Grumman Aircraft is probably best known for its long lineage of outstanding carrier- based fighters. But among the many other fine aircraft produced by the Grumman “iron works” on Long Island, New York, has been a line of highly successful seaplanes. The firm produced the single-engine JF and J2F Duck, and the twin-engine XJ3F-1, JRF Goose, and J4F Widgeon for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, as well as for commercial customers.
The ultimate—and probably the finest—seaplane produced by Grumman was the Albatross series, a twin-engine amphibian. This aircraft was flown in utility, search-and-rescue (SAR), transport, patrol, and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) roles by the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, and the military services of more than a score of other nations.
Based on the efficacy of previous Grumman seaplanes, in 1944 the Navy ordered development of an advanced twin-engine seaplane for the utility/SAR and maritime patrol roles. It was to have a crew of four and accommodate up to 18 passengers or 5,000 pounds of cargo/ weapons; the cargo was loaded through an overhead fuselage hatch, with the weapons being carried on wing pylons. Additional fuel could be carried in fixed wing floats as well as in drop tanks beneath the wings.
The aircraft had a flying-boat hull with a high wing mounting two radial engines with reversible-pitch propellers. A fully retractable tricycle nose-wheel landing gear was normally provided. During the aircraft’s lengthy production run, an AN/APS-31A search radar was mounted in a nacelle beneath the left wing, which in later variants was relocated to a thimble-shaped nose dome.
The first of two prototype aircraft, initially designated XJR2F-1, flew on 1 October 1947. The Navy changed its utility designation from the letter J to U in 1946 and the aircraft became the UF-1 for the utility version and PF-1 for the patrol/ASW version. Also, the name was changed from Pelican, used for the prototypes, to Albatross.
The Navy ordered a small number of utility variants, but cancelled the planned patrol aircraft, preferring the larger, far more capable Martin P5M Marlin. Meanwhile, establishment of the Air Force as a separate service in 1947 led to its being made the primary U.S. air search-and-rescue service. This caused considerable confusion. As Rene J. Francillon wrote in his history of Grumman aircraft:
In numerous instances, aircraft which had been ordered by one branch of the Armed Forces, and given appropriate designations and serials, were delivered to another branch and assigned new designations and serials as required (e.g., [Grumman number] G-27 was ordered by the Navy as a PF-1A and assigned BuNo 124292 but was delivered to the Air Force as an SA-16A with serial 49-069).1
Beyond U.S. Navy and Air Force procurement of the Albatross, the plane served in the Coast Guard, generally with the letter G suffix to its Navy designation, as UF-1G.
The Air Force designation, SA-16, indicated a search/rescue (S) amphibious (A) aircraft, the 16th of the S-series procured for the U.S. Army Air Forces/Air Force. The 1 October 1962 redesignation of almost all naval aircraft led to the UF-series being changed to HU-16, the prefix letter H indicating search-and-rescue.
Amid these multiple designations, the aircraft entered service with the first production aircraft—an Air Force SA-16A—flying in July 1949. The Navy received a total of 94 UF-l/HU-16s, the Air Force took 290 aircraft, and the Coast Guard flew 83 UF-1G/HU-16E variants. One of the “Coastie” planes was fitted with side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) for oil-spill surveillance.
A patrol/ASW Albatross was developed in 1960 as part of the U.S. Mutual Defense Assistance Program to provide smaller air forces with a replacement for the outdated PBY Catalina. This Albatross—because of the small number planned—was in many respects an update of the aborted PF-1. Existing aircraft were modified and given the new designation SHU-16B (the S now indicating antisubmarine). This aircraft had the larger AN/APS-88 nose- mounted radar, a retractable magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) boom, a sonobuoy dispenser, a searchlight beneath the right wing, and external fittings to carry 5-inch rockets, Mark 43 short torpedoes, or Mark 54 depth charges. A crew of six flew the aircraft.
The first rebuilt patrol/ASW Albatross flew in May 1961 with a Grumman crew. It was then turned over to Navy Patrol Squadron 31 (VP-31) at NAS North Island (San Diego) for operational trials. These aircraft were then provided to Chile, Colombia, Greece, Norway, Peru, and Spain. Perhaps the most unusual foreign transfer was an SA-16A provided to Japan for use as a dynamic prototype for the Shin Meiwa PS-1 flying boat. The aircraft was lengthened, a T- tail configuration was added, and two additional radial engines and two turbojet engines were installed. Generally referred to as the UF-XS, the aircraft was first flown in December 1962. (Another six UF-2 aircraft were built for Japanese naval service.) Several other nations received former Air Force aircraft.
The HU-16/SA-16 soon became a familiar sight throughout the world in Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force service. They flew combat SAR missions during the Korean War with the Air Force’s 581st Air Resupply and Communications Wing using the versatile aircraft to insert and extract special forces operating behind North Korean lines. The planes were again used for combat SAR during the Vietnam War, including some rescues close to the coast of North Vietnam. One Albatross was reportedly destroyed by North Vietnamese mortar fire during one such operation.
The Albatross set several flying boat records. On 12 September 1962 a UF-2G piloted by Navy Lieutenant Commander D. E. Moore climbed to 29,460 feet over NAS Floyd Bennett Field, New York, setting a record for carrying a 2,200- pound load. Next, a UF-2G flown by Navy Lieutenant Commander F. A. W. Franke Jr., lifted 4,400 pounds to 27,380 feet. Three days later, Navy Lieutenant Commander R. A. Hoffman set another record in a UF-2G, carrying a load of 2,200 pounds at an average speed of 151.4 mph on a course from Floyd Bennett Field to Plattsburg, New York, to Dupree, South Dakota, and back to Floyd Bennett. The Albatross set several other records.
The last Navy flight of an Albatross occurred in August 1976, while the Coast Guard flew the plane until March 1983. Some of these aircraft continued flying in civilian livery.
Including planes built for foreign service, the total XJR2F/UF/SA-16 production through 1961 was 466 aircraft. This was the largest production run of any seaplane after World War II. And, as aviation writer Robert F. Dorr observed, “The Grumman-built amphibian was one of the very few aeroplanes ever introduced into service with the sole purpose of saving human life.”