@ Santa Rosa, CA
September 2016
These two Grumman combat veterans are part of the collection of the Pacific Coast Air Museum and are seen here on display at the 2016 Wings Over Wine Country Airshow. The Prowler (left) is a dedicated electronic warfare variant of the A-6 Intruder (right), stretched to add two more seats. Design particulars include the asymmetrical refueling probe and a gold-plated canopy to shield the crew against the electromagnetic emissions that the electronic warfare equipment produces. The radiation symbol painted on the nose is for the benefit of the aircraft carrier’s Landing Signal Officer (LSO) and other deck crew, so they can tell at a glance that this is a Prowler and not an Intruder. Introduced in 1971, only 170 of these versions were built with the last ones being retired in March 2019. On December 7, 2013 this Prowler made her final flight from NAS Whidbey Island (Washington) to the Museum, and she was the first Prowler on the West Coast to be inducted into a public air museum.
The Intruder was delivered as an A-6A version in 1968, seeing action over Vietnam in 1972. She underwent an upgrade to A-6E configuration in 1976 and saw action in the Persian Gulf with 56 tanks and two Iraqi gunboats to her credit. This Intruder was retired in 1994, authorized for one final flight to Sonoma County Airport to be added to the Museum collection. Nikon D7100 w/18-200mm.