Grumman S2F/S-2 Tracker and WF-2/E-1B Tracer Part Two
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Naval Fighters Number 102
Authors: Doug Siegfried and Steve Ginter
Publisher: Ginter Books
ISBN: 978-0-9968258-3-2
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 250
The Naval Fighters series continues to grow over at Ginter Books, and this latest one builds on their extensive coverage of the Grumman S2F Tracker family. Part One of the set covered the development and construction of this famous anti-submarine aircraft, as well as the civilian and foreign operators, while this volume provides nothing but US military operators. Given that this is 250 pages long, that should give you some indication of just how many units operated the Tracker and Tracer and how long the plane remained in service.
For those not familiar with how these books are laid out, they provide one or more pages devoted to each specific unit. For example, VS-22 has two pages, filled with photos of glossy sea blue Trackers. Plus three more pages showing gull gray and white Trackers, but that is a different VS-22. Yes, due to a reorganization in 1960, the Navy ASW forces saw a doubling of units that featured half of the squadron aircraft count (from 20-24 down to 10). With many units experiencing this, that 250 page count starts to make more and more sense.
The photos within the book are all black and white, but many are new, at least to my eyes, and are of great quality. Color information, where known (and in many cases it is well documented) is outlined in the captions. For color junkies, the back cover has fourteen color photos, plus two more on the front cover. The written history of each unit is brief but covers all of the basics as well as the occasional interesting anecdote.
All in all, this is an excellent addition to the first volume, and together they tell a very complete story of how the Grumman Tracker/Tracer was made and who operated it. My thanks to Ginter Books for the review copy.