Tag Archives: US Navy

The New Jamming Pods Make an Appearance

When the EA-18G Growler came into service, it made use of the same pods that had been fitted to the EA-6B Prowler. The Navy has had a long running plan to replace the different pod types over time and this is a slow process. The first of the new pods to arrive is the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band which is built by Raytheon. These have gradually been delivered to fleet squadrons and, while I had seen images of them that local photographers had taken, I hadn’t seen one.

Then, one afternoon, while sitting up at Paine Field, a Growler rolled out after landing and came all the way to the north end of the runway. I had no idea it was coming in and missed the landing completely. It taxied off and I grabbed some shots because it was a color bird. Then I realized it had the new pods fitted. The light was so nice, and I was hoping they would just gas a go but sadly they didn’t and I didn’t get to see them depart. At least I have seen the pods fitted before I left.

Not Many P-3s Left So This Was a Treat

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When my friend Paul first told me he was going to be in Seattle over the holidays, I thought we wouldn’t be able to get together. However, circumstances changed, and it turned out we could go out and check out the local aviation scene. We had been getting some stuff locally but a check on ADSB showed a P-3 and an EP-3 out at Whidbey Island and we debated whether to make the run north. In the end, we went for it. The EP-3 had been out a while already and it did return before we got there but we were not going to come up short. A P-3 made its return with some lovely December sun on it. It flew a bunch of patterns which meant the chance to try different spots to get some images, so we were rather pleased with the outcome.

I Should Just Enjoy the Old Pods

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I have seen some pictures recently of Growlers bouncing at Coupeville with the latest jamming pods on the underwing pylons. I was hoping that the jets I saw from the Rooks might be carrying the new pods. Instead, they were using the older pods. At first, I was disappointed by this but then I realized that this was the wrong way to look at things. The new pods will be around for a long time and the chances are I will see them a lot in the future. Making sure I have some shots of the older pods on jets as the bounce is something to make the most of before they are gone. We only miss stuff when it is going away so time to think ahead.

CAG Growler is Clean

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A trip to Coupeville is always going to be a bit hit or miss. Will the weather play ball, will the jets show up, how much will they bounce, how many of them will there be, will they be RAG jets or operational squadrons? All sorts of options. I was really happy that the weather suited a pattern direction that was better for photography, but it was mainly cloudy so not quite as good-looking light. It was the Rooks of VAQ137 that were bouncing so that was cool, and they brought their CAG jet. Getting this in its nice colors was cool. The jet was operating clean which was slightly disappointing but, fortunately, the other jets that came in were carrying pods.

Anyone Leave a Submarine Here?

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Only when I was up on Mt Washington overlooking Pittsburgh did I see this old submarine moored on the Ohio River. It is part of the Carnegie Science Center and is the USS Requin – a Tench class submarine. She was built at the end of the Second World War and was activated just before hostilities ended. She then had a career in various roles before being struck from the fleet. Initially she was a museum piece in Florida but, after the organization preserving her folded, she eventually found her way to Pittsburgh and that is where she remains. If I go back, maybe I will get a chance to take a closer look.

Sunny FCLP With a Color Jet

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With a nice forecast, the wind in the right direction and an indication of some operations, I figured a day off was worthwhile and headed up to Coupeville to see if I could get some Growler operations. I was pleased to see the fire trucks getting ready when I arrived, and that the meatball was at the north end. Looked like I was going to be in luck. Yes and no! I did get some ops and plenty of patterns but only a couple of jets actually showed up. Fortunately, one of them was a squadron color jet so I was able to get a bunch of shots to play with. I also shot a load of video so here is the edit of that too. Could have been a busier day but they finished up and the crews headed off so I did the same.

Seasprites Don’t Show Up Too Often

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The first time I ever heard of the Kaman Seasprite was in the 1980s when Airfix released a new kit of the SH-2F variant. I thought it was a cool looking model but I wasn’t very aware of what it was used for. It was already getting towards the end of its time in service with the US Navy with the SH-60B Seahawk becoming the platform for shipboard helicopters. A few export programs went forward but these were not particularly successful.

I am not sure whether I have ever seen a Seasprite for real prior to visiting Evergreen at McMinnville. They have a corner that is stacked with helicopters. A Seasprite is one of the collection and I was pleasantly surprised to see it. Given the number of airframes they have in this corner, everything is jammed together. This made it hard to get a nice angle on the Seasprite but I was able to get a few shots anyway.

EP-3 Aries

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P-3 hunting was part of the plan when Paul and I headed to NAS Whidbey Island. We had some success. There was a nice bit of icing on the cake for us. An EP-3E showed up too. The EP-3 has a nice selection of large radomes added to the airframe to cover the wide variety of sensors that this type has to fulfill its role of listening to transmissions around the world. I don’t know how long the EP-3 has once the P-3s are gone from fleet service so getting one was a definite plus.

Growlers Pop By

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The US Navy brought a couple of E/A-18G Growlers from Whidbey Island to the open day at Paine Field. The pair showed up in the morning and were parked up on the ramp at Heritage Flight Museum before they left later in the day. We got a good look at them as they landed and departed. Hopes of a nice low approach and go around were sadly not fulfilled but it was still cool to see them visiting.

The Constellation in the Inner Harbor

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The USS Constellation is the last sail powered warship built for the US Navy. She is now preserved in the harbor in Baltimore. I saw her a few times from a distance while I was in Baltimore but I didn’t get a chance to take a shot until I was walking back from a reception. By that time it was dark and, since I only had my phone with me, that had to suffice. The phone on the camera has a wide angle lens so, even though we were quite close, the ship is a little small in the original shot. However, she still looks pretty impressive. I imagine she would have looked even better when under sail!