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The Patriots of VAQ-140 Deploy the EA-6B Prowler for the Final Time
By: Mike Heilman and Ed Wells
An EA-6B landing aboard the USS Eisenhower. VAQ-140 will be transitioning to the EA-18G at the end of the squadrons deployment in the Fall of 2012. (Mike Heilman) In the Spring of 2012 the Patriots of VAQ-140 will deploy on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower with the EA-6B Prowler for the final time. The squadron has started initial work-ups for the 2012 deployment. When VAQ-140 returns from the deployment they will transition to the new EA-18G Growler but the squadron is not ready to let the aging Prowler go just yet.
The EA-6B Prowler entered the fleet in 1971. The Electronic Countermeasures Squadron VAQ-140 has been flying the EA-6B since 1985. The squadron is stationed at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington.
Wings at Sea
Eugene Ely and the Centennial of Naval Aviation
A century ago, the world’s navies relied on battleships to rule the seas. These giant floating fortresses of steel were built with great effort and expense by leading seafaring nations. Their size and power captivated the imaginations of millions and often influenced events ashore without firing a shot.
Against this backdrop, few would have expected the newly-invented flying machine still a frail-looking contraption of wood and fabric to play any role in a future victory at sea, much less prove to be utterly decisive. Yet one of the first steps towards the ultimate ascendancy of airplanes at sea occurred in San Francisco Bay on January 18, 1911.