Lockheed EC-121T Warning Star
One of the lessons learned in World War II was the value of radar in intercepting aircraft: Chain Home radar used during the Battle of Britain proved invaluable to the Royal Air Force in getting its fighters in the air to fend off Luftwaffe attacks. Ground radar, however, was generally limited to line-of-sight, thus the curvature of the Earth prevented long-range detection.
To put large ground radars aloft required a bigger aircraft, and in June 1949, the US Navy acquired two Lockheed L-749 Constellation airliners, adding an APS-45 height-finder radar above the fuselage and an APS-20 search radar below it. Despite the ungainly appearance of the aircraft, flight performance was not overly handicapped and the experiment was deemed a success. Initially designated PO-1W, the Navy changed the designation to WV-2 in 1952, as production aircraft were based on the larger, longer-ranged L-1049 Super Constellation; though it was officially named Warning Star by Lockheed, its crews used the phonetic alphabet to coin a more long-lasting nickname: Willy Victor. The usefulness of an airborne early warning aircraft was apparent to the USAF as well, and in 1953, it acquired WV-2s diverted from Navy production, designated EC-121D.
The initial purpose of both the WV-2s and EC-121s was to operate the “ocean barrier,” along the coasts of the United States, providing early warning of any Soviet attack from the sea or against Alaska or Hawaii. Typically up to five aircraft from either or both services would be on station at any given time, and EC-121s were forward deployed to Japan and Iceland as well. These aircraft were used extensively during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, tracking Soviet ships approaching the blockade line, as well as monitoring Cuban air activity over the island itself. As satellites began to take over the early warning role, the barrier patrols were discontinued in 1965.
It would be in Vietnam that the AEW concept first proved itself. At the beginning of Operation Rolling Thunder in 1965, there were significant gaps in American radar coverage of North Vietnam, and 7th Air Force requested a detachment of EC-121Ds be deployed to Southeast Asia under Operation Big Eye. Orbiting over Laos, the EC-121s did provide some assistance to USAF strike crews, while US Navy WV-2s did the same over Tonkin Gulf; the first successful EC-121 controlled intercept took place in July 1965 and resulted in the downing of two MiG-17s.
However, as the EC-121 had been designed to detect targets over water, the mountains of North Vietnam provided plenty of hiding places for North Vietnamese MiG fighters, communications between fighters and controllers was poor, and the APS-70 height finder did not have the range from Laos to reach the vital “Pak Six” area over Hanoi, which limited Big Eye EC-121s primarily to raid warning. Moreover, the air conditioning system on the EC-121 had never been designed for a tropical environment, and eight-hour missions in a sweltering hot fuselage were distinctly uncomfortable.
Beginning in April 1967, USAF strike forces began noticing a distinct improvement in the EC-121s’ raid warning and interception coordination, as their callsign shifted to College Eye. Unbeknownst to most of the USAF, the EC-121s had been secretly fitted with QRC-248 sensors that homed in on the Identification Friend/Foe (IFF) signals sent out by North Vietnamese MiGs. College Eye EC-121s still could not give altitude, but they could instantly warn the force when MiGs were taking off and their general direction of attack.
Now with the callsign Disco, EC-121Ts could, in theory, provide instant detection, warning, and coordination for American fighters; Disco was, however, limited by its radar setup, the need to route information through the ground-based Teaball system, and the secretive nature of its equipment. Rarely was Disco able to give real-time warning. When the system worked, however, it was very effective. 25 MiG kills were made with College Eye/Disco assistance, while rescue coordination by EC-121s led to the recovery of 80 downed Americans. Despite 98,000 combat hours, no EC-121s were lost during the Vietnam War to enemy action.
The limitations of the EC-121 and its increasing age (there were no losses over Vietnam, but accidents elsewhere cost both services no less than 31 aircraft) meant that, following the end of American involvement in Vietnam, a more advanced replacement was required: the US Navy had already begun with the introduction of the E-2 Hawkeye, while the USAF began experimenting with the EC-137D, which became the E-3 Sentry. The EC-121 was gradually withdrawn, with the last EC-121T of the USAF leaving Air Force Reserve units in 1979. 232 aircraft were built and 12 survive in museums.
This EC-121T, 52-3417, is the oldest surviving Warning Star left, and has a personal connection to myself and one of my friends. It entered service as an RC-121D, before the designation was switched to an EC-121D and it was upgraded to an EC-121T. It may have served with the 552nd AWCW at McClellan AFB, California and possibly saw service in Vietnam as a College Eye or Disco AWACS. As the EC-121s began to be replaced by the E-3 Sentry, 52-3417 was reassigned to the 915th AWCG (Reserve) at Homestead AFB, Florida. It was retired in 1976, but in 1981, the Helena Vo-Tech (now the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology) obtained 52-3417 as a ground instructional trainer. It would remain at Helena for the next 36 years.
In 2008, the college no longer had a use for 52-3417, as it was long obsolete, and offered it to any museum willing to clean it up and move it. The Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville, Oregon took up the challenge: not only would they clean it, they would restore 52-3417 to flyable status and ferry it from Montana to Oregon. The museum had nearly completed work on it when Evergreen International, the museum's patron, went bankrupt. Work halted on 52-3417, and it seemed that it was stuck again. Finally, in 2017, the Castle Air Museum acquired the aircraft. It was not flown, however, but rather dismantled and moved by rail. It was reassembled and went on display in 2019.
52-3417 is still showing the effects of being in Montana winters for 36 years: its markings are faded, though they still show the 915th's crest on the tail and "AFRES" on the fuselage. Plans are to restore the aircraft at some point to its former glory, but at least it is now at a museum.
For me, this picture is the culmination of almost a decade trying to get a shot of 52-3417! I saw it many times when Dad and I, or friends, would pass through Helena, but either I never had a camera or I couldn't get a good shot. The last time I made the try was in 2017, but a snowstorm blocked my view, and it was moved to Castle afterwards. Finally, in May 2021, I got this picture. For my friend Nate, who was the driver on the 2021 trip, this was a bit more personal: he had worked on this aircraft during his time at Vo-Tech in the early 1980s.
Lockheed EC-121T Warning Star
One of the lessons learned in World War II was the value of radar in intercepting aircraft: Chain Home radar used during the Battle of Britain proved invaluable to the Royal Air Force in getting its fighters in the air to fend off Luftwaffe attacks. Ground radar, however, was generally limited to line-of-sight, thus the curvature of the Earth prevented long-range detection.
To put large ground radars aloft required a bigger aircraft, and in June 1949, the US Navy acquired two Lockheed L-749 Constellation airliners, adding an APS-45 height-finder radar above the fuselage and an APS-20 search radar below it. Despite the ungainly appearance of the aircraft, flight performance was not overly handicapped and the experiment was deemed a success. Initially designated PO-1W, the Navy changed the designation to WV-2 in 1952, as production aircraft were based on the larger, longer-ranged L-1049 Super Constellation; though it was officially named Warning Star by Lockheed, its crews used the phonetic alphabet to coin a more long-lasting nickname: Willy Victor. The usefulness of an airborne early warning aircraft was apparent to the USAF as well, and in 1953, it acquired WV-2s diverted from Navy production, designated EC-121D.
The initial purpose of both the WV-2s and EC-121s was to operate the “ocean barrier,” along the coasts of the United States, providing early warning of any Soviet attack from the sea or against Alaska or Hawaii. Typically up to five aircraft from either or both services would be on station at any given time, and EC-121s were forward deployed to Japan and Iceland as well. These aircraft were used extensively during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, tracking Soviet ships approaching the blockade line, as well as monitoring Cuban air activity over the island itself. As satellites began to take over the early warning role, the barrier patrols were discontinued in 1965.
It would be in Vietnam that the AEW concept first proved itself. At the beginning of Operation Rolling Thunder in 1965, there were significant gaps in American radar coverage of North Vietnam, and 7th Air Force requested a detachment of EC-121Ds be deployed to Southeast Asia under Operation Big Eye. Orbiting over Laos, the EC-121s did provide some assistance to USAF strike crews, while US Navy WV-2s did the same over Tonkin Gulf; the first successful EC-121 controlled intercept took place in July 1965 and resulted in the downing of two MiG-17s.
However, as the EC-121 had been designed to detect targets over water, the mountains of North Vietnam provided plenty of hiding places for North Vietnamese MiG fighters, communications between fighters and controllers was poor, and the APS-70 height finder did not have the range from Laos to reach the vital “Pak Six” area over Hanoi, which limited Big Eye EC-121s primarily to raid warning. Moreover, the air conditioning system on the EC-121 had never been designed for a tropical environment, and eight-hour missions in a sweltering hot fuselage were distinctly uncomfortable.
Beginning in April 1967, USAF strike forces began noticing a distinct improvement in the EC-121s’ raid warning and interception coordination, as their callsign shifted to College Eye. Unbeknownst to most of the USAF, the EC-121s had been secretly fitted with QRC-248 sensors that homed in on the Identification Friend/Foe (IFF) signals sent out by North Vietnamese MiGs. College Eye EC-121s still could not give altitude, but they could instantly warn the force when MiGs were taking off and their general direction of attack.
Now with the callsign Disco, EC-121Ts could, in theory, provide instant detection, warning, and coordination for American fighters; Disco was, however, limited by its radar setup, the need to route information through the ground-based Teaball system, and the secretive nature of its equipment. Rarely was Disco able to give real-time warning. When the system worked, however, it was very effective. 25 MiG kills were made with College Eye/Disco assistance, while rescue coordination by EC-121s led to the recovery of 80 downed Americans. Despite 98,000 combat hours, no EC-121s were lost during the Vietnam War to enemy action.
The limitations of the EC-121 and its increasing age (there were no losses over Vietnam, but accidents elsewhere cost both services no less than 31 aircraft) meant that, following the end of American involvement in Vietnam, a more advanced replacement was required: the US Navy had already begun with the introduction of the E-2 Hawkeye, while the USAF began experimenting with the EC-137D, which became the E-3 Sentry. The EC-121 was gradually withdrawn, with the last EC-121T of the USAF leaving Air Force Reserve units in 1979. 232 aircraft were built and 12 survive in museums.
This EC-121T, 52-3417, is the oldest surviving Warning Star left, and has a personal connection to myself and one of my friends. It entered service as an RC-121D, before the designation was switched to an EC-121D and it was upgraded to an EC-121T. It may have served with the 552nd AWCW at McClellan AFB, California and possibly saw service in Vietnam as a College Eye or Disco AWACS. As the EC-121s began to be replaced by the E-3 Sentry, 52-3417 was reassigned to the 915th AWCG (Reserve) at Homestead AFB, Florida. It was retired in 1976, but in 1981, the Helena Vo-Tech (now the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology) obtained 52-3417 as a ground instructional trainer. It would remain at Helena for the next 36 years.
In 2008, the college no longer had a use for 52-3417, as it was long obsolete, and offered it to any museum willing to clean it up and move it. The Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville, Oregon took up the challenge: not only would they clean it, they would restore 52-3417 to flyable status and ferry it from Montana to Oregon. The museum had nearly completed work on it when Evergreen International, the museum's patron, went bankrupt. Work halted on 52-3417, and it seemed that it was stuck again. Finally, in 2017, the Castle Air Museum acquired the aircraft. It was not flown, however, but rather dismantled and moved by rail. It was reassembled and went on display in 2019.
52-3417 is still showing the effects of being in Montana winters for 36 years: its markings are faded, though they still show the 915th's crest on the tail and "AFRES" on the fuselage. Plans are to restore the aircraft at some point to its former glory, but at least it is now at a museum.
For me, this picture is the culmination of almost a decade trying to get a shot of 52-3417! I saw it many times when Dad and I, or friends, would pass through Helena, but either I never had a camera or I couldn't get a good shot. The last time I made the try was in 2017, but a snowstorm blocked my view, and it was moved to Castle afterwards. Finally, in May 2021, I got this picture. For my friend Nate, who was the driver on the 2021 trip, this was a bit more personal: he had worked on this aircraft during his time at Vo-Tech in the early 1980s.