizon airborne surveillance system; this acted similarly to the USAF JSTARS, in that it could give a carrier battlegroup an integrated overview of a battle area. OASIS could also target missiles. (159766 may have been already modified by Desert Storm: a photograph of the aircraft aboard the America shows several radar kill marks.) The Navy did not adopt the OASIS system, and 159766 was returned to S-3B standard in 1998. From that point on, it served with VS-41 ("Shamrocks") at NAS North Island, California until 2004, when it was donated to the USS Midway Museum.
When we visited the Midway in May 2021, the museum was taking advantage of the recent coronavirus closure to do some maintenance, including repainting 159766 in the low-visibility camouflage scheme currently used by Navy aircraft. Normally, 159766 is displayed with AGM-84 Harpoons, but they had been offloaded when we saw the aircraft.