The Ford and the Stoof

Before the "unified designation system" for aircraft was introduced, the United States Navy used its own alpha-numeric method. Sometimes this resulted in a popular, unofficial nickname. Two airplanes that got renamed that way were the Skyray and the Tracker.

In plain view, the Skyray resembled fish belonging to the "Ray" order (Stingray, etc) and was a real hot rod. A jet fighter with an afterburner, the Skyray was the first supersonic carrier-based fighter and held several speed and time to climb records. It was a gorgeous machine but had a rather short life from 1956 to 1964.

F4D was the Navy's designation for the Skyray. The letter F meaning a fighter, the fourth design from the manufacturer which was Douglas Aircraft symbolized by the letter D. Naval aviators twisted this into F-four-d or F-or-d or FORD, so the Skyray assumed the name of an automobile manufacturer.

On the other end of the aerodynamic spectrum was the Tracker used to search for submarines among many other missions. Equipped with two radial, piston engines, the Tracker's top speed was 40% of the Skyray's and the rate of climb about 10%. It was developed as a contemporary of the Douglas fighter but served until 1978 with the U.S. Navy and well into the 21st century in South America. Many Trackers were converted to civilian firefighting aircraft, later fitted with turbo-propeller engines, and are still flying today.

In the 1950s system the Tracker was the S2F or the second search aircraft designed by Grumman (for some reason designated by the letter F) which was twisted to S-two-F or S-too-F or "STOOF." Probably not relevant is the fact that STOOF International is a German company that manufactures armored vehicles.

In 1962 the unified designation system made the F4D the F-6 and the S2F became the S-2. Pristinely restored examples of both airplanes can be seen at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. However, if things go as planned Minnesota based "Flight Expo Inc." will be restoring a "STOOF" at the Princeton Airport. Flight Expo's S2F was stored outside at the Anoka County/Blaine Airport for 15-plus years. In 2024 it was moved to Princeton. That Odessey is well told on the organization's web site flightexpoinc.org. Aviation historian and "Minnesota Flyer" featured columnist Tom Lymburn wrote a comprehensive account of Flight Expo's airframe which is also on their website.

Much like the hare and the tortoise are the FORD and the STOOF. The F4D was a one trick pony that flew high, fast and only for a few years.

Built to find submarines, the S2F had many variants. Besides its initial purpose it flew people and cargo from ship to shore (Carrier Onboard Deliver or COD), trained new pilots, and was equipped with a huge radar antenna for detecting aircraft. The Aircraft Early Warning or AEW variant looked ungainly and was known around the Navy as a STOOF with a ROOF.

The S2F or S-2 flew for the military of at least six countries including combat missions for the United States in Vietnam and Argentina during the war with Britain over the Falkland Islands and went on to a successful public safety carrier in three countries.

Slow and steady didn't win the race, but it lasted the longest.