WF-2 TRACER
Recently accepted for fleet duty, Grumman's WF-2 Tracer fills an indispensable role in the national defense picture - early warning of attack by enemy air or sea forces. By operating off carriers far out at sea, high-flying WF-2's project their powerful radar signals, even to areas below the earth's horizon line which normally can't be searched by ground-level radar equipment. A modification of the S2F tracker, the airplane's huge saucer-like radome is the largest yet designed for a carrier-based aircraft. All-weather capabilities permit the Tracer to operate around the clock. The Tracer's wingfold assembly was changed from the conventional vertical or overhead fold to a "sto-wing" system similar to the one used by Grumman's famous World War II torpedo bomber, the Avenger.
