AF (TB3F) Guardian

Hunter-killer team of AF-2W (front) and AF-2S
Type	Anti-submarine aircraft
Manufacturer	Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation
Maiden flight	1945-12-19
Introduced	October 1950
Retired	1955-08-31
Primary user	United States Navy
Built	389

The Grumman AF Guardian was the first purpose-built anti-submarine aircraft to enter service in the U.S. Navy. Image File history File links AF_Guardian. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... The Grumman logo The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading producer of military and civilian aircraft of the 20th century. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations around the globe. ... The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading producer of military and civilian aircraft of the 20th century. ... Anti-submarine warfare is a term referring to warfare directed against submarines. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...

The original design, the XTB2F of 1944, was to be a twin-engined aircraft with a 3,600-pound warload and a range of 3,700 miles. This was considered to be too large for practical use from an Essex class aircraft carrier, and in 1945 was canceled in favor of a modified F7F Tigercat, the XTSF-1. However another alternative, the internally-developed Model G-70, was selected instead, given the Navy designation XTB3F. The Grumman TB2F was a prototype, two-engined torpedo bomber, intended as Grummans successor to the successful TBF Avenger. ... The United States Navys ten aircraft carriers of the Essex class, with the thirteen directly-related Ticonderoga-class carriers (despite their lengthened hulls, these are often classified as Essex class vessels and their development was intertwined with the Essex class) and the Oriskany (CV-34), a highly modified sister... The Grumman F7F Tigercat was the first twin-engined fighter aircraft design to enter service with the United States Navy. ... The Grumman XTSF-1 was a torpedo bomber design based on the F7F-2 Tigercat. ...

This was designed as mixed-power aircraft, with a Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial engine in the nose and a Westinghouse turbojet in the tail. This was found to be unsuitable and the jet engine was removed without ever having been used in flight. The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp was an aircraft engine, and part of the long-lived Wasp family. ... The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an organization founded by George Westinghouse in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company. ...

The XTB3F carried a crew of two seated side-by-side and an armament of two 20 mm cannon and 4,000 pounds of bombs, torpedoes and/or rockets, and made its first flight on 19 December 1945. A small Civil War-era cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ... The Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, produced in the United States. ... A torpedo in Rail terminology refers to a small explosive device strapped to the top of the rail to alert an approaching train of immediate danger ahead. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ... December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

On 24 December 1945 the Navy changed the role of the aircraft from torpedo-bomber to anti-submarine warfare. As all the required equipment could not be fitted into a single aircraft, two variants would be produced, one as a "hunter" and another as a "killer". December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

The "hunter" aircraft would not carry any armament, but instead two additional crewmembers and a ventral radome for APS-20 search radar. This aircraft, the XTB3F-1S, first flew in November 1948. This long range radar antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll[1]. Radar is a system that uses radio waves to detect, determine the distance of, and map, objects such...

The "killer" deleted the cannon but retained the bomb bay, added a third crewmember, a searchlight, and short-range radar, and (as the XTB3F-2S) first flew in January 1949. A searchlight is an apparatus with reflectors for projecting a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually devised so that it can be swiveled about. ...

Redesignated as AF-2W (TB3F-1S) and AF-2S (TB3F-2S), the Guardian entered service in October 1950.

The largest single-engine piston-engined aircraft ever used by the U.S. Navy, 193 AF-2S Guardians were built.

In 1952, the "hunter" AF-3S was introduced, fitting a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) for the detection of submerged submarines; 40 of this variant were built. The last Guardian was delivered to the Navy in March 1953, with a total of 389 built. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) is a piece of equipment that is used to detect minute variations in the Earths magnetic field. ...

The Guardian saw service in the patrol role during the Korean war, however shortly afterwards it begain to be replaced by the Grumman S2F Tracker, and the last AF was retired on 31 August 1955. Combatants Western Allied/UN combatants: South Korea, United States Communist combatants: North Korea, Peoples Republic of China Strength Note: All figures may vary according to source. ... The Grumman S-2 (formerly S2F) Tracker was the first US Navy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft designed specifically for the purpose. ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Several Guardians saw service in civilian hands as water bombers, and one is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. An Air National Guard C-130 Hercules drops fire retardant on wildfires in Southern California Aerial firefighting is a method to combat wildfires using aircraft. ... The National Museum of Naval Aviation is located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. ... Pensacola is the name of several cities as well as other things: Pensacola (tribe), a group of Native Americans A number of places in the U.S. state of Florida: Pensacola, Florida An area airport, see Pensacola Regional Airport. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Tallahassee Jacksonville Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,794 sq. ...

Specifications (AF-2S Guardian)

General characteristics

• Crew: 3-4
• Length: 43 ft 4 in (13.21 m)
• Wingspan: 60 ft 8 in (18.49 m)
• Height: 16 ft 2 in (5.08 m)
• Wing area: 560 ft² (m²)
• Empty weight: 14,580 lb (6,610 kg)
• Loaded weight: 23,500 lb (10,669 kg)
• Maximum Take-Off Weight: 25,000 lb (11,340 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine, 2,400 hp (1,790 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 315 mph (507 km/h)
• Range: 1,500 mi (2,410 km)
• Service ceiling: 32,500 ft (9,900 m)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
• Power/mass: hp/lb (kW/kg)

Armament

• 4,000 lb (1,180 kg) of bombs, torpedoes, and depth charges
• 16× 5" (127 mm) unguided rockets

Airbus A380 An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft can achieve flight. ... Pratt & Whitney R-2800 The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp was an aircraft engine, and part of the long-lived Wasp family. ... Radial engine of a biplane. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... The maximal total range is the distance an airplane can fly between takeoff and landing as limited by its fuel capacity. ... Service Ceiling—The maximum density altitude where the best rate-of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet-per-minute climb at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... Power-to-weight ratio is a measure commonly used when comparing various vehicles (or engines), including automobiles, motorcycles and aircraft. ...

External links

• Grumman AF Guardian at vectoriste.net
• Grumman AF Guardian at FAQs.org - much of the information for this page was taken from this public-domain source.

Related content

Designation sequence

• Navy sequence (before 1962): AF - A2F - AH - AJ

  This is a list of aviation-related events from 1962: Events January US Army CH-21 Shawnees are dispatched to Vietnam, the first US military aircraft to be deployed there January 10-11 - a B-52 Stratofortress is flown from Okinawa to Madrid, establishing a new distance record of 12... The Grumman A-6 Intruder is a twin-engine, mid-wing attack aircraft manufactured by Northrop Grumman Aerospace Corporation. ... F-4 re-directs here; for alternate uses, see F4 The F-4 Phantom II (simply F-4 Phantom after 1990) is a two-place (tandem), supersonic, long-range, all-weather fighter-bomber built by (originally McDonnell Aircraft Corporation) McDonnell Douglas Corporation. ... On June 24, 1946, the U.S. Navy awarded North American Aviation a contract to build the aircraft that would become the AJ Savage. ...