The grumman s2f tracker - STOOF
Photo credit: J. Callahan Photography
The Grumman S2F Tracker (STOOF) was in U.S. Navy service from 1954-1976. During the Cold War, Soviet submarines regularly patrolled the world’s oceans. To mitigate the threat, Grumman designed an S2F-1 Tracker which was outfitted with the latest sub-detection equipment. It became the premier submarine hunter and revolutionized anti-submarine warfare (ASW).
Brian Mann, USN 1977-1981402.980,8918, wrote, “I flew on this very plane while in the Navy. I was a qualified Crew Chief/Air Crewman. I was part of the last crew that flew this plane, stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, WA. If you look close on the lower portion of the rudder, you can see the letter “Y” and barely the letter “E” above. I and another sailor painted “WHIDBEY” in old English letters down both sides of the rudder. I was recently in Blaine, MN (Oct 1, 2012) and saw my old plane for the first time in over 33 years. It brought back some great memories.”
Today the STOOF resides at the Princeton Municipal Airport thanks to the very generous donations from our beloved supporters! In recent years, The American Wings Air Museum at the Blaine Airport had fallen on hard times and the plane will be dismantled and scrapped if it was not moved.
Fortunately, the aircraft was donated to Flight Expo and on the night of February 6, 2024, it was carefully transported to Princeton, MN by Anderson Building Movers. The cost of moving the aircraft came to around $21,000. We are still working to cover the remaining costs. Any donations above the cost of moving will then go into the restoration of this beautiful piece of history.
With the help of many sponsors, Flight Expo will be able to preserve this important piece of American history for generations to come. As US Representative Henry Waxman said, “The sanctity of our battlefields, monuments, and veterans’ institutions is of utmost importance to preserve military history and pay respect to those who fought.”
