Miss Belle

EX-NAVY GRUMMAN C-1A TRADER SERVED DURING THE VIETNAM WAR AS WELL AS OPERATING OFF SIX CARRIERS DURING ITS MILITARY LIFE. TODAY, IT IS MAINTAINED IN EXCELLENT CONDITION BY SQUADRON 14 OF WARBIRDS OF AMERICA

On 25 February, we were orbiting at 2000 feet AGI, a bit south of Forbes Field, Topeka, Kansas, in an ex-South African Air Force T-6D Texan owned by Mike Hahn and flown by Keane L. Wurm. We were scanning the intense blue sky for a Grumman C-1A Trader being flown by Doug Goss. Part of the EAA Warbirds of America Squadron 14, which is based at Forbes, the Trader is the only example of its type flying on a regular basis. Soon we spotted twin trails of smoke as Doug hit the plane's airshow smoke system and he started bringing the bulbous Trader into formation with the Texan. How did one of the US Navy's most efficient COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) aircraft wind up in land-locked mid-America? Well, it's an interesting story!

Back in the late 1940s, the US Navy was having to rely on elderly singleengine Grumman Avengers that had been modified for the COD role as TBM-3Rs. With the advent of the Cold War and the new fleet of super carriers, it was obvious that the Avenger, with its extremely limited cargo hauling capability, was not the ideal COD aircraft. Douglas Aircraft Co. was enjoying large orders for its AD Skyraider series and they proposed a modified AD-5 as a COD. The craft could carry 2000 pounds of cargo but it certainly would not be capable of hauling outsized equipment such as spare engines. The Navy ordered the AD-5 into production but did not go for the COD variant.

The Korean

War was going full bore when, in December 1951, Grumman proposed a COD aircraft to the Navy. The new craft would be based on the successful S2F-1 Tracker which was in series production for the Navy as an anti-submarine warfare platform. The COD proposal would feature the aircraft's standard wings and Wright R-1820-82 engines but the fuselage would be more spacious and deeper. Also, the tail surfaces would be enlarged. The new fuselage would feature a clear length of 104 inches with a maximum height of 52 inches and a maximum width of 43 inches. The plane would have a crew of two and could carry up to nine passengers in rearward-facing seats. The seats could be removed and the plane could lug up to 3500 pounds of cargo. To edge their bet, Grumman also offered Design 96 as a multi-engine trainer and as a utility aircraft. However, with the demands of the Korean War, the Navy did not show much interest in the concept.

With the end of that war and a very definite demand for an Avenger replacement, the Navy got together once again with Grumman concerning the COD proposal. However, the Navy wanted the plane to be able to transport nuclear weapons and in order to get a weapon inside the fuselage, Grumman had to design a rather interesting double door. When carrying passengers, only the rear portion of the door would be utilized but when loading a nuclear weapon or other large size cargo, the rear door would fold rearward while the forward door would fold forward, creating a 67-inch wide and 50-inch high opening through which the oversize cargo could be gingerly loaded. Grumman built a mock-up for the Navy and displayed how a Mk. 5 nuclear bomb could be loaded on its trolly.

With this modification, the Navy placed an order for 45 TF-is to be utilized in the COD mission. Since there was so much of a commonality with the S2F Tracker, the new TF-1s were built on the same production line and the 236th Tracker was selected to become the first TF- I. Construction proceeded rapidly and the first TF-1, BuNo 136748 - a production machine, there was no prototype - made its first flight at Bethpage on 19 January 1955 with Thomas LeBoutillier at the controls. To show just how trouble-free the new aircraft was, the Navy accepted delivery just nine days later. The Navy named the TF-1 the Trader.

As Fleet testing pro

gressed, the Navy ordered another batch of TF-is (the designation would change to C-1A in 1963) for a total of 87 Traders. However, four of these aircraft were modified before delivery into TF-1Qs while another Trader became the aerodynamic prototype for the WF-2 Tracer. Production moved rapidly and the last Trader was delivered to the Navy on 30 December 1958.

The TF-1Q was an electronic surveillance and countermeasures platform and the fuselage easily carried the active and passive recon equipment and ECM gear as well as three operators. Various antennas related to the mission sprouted from the fuselage while four wing pylons held other related equipment such as chaff dispensers and noise jammers. The first TF-- 1Q was delivered on 26 November 1956.

The TF-1Qs were operated by VAW-35 out of North Island starting in 1957 but the type did not enjoy a great success and, with all the ECM gear removed, they went back to the utility mission.

As production Traders began pouring off the line, they were streamed into Fleet service starting in October 1955. The TF-1s went to Fleet Tactical Support Squadrons for assignment to the Pacific Fleet with VR-21 and to the Atlantic Fleet with VR-24. Traders also went to Fleet Logistics Support Carrier Onboard Delivery Squadrons and assigned to VRC-30 and -50 in the Pacific and VRC-40 in the Atlantic. Also, some TF-1s were assigned directly to attack and anti-submarine carriers.