Tracker graveyard…..

Tracker Graveyard

That arrester hook in the last pic would look very nice in my shed :D.

You can still buy it (apparently!). As the press report I quoted lists Chesapeake Airways as the legal owners of the S-2s under discussion, I checked their website.

The Chesapeake Airways website lists the S-2’s tail-hook(s) as still being available for sale. Go here: http://chesapeakeairways.com/parts.cfm?step=view_category&category_id=31

In view of recent events, the front page of the Chesapeake Airways website is grimly appropriate: it says BREAKING NEWS!

Well, breaking aircraft is what they do…

Game over for these airframes as over on WIX theres a pic of heavy machinery grabbing one of them…

Further confirmation here;
http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2011-05-11/wwii-planes-us-1-demolished

Sadly, destruction of these S-2s was as recently as Wednesday 4th May 2011, quote:

“The “airplane graveyard,” which once housed a few dozen vintage military planes for many years, is nothing more than a grass storage lot filled with metal debris today.

Metal salvage workers demolished the last vintage plane that sat in a lot off Avenue A just north of the St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections Office on Wednesday afternoon. A large crane grasped the shell of each plane within its claw and tore apart their wings and fuselage — breaking down the planes to mere pieces.

“The planes were stripped of their stuff of value a long time ago,” said Mark Cass, owner of Fort Myers-based Metal Recycling & Salvage LLC, the company hired to demolish the planes. “All that’s left are the wings and the tail.”

The acre-lot that can be seen from U.S. 1 just north of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office came to be known by locals as the “airplane graveyard” for many years. Well now that local landmark is listed for sale, Record archives show. The lot is listed for sale for $195,000 with RE/MAX 100 Realty in St. Augustine. The price dropped from $199,000 in March.

The Maryland-based company that owns the property, Chesapeake Airways, sells the hard-to-find vintage plane parts to customers all over the world. The planes are no longer made, so the parts must come from other out of commission planes that are still around.

Buyers used the parts from the planes that were stored in St. Augustine to refurbish their own aircraft.

Chesapeake Airways owner, Charlie White, could not be reached for comment.

The S-2 Tracker military planes built in the ’60s and ’70s would take off from aircraft carriers and flew mainly off shore. They were also used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Canadian Forestry to fight against wild fires.

A previous article written in March said the planes were going to be moved from the property in the coming months. At some point those plans changed.

“I’m actually doing this job for free to get the scrap metal,” Cass said.

Cass said it will take nearly two weeks for his crew and local contractors to break down all the planes and clear the metal.

Couldn’t get the OP’ s link to load, but you can also check out http://miragebym.blogspot.com/2009/02/airplane-graveyard-of-st-augustine-01.html

Excellent link and fantastic images, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Tracker, Tracer, & Trader family. It would be great to see at least a cockpit section of one in the UK.
I thought that this comment on the blog was interesting,
“Anonymous said…
I’m trying to trace number 153. When my dad was in teh Dutch navy, he stole it and flew it to Libya from Malta. He was court marshalled for it and spent a year in the slammer. It’s always been a good story since, but now I’m trying to find out what happened to out. From records, it went back to the US in 1970. If anyone has info: maurits at uwclub.net thanks “!:eek:

Game over for these airframes as over on WIX theres a pic of heavy machinery grabbing one of them…

Tracker

I worked at Guantanamo bay in the early 90s and a dive buddy came across a tracker 37 metres down .It became a popular dive ,looked like both engines failed after take off parachutes still there all hatches missing.Was told it crashed sometime in the 70s and the pilot later died as a result of injuries during the crash.I have video somewhere and not very clear photos!

NH was Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW-11). From the tail markings, it looks like this aircraft may have been part of VS-37.

CVW-11 deployed on the Kitty Hawk during the Viet Nam War, later on the America and Enterprise.

That arrester hook in the last pic would look very nice in my shed :D.

Tracker Graveyard

Couldn’t get the OP’ s link to load, but you can also check out http://miragebym.blogspot.com/2009/02/airplane-graveyard-of-st-augustine-01.html

Which seems to be the same place (and same aircraft).

If it helps, the link I’ve posted is dated 19th Jan 2009, and the paintwork on two aircraft has not faded so badly that the serial numbers have become obscured. One has the BuAer No. 152804 and the other BuAer No. 14985- (the last digit is partly hidden, but is either ‘6’ or ‘8’).

One aircraft has “NH” and “74” on the tailfin: does that help identify the last unit they were with?

ETA: Scroll down to see some comments – two are particularly relevant, quote: ” I haven’t seen them recently, have they been scrapped? There is a Grumman factory/airbase basically across the street, which explains the planes’ origin” and “there were plans to sell the land and possibly scrap the planes. That was about a month ago. I have not heard if that has gone through or not. I hope not, I will be down there in Feb and would like to revisit for old times sake

Now, that was in Jan/Feb 2009: over two years ago. Are these “Stoofs” still there?

They wouldn’t last five minutes around here…..All that aluminium would be on the back of a Ford Transit flat back pronto quick….The rag and bone trumpets would be sounding loudly Ha Ha..

Great pics though.

The aircraft are in a compound next to the main road going past the airport at St Augustine. I saw them back in 2003 first when they looked a little better. I believe they were brought to the area to be used for an artificial reef programme that was abandoned.

There is something really eerie about these pictures. Extraordinary. Made by man and slowly returning to nature.