The Mighty War Hoover

Yes, It Can Carry Weapons!

Fill'er Up!

Yes, boys and girls, it's the Mighty War Hoover. Also known as the S-3 Viking, Tuna's old ride.

So why do they call it "the Hoover"? Listen carefully!

Makes sense now, right?

So what are S-3 people like? Let's take a look. (I wonder if Tuna knows any of these guys. Hell, I wonder if Tuna is one of these guys!)

Well, I'm sure some of them are normal. Right? Tuna? A little help...

Blog Buddy Spill posted this S-3 Cutaway back in October. I reproduce it here. (Or you can chase the link, I won't be offended, really.)

Now the Hoover could carry a lot of stuff (as you can see in the diagram above). Here's a more exhaustive list from Wikipedia. (Where else?)

Specifications (S-3A)

General characteristics

• Crew: 4 (Pilot, 2× Naval Flight Officers, Sensor Operator/TFO)

• Length: 53 ft 4 in (16.26 m)

• Wingspan: Unfolded: 68 ft 8 in (20.93 m)

• Folded: 29 ft 6 in (9.00 m)

• Height: 22 ft 9 in (6.93 m)

• Wing area: 598 ft² (55.56 m²)

• Empty weight: 26,581 lb (12,057 kg)

• Loaded weight: 38,192 lb (17,324 kg)

• Max. takeoff weight: 52,539 lb (23,831 kg)

• Powerplant: 2 × General Electric TF34-GE-2 turbofans, 9,275 lbf (41.26 kN) each

• Internal fuel capacity: 1,933 US gal (7,320 L) of JP-5 fuel

• External fuel capacity: 2x 300 US gal (1,136 L) tanks

Performance

• Maximum speed: 429 kn (493 mph, 795 km/h) at sea level

• Mach 0.79, 450 kn (514 mph, 828 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m)

• Cruise speed: 350 kn (405 mph, 650 km/h)

• Stall speed: 97 kn (112 mph, 180 km/h)

• Range: 2,765 nm (3,182 mi, 5,121 km)

• Ferry range: 3,368 nm(3,875 mi, 6,237 km)

• Service ceiling: 40,900 ft (12,465 m)

• Rate of climb: 5,120 ft/min (26.0 m/s)

• Wing loading: 68.5 lb/ft² (334 kg/m²)

• Thrust/weight: 0.353

Armament

Up to 4,900 lb (2,220 kg) on four internal and two external hardpoints, including:

• 10 × 500 lb (227 kg) Mark 82 bombs

• 2 × 1000 lb (454 kg) Mark 83 bombs

• 2 × 2000 lb (908 kg) Mark 84 bombs

• 6 × CBU-100 cluster bombs

• 2 × Mark 50 torpedoes

• 4 × Mark 46 torpedoes

• 6 × mines or depth charges

• 2 × B57 nuclear bombs

• 2 × AGM-65E/F Maverick missiles

• 2 × AGM-84D Harpoon missiles

• 1 × AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER missile

The two underwing hardpoints can also be fitted with unguided rocket pods or 300 US gal (1,136 l) fuel tanks.

Avionics

• AN/APS-116 sea search radar, maximum range 150 nmi (173 mi, 278 km)

• Upgraded on S-3B to AN/APS-137 Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR)

• OR-89 forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera with 3x zoom

• AN/ARS-2 sonobuoy receiver with 13 blade antennas on the airframe for precise buoy location (Sonobuoy Reference System)

• AN/ASQ-81 magnetic anomaly detector (MAD)

• AN/ASN-92 Inertial navigation system (INS) with doppler radar navigation and TACAN

• Up to 60 sonobuoys (59 tactical, 1 Search and Rescue)

That's a lot of stuff!

So, does the S-3 have ejection seats? Why yes, yes it does...

Emergency Egress - Viking Style!

Photo of the trials of the ejection seats of the (then) new Lockheed S-3 Viking at
the U.S. Navy Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, California (USA), in 1971.

Now Tuna claims that the S-3 is cousin to the Warthog. Perhaps we can get him to explain that to us some day. (Now I'm not saying "Tuna, you got some 'splainin' to do..." but, well actually, yes, I am saying that.)

But if we're all really, really nice to him, perhaps some day Tuna will regale us with tall tales of his Viking days. Back when Tuna wore the gold wings of a Naval Flight Officer and helped keep the Commie hordes at bay.

We can only hope!

For those with a greater interest in the S-3, check out the Viking Association website. It's pretty cool.