Here’s why the EA-6B Prowler had a "nuclear trefoil nose art”

Here’s why the EA-6B Prowler had a “nuclear trefoil nose art”

By Dario Leone
Jul 28 2020
Share this article

‘It was a visual aid for the Landing Signal Officers, aka “Paddles,” pilots who are trained to observe and grade landing passes,’ Andy Burns, Flight Officer / Aviator at United States Navy.

Derived from the EA-6A “Electronic Intruder,” a relatively straight-forward modification of the A-6 Intruder, the EA-6B Prowler was a more advanced and significant redesign, making it a highly capable, long-range, all weather electronic warfare aircraft. EA-6Bs became operational in the final years of the Vietnam War, and developed into the foremost electronic attack platform in the U.S. military arsenal, supporting combat missions over Iraq, Bosnia, and Afghanistan and in other crises around the world.  The Prowler later underwent a number of upgrade programs, enhancing its ability to block enemy communications and sensors.

As shown by the main image of this post, the EA-6B had a very distinctive feature: “nuclear trefoil” painted on its nose.

EA-6B
This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. EA-6B Prowler VMAQ-2 Death Jesters, CY75 / 162230 / 2017

Why did the Prowler have it?

‘It was a visual aid for the Landing Signal Officers (LSOs), aka “Paddles,” pilots who are trained to observe and grade landing passes,’ Andy Burns, Flight Officer / Aviator at United States Navy (1995-present), explains on Quora.

Here’s why the EA-6B Prowler had a "nuclear trefoil nose art”
Landing signal officers direct the landing of a T-45 Goshawk, a two-seat, single-engine carrier training jet assigned to Training Air Wing (TW) 1, from the landing area of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) on Mar. 28, 2007.

‘‘One of Paddles’ functions is to safety-check that the aircraft actually “in the groove” (on final approach) is the same type that the ship thinks it is. The type and fuel on board determine the weight settings for the arresting gear. The Prowler was developed from the A-6 Intruder and they appeared similar from a nose-on perspective, especially from a distance, but the EA-6B was much larger and heavier than the A-6 and thus needed a different weight setting.

Here’s why the EA-6B Prowler had a "nuclear trefoil nose art”
A-6 Intruder

‘The “trefoil” helped Paddles confirm visually whether it was a Prowler or Intruder in the groove.

‘Other aircraft used similar markings for the same reason, like different versions of the E-2 Hawkeye.

Here’s why the EA-6B Prowler had a "nuclear trefoil nose art”
E-2C Group II
Here’s why the EA-6B Prowler had a "nuclear trefoil nose art”
E-2D

‘Once the A-6s were retired in the mid-90s there was no need for the marking on the EA-6s any more, and most squadrons discontinued using it (as you can see in the pic below). But some continued to just out of tradition.’

Here’s why the EA-6B Prowler had a "nuclear trefoil nose art”

Burns concludes:

‘If you’re asking why the “nuke” symbol in particular was used: the Prowler’s mission was electronic attack, i.e., jamming radar and radios. You do that by pumping out a lot of electronic energy, which is after all just another form of radiation.’

Photo credit: U.S. Navy


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

Error: Contact form not found.


Share this article
Back to top
My Agile Privacy
This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

List of some possible advertising permissions:

You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices