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

Naval Flight Officer explains why the EA-6B Prowler had a “nuclear trefoil nose art”

By Dario Leone
May 27 2023
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‘The “trefoil” helped Paddles confirm visually whether it was a Prowler or Intruder in the groove,’ Andy Burns, US Navy Surface Warfare & Flight Officer.

In 1960, as part of the development of the new A2F (later A-6) Intruder all-weather attack aircraft, Grumman engineers began evaluating an ECM version of the airplane. The result was the EA-6A Intruder, which entered service in Marine Corps squadrons in December 1965. Concurrently, Grumman developed a Tactical Jamming System and defined the requirements for the airplane to serve as a platform for it. The result was the EA-6B Prowler, which built upon the success of the EA-6A, but differed in some respects including size to incorporate a four-man crew consisting of one pilot and three electronic counter-measures officers (ECMO).

VMAQ-2 EA-6B print
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

The first Prowlers arrived at VAQ-129 at NAS Whidbey Island, WA, in December 1971, and the initial fleet squadrons equipped with the new airplane flew combat missions over North Vietnam as part of Operations Linebacker I and II. This began a lengthy service that lasted over four decades with the Prowler developing into the foremost electronic attack platform in the US military arsenal, supporting combat missions in Grenada, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Bosnia, and Afghanistan and other crises around the world.

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

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, US Navy Surface Warfare & Flight Officer, explains on Quora.

LSOs

‘‘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.

A-6 Intruder
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.

US Navy celebrates 60th anniversary of E-2 Hawkeye’s first flight
E-2C Group II
E-2D
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.’

EA-6B Nuclear Trefoil

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.’

Naval Flight Officer explains why the EA-6B Prowler had a “nuclear trefoil nose art”
This model is available from AirModels – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS

Photo credit: U.S. Navy


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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.

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Comments

  1. Kali says:

    It would have made far more sense if you’d ask somebody from 12 Charlie or an actual electronic warfare technician. The folks that created those emblems have the designated crap job of putting them on. Then again I always considered the average LSO to be like putting a hockey player to the bench. The carriers I was on, and you became an LSO , it was like you were being punished for something. Be that as it may many people may not like my comment but I don’t care.

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