June 30 this year marked the end of an era in aviation as the U.S. Navy’s oldest EA-6B Prowler engines were silenced forever after its final flight from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., to its new home at NAS Pensacola, Fla.

The “Salty Dog” test pilots and aircrew of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two-Three (VX-23) at NAVAIR had utilized aircraft side-number SD 534 (BuNo 156481) for more than a decade as a platform for developmental testing of the latest EA-6B components, systems and capabilities. Now, it will inspire future generations of Navy and Marine Corps aviators in its final duty assignment as a static display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola.

EA-6B BuNo 156481 was the fourth Prowler (P-4) of five aircraft initially assembled, and was accepted on December 31, 1969. Airframes P-1 through P-3 began their lives at the Grumman Iron Works as A-6 Intruders but were diverted to the EA-6B line after production began. Thus, P-4 was the first aircraft actually built from start to finish as a Prowler.

Of the five original developmental aircraft delivered by Grumman, P-4 was the only one still flying more than 40 years later. P-1 was struck by the Navy in January 1989 and is currently on display at the Prowler Memorial Park aboard NAS Whidbey Island, Wash., – where EA-6B crews continue to earn their initial qualifications today. P-2 was struck in June 1980, and P-3 was lost during an initial test and evaluation flight in March 1971. The final production aircraft, P-5, was struck in November 1990.

Aircraft P-4 was originally delivered to Naval Plant Representative (NAVPLANTREPOR) in Bethpage, N.Y., Dec. 31, 1969 for its initial test flights before it was delivered to Weapons Systems Test Naval Aviation Test Center Patuxent River in May 1970. In November of that year, it returned to NAVPLANTREPOR for modifications before being delivered to the EA-6B Replacement Air Group (VAQ-129), at NAS Whidbey Island, Wash., in January 1971. For the next three years, P-4 was used to train some of the initial EA-6B operational fleet aircrew.

In January 1974, it was transferred to the Strike Aircraft Naval Test Center at Patuxent River. In September 1979, it made a brief trip to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center at Davis Monthan Air Force Base. In August 1980, Naval Air Repair Facility Alameda (NARF ALA) accepted the aircraft for modifications prior to its transfer back to VAQ-129 for a six month tour after which P-4 was sent back to NAV-BETH. In August 1985, Naval Air Systems Command took possession of the aircraft for flight test prior to its transfer to the fleet for operational employment. Between July 1986 and December 1989, P-4 flew with the “Zappers” of VAQ-130 and the “Patriots” of VAQ-140.

Following its first turn in the fleet operating forces, P-4 was sent to NADEP (both NORVA and ALA) for further modifications. The “Rooks” of VAQ-137 next employed P-4 between June 1992 and February 1994 after which it was transferred back to VAQ-129. Operational employment of these three squadrons at that time included an around-the-world cruise, deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Gulf, and operations in Somalia and Bosnia.

Naval Strike Air Test Squadron, Patuxent River, took possession of the aircraft for a year in November 1996 and was subsequently utilized for Operational Test at VX-9 aboard NAS China Lake from June 1998 through January 2001. In April 2002, P-4 finally became “Salty Dog” 534 when it was delivered to Strike Aircraft Test and Evaluation Squadron, VX-23. Since then, SD 534 has been a staple of nearly every EA-6B Improved Capability-II (ICAP-II) test program to include several major aircraft avionics and weapons system block upgrades, night vision goggle integration, aircraft component carrier suitability testing, and the addition of the LITENING pod ISR capability – to name a few.

P-4 may have been the oldest among active EA-6Bs, but it did not boast some of the typical flight statistics of fleet aircraft. When 534 shutdown for the last time, it had logged 924 carrier arrested landings and 6,185.9 flight hours. The operating forces trap leader at the time of this article was aircraft BuNo 162934, currently flown by VAQ-137, with 2,441 traps, while the flight hour record belonged to aircraft BuNo 158649 employed by VAQ-135, which had logged 12,074.3 flight hours.

While P-4 may not have ultimately competed for the trap or flight hour records, her initial ground-breaking production test flights, carrier suitability “off-nominal” catapult launches and arrested landings and envelope expanding developmental test flight hours certainly rank among the most unique and challenging experiences among EA-6B airframes.

At the time of this article, 93 of the 170 EA-6Bs originally produced were still considered to be active. The fact that the fourth aircraft ever produced was still flying for more tha 40 years after it was delivered to the Navy serves as a testament to the excellence of both the original Northrop Grumman design and craftsmanship as well as the continuing dedication of the Navy and contract maintenance departments that keep Prowlers flying today.

P-4 has now been successfully delivered to her final respite aboard NAS Pensacola, where she will continue to serve in a new and enduring capacity as a static display in the National Naval Aviation Museum – providing inspiration to future aviators and engineers alike. Today, the Navy is in transition from the EA-6B Prowler to the EA-18G Growler (a modified version of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet), with the last squadron transition to be completed around 2014. The Marine Corps plans to continue employing the newest ICAP-III variant of the EA-6B in their four electronic attack squadrons until 2019.

Source: NAVAIR