This footage, dated 1971, shows the attempted takeoff of a Grumman S-2E Tracker
from the catapult of the USS Ticonderoga aircraft carrier.
As the plane is initially launched, the sea in front of it seems calm… but at the moment
the Tracker is departing from the catapult, a freak wave hits and engulfs the plane...
The Grumman S-2E Tracker
The Grumman S-2E Tracker was the first purpose-built, anti-submarine warfare aircraft
to enter into service for the United States Navy beginning in 1954. It was designed by the Grumman
Aircraft Engineering Corporation with a rather conventional frame. It was driven by propellers
and had two radial engines. Its high wing could be folded to compress it for storage on carriers…
The aircraft was first introduced in 1952, and both the Tracker and its follow up E-1 Tracer
served the U.S. Navy until they were phased out by the mid-1970s and mid-1980s respectively.
Around 1500 Grumman S-2 Trackers were built and distributed to
different countries. Nations that used these planes include Australia, Turkey, Taiwan,
and Japan. Two purchasing South American nations even continue to use it, Argentina and Brazil.
At the end of its run with the U.S., the aircraft was replaced by Lockheed’s S-3 Viking.
The USS Ticonderoga
The USS Ticonderoga was named after the American Revolutionary War battle,
the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, an 18th century French Star Fort in Lake Champlain, New York.
It was an Essex-class carrier built during the Second World War for the American Navy.
It was commissioned in May of 1944. It served in multiple campaigns in
the Pacific Theater of World War II and earned five battle stars.
Another 24 of these carriers had been built, most of them constructed before Ticonderoga.
By the 1950s the Essex-class carriers were among the smaller ones in the U.S. Navy.
As the more powerful Forrestal-class carriers began to enter service,
the smaller carriers were sent on highly specialized missions.
USS Ticonderoga had been decommissioned soon after the war ended, however, due to the need
for specialized missions, it was turned into an attack carrier. In the early 1950s it was updated
and recommissioned as an anti-submarine carrier. The vessel had been modified far
too late to be sent to the Korean War, but it participated in the Vietnam war, where it earned
three Navy Unit Commendations, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, and 12 more battle stars.
The ship was 16 feet longer than the earlier built Essex vessels so it could carry bow-mounted
anti-aircraft guns. The longer Essex ships were referred to as the Ticonderoga class.
Towards the end of its life in the Navy, the ship was constantly modified
and changed. It eventually became part of the Hancock carrier class.
It was permanently decommissioned in 1973 and two years later was sold for scrap...
Freak Waves
The Freak Wave seen in the 1971 footage is an example of a rogue wave, a large
wave that comes in unexpectedly and can be very dangerous for beachgoers or small sail vessels.
Such a wave can even take down large ships or ocean liners
if it is sufficiently strong. While rare, they are mostly unpredictable
and crash with great impact without any warning sign detectable by the human eye…
Oceanographists currently define rogue waves as those with twice the significant wave height,
which is defined as the mean of the largest third of waves in a wave record
for a particular area. This means that Freak Waves are not necessarily the greatest of waves,
but rather uncommonly large ones in comparison to the general condition of the free surface
on a body of water. No specific distinct cause for these waves has been identified,
as research is ongoing. However, it is believed that certain physical factors increase the
probability of a freak wave, including high winds and strong currents. It is also believed
that they form when two or more waves merge to create an exceptionally powerful and large wave…
The phenomenon first appeared in scientific literature on a paper titled “Freak Waves”
written by Professor Laurence Draper in 1964. The text has been recognized as highly important
to the study of wave patterns. In it he documented the recorded wave heights and highest waves by the
National Institute of Oceanography, making a case for the existence of waves outside of the norm.
As research is ongoing, scientists have been cautious not to point out common confounding
factors as causing the waves… It is also unknown whether causal conditions vary by place,
depth, proximity to the equator, and other elements...
The Incident
In 1971 the Grumman S-2 Tracker was ready to launch off of the USS Ticonderoga
near the Philippine Islands. It was reportedly flying to Japan on an
unknown mission. Officers always waited for the bow to hit the bottom of a wave
before allowing a plane to take off. That way, by the time the aircraft reached
the end of the deck for takeoff, the carrier would be at the crest of it. Aboard the USS
Ticonderoga, this process was followed for the takeoff of the Tracker from the catapult.
The pilot, a member of the VS-38 Squadron, could not have foreseen what was about to happen
since the sea around the ship was deceivingly calm. After being given permission by the Launch
Officer the plane rolled down the catapult and the freak wave rose suddenly, engulfing it.
The tracker came out on the other side, flying straight to the wave, as it was too late to
abort or react by the time the wave hit. To the pilot’s surprise, the Grumman S-2E Tracker
continued flying. Reportedly the pilot heard the Wright R-1820 Cyclone engine sputtering for a few
seconds, but it continued working. After takeoff, the pilot noted that the wave had been done little
other than soaking the cockpit. Still, the mission was interrupted as a security measure…
It is believed that the aircraft did not sustain any damages from the encounter with water,
nor did the pilot.