EA-6B Prowler: The Sky Pig Aircraft That You Have Never Seen 

My sister flew this plane and did two tours in it. Her husband also flew this plane. Now he works with the growler since this one is retired.

I was a AMS-1 and severed from 1978 thru 1983. VAQ-129,VAQ-133 and then VA-128 and Va-0689 as a plank owner. Two med deployments. John F Kennedy and Forestall. Very good times. Loved working on the EA-6B and A6. All my sea time was with VAQ-133 and the EA-6B.

This was a great plane. Worked on it on my first sea tour and didn't know how good I had it, not once did we crack open a fuel cell. Went from the Prowler to the Hornet in the mid 80"s and it seemed like every two or three months we had to open up a fuel cell. On the beach it wasn't so bad but at sea it was such a pain in the ass.

I was a PH in the Navy in the early eighties stationed on the Carl Vinson. One of our jobs was manning the PLAT camera. The EA6 and the A6 were the planes we dreaded the most. Their engines just screamed so loudly that it was actually painful even with double ear protection!

That aircraft is a major part of why I live where I do. My father worked on them for a large part of his navy career. Been at Nas Whidbey since '69. He retired in '80. Miss him

I was in A-6’s while I was in the Navy. My first tour I was a plane captain in VA-65. During that time I qualified as a PC as I managed to accumulate 5 Daily and 5 Turnaround inspections on visiting EA-6B’s. I made rate as a Aviation Machinist Mate and during my shore duty time (33 months) I became qualified on the J-52 p8b and the J -52 p408 engines. Couldn’t beat that P-408. I was in VF-43 during that time. Got to run the engine during low power turn ups. Lots of fun!!!!

I saw it every day on the flight deck of the USS America (CV66). I always loved the gold tinted canopy.

It was the main electronic jamming plane. It was replaced (2009) by the EA 18G-GROWLER, based on the F18 Super Hornet.

Oh I seen this plane all time growing up! I grew up on Whidbey Island, home of the A6 and the EA6B. I can still hear the roar of those engines in my head from time to time all these years later! These planes were iconic in the navy fleet for sure!

My dad was a plane captain for A-6 Intruders on the Connie CV-64, glad to see them still flying even though the Connie has been broken down in Brownsville already.

Flew this beauty out of Whidbey and off the carrier for 20 years. She kept me safe every time. Love the Old Girl. ⚓️

Had a great friend that flew the A6. I was 14 when he got his wings at Chase Field around 1974. Great guy he went on to fly for Southwest

50 out of 170 lost to accidents seems surprisingly many. 5 or 10 would seem more appropriate…

Correction needed: 90 kilometers is nowhere near 80 miles. I think it's closer to ~55 miles

Nice - but FYI, 90 kilometers is NOT about 80 miles - it's about 56 miles.

I was in P-3s from '75 - '95. We used to see AND HEAR them every time we were in Whidbey. To this day, I'm convinced that the A-6/EA-6 holds the U.S. Military record (unofficial - I don't even know if anyone ever kept track!) for the highest noise to size ratio. The A-4 was pretty close, but the Prowlers were insane loud! That being said, I loved those birds. To me, they were the 2nd most beautiful aircraft of the modern era, right behind my baby, the P-3 Orion. (It's a personal taste thing.) For the A-6, I like how it was essentially the opposite of other jets, i.e., wide in the front and tapered in the back. Sort of a modern version of the P-38 Lightning, only with a single tail boom. It was, as the surf dudes used to say, bitchin'! The S-3 was a close 3rd on the beauty contest, but I had two reasons to never go VS, namely: 1. Ejection Seats, and 2. Tail hook. Didn't do GBGBs (Great Big Gray Boats). I was happy to take off from land, and land on land. No rolling deck, no away for months at a time, never worried about my home sinking in the middle of the ocean. But I tip my cap to all those who filled those billets for me!

I was in a F-14 Squadron and our Pilots would always smile when they went on a mission with a EA-6b , I asked a pilot why are you guys always so happy when the Ea6b goes on a mission with you , the Pilot just said , it will be a greater chance we will actually see some combat and also we are suppose to fly escort to protect them but sometimes I wonder who is really protecting who ?

I love the Intruder and Prowler. I think they’re gorgeous.

During Operation Southern Watch, we brought F-16s down to Prince Sultan AB in Saudi Arabia. When the Prowler taxied past, we'd often refer it to "The Griswolds headed to Wally World."

I saw them (and heard them take off) while serving in Afghanistan during 2005-2006. Sweet aircraft.

My brother was on the USS Essex, his squadron was VA-42, the fighting Pawns. He loved the plane, but was quick to say not the prettiest. But, he said it was better looking than the Corsair

From 1972 to 75 I was stationed at NAS Whidbey Island, I got to take a few ride Along's on the EA-6B and the A-6. They were an amazing aircraft. Oh and I got a ride along on a visiting F-4 Phantom, that was the thrill ride of a lifetime.

Without a doubt the loudest bird on the flight deck when I served.

I always heard it called the "Double Ugly."

Worked on them for 18 years. Great plane. The Prowler also served in Iraq Freedom and Afghanistan.

“Somewhat unwieldy?” All versions and variants of the A-6 were noted for being among the Navy’s easiest planes to fly and land. They did low and slow extremely well. While not fighters they had very responsive controls and engines. They handled like a comfortable sedan. They would easily get off the deck every time and we’re probably the slowest gentlest carrier landing outside of a C-2. Those broad wings gave them so much lift that you could practically use them as a kite.

Never seen? Saw it back in the 70s on the Constellation.

There was A Old Movie called the..THE FINAL COUNTDOWN.?? About the U.S.S.NIMITZ going BACK in time ..1941 Pearl Harbor..?? AWESOME FILM with Lots of AIRCRAFT CARRIER ACTION..

I have seen it, not in person, but in photos and video around the time of the Gulf War because my cousin's friend was in one; I don't remember where he sat in the cockpit because I was a kid at the time. He was on a carrier.

"The EA-6B Prowler is the primary tactical jamming aircraft"(sic) Was, the aircraft was sundowned in March 2019 when VMAQ-2 delivered the last flying Prowler to the Smithsonian at Dulles.

When I was in the Navy, 1974-73, I worked on a desert flight-line where these A6s were stationed among other jet aircraft.

50 - 60 years ago they were front line operational just before and during the Vietnam War. Spent several early years of my career as a "Tech Rep" helping sailors and Marines with some of the technology in the "Black Boxes". Those "Birds" were used in a variety of roles, including refuelers. For ops on "Yankee Station" the Black Boxes were required if the planes went "Over the Beach" on a mission. Enjoyed the work - Grumman "Iron Works" did well with these.

Oh I've seen and definitely HEARD this plane. At NAS Meridian when going to "A" school and then in the Philippines when the planes would disembark their carriers to Cubi point NAS, before the carrier would come ashore. Loudest plane I've ever heard. Much louder than the F14 or F18s.

While the EA-6B Prowler may have provided cover for some USAF packages in recent conflicts, the USAF had their EF-111A Raven within its inventory until retired in 1998 and I believe the F-16 took over the Wild Weasel role.

Northrop-Grumman or just Grumman? I'd argue that since production of the EA-6 ended long before the 1994 merger between Northrop and Grumman, the plane should be called the Grumman EA-6 (A or B). You wouldn't call a Douglas DC-3 a Boeing DC-3 just because the Douglas aircraft company later merged with McDonnell and then with Boeing so the name now is Boeing.

June 1972. My first program assignment at Grumman was the EA-6B. Lots of memories about one of many amazing Grumman aircraft

I actually saw one of those 50 lost crash. I was washing my car and as one flew over, I heard a sputtering sound, looked up and the whole port wing looked to be on fire and it was going into a left hand flat spin. Then the 4 crewmen ejected and seeing four parachutes was a big relief, but also confusing because I always thought they only carried two crewmembers. It crashed into a front yard in Morehead City and unfortunately killed a lady sitting on her front porch.

Love this plane, it has a great look.

Camp Fife -- They would fly up that canyon every day below the mountain tops. Entertaining.

HATS OF TO GRUMMAN!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏🏻✊🏻✊🏻🤗

Wow .. amazing ...4 crew members..all the high tech with jamming and electronic equipment...and they still managed to kill 20 people by flying under a cable car and cutting the cable..... fascinating

Back in the 70's while in the Marines got to visit and work with the Intruders along with a couple of VMAQ-2 Prowlers. 🇺🇲

I was there in Whidbey Island when we made the transition from EA-6B Prowlers to the EA-18 Growlers. VAQ-132. My Squadron were the first to use it in combat over Iraq in 2010-2011 and then transfered them over to Libya during Operation Odessy Dawn.

My Dad flew the EC-121 Constellation in the navy out of Hawaii to Midway and up to Alaska and back. There was no shielding in the plane to protect the crew from the powerful radar and we believe this was most likely the cause of his three brain tumors. Some of his friends that he flew with suffered from similar issues and most have passed. The first tumor was almost as big as a baseball and it was surgically removed. The second tumor grew from his skull and was removed and the piece of skull was replaced with a ceramic plate. He just finished radiation treatment for the third tumor and we are waiting to see if it worked and shrank the tumor. This third tumor has pushed and cut off blood flow to one of his eyes. I hope the newer planes have shielding and protections for the flight crew. My Dad is 85 so he has lived a long life but the last 15 years have been tough. We aren’t certain that the radar is the cause of the tumors but it’s likely.

Great video. I would have liked to be on one of those crews - cool job !

Worked on these as an avionics tech from 77-89 at NAS Whidbey.

The A10 Warthog was also not pretty but like the Prowler is was beyond effective at it's job.

I am retired navy and at one time was stationed overseas in Japan attached to VAQ-136 now decommissioned. We flew the ea6b

Saw it everyday at NAS Cubi Point. I watched an A6 get flambeyed in the hot fuel pits in 1989.

3:05 Wow! AOR AR-3000 Communication Receiver !!!

What a nice family plane.

This was one of my favorite planes in carrier squadrons onboard the Saratoga. Particularly the A6.

Those J-52 turbojet engines she had were bone shattering loud on the carrier ears are still ringing !

This and the EA-111 Sparkvark were the EW masters

A lot times the E2-C flew along the EA-6B we would have to change out avionic equipment. Super power airplanes! So loud on the deck too. Double hearing protection a must.

These guys were superstars… they flew the only hardball in our AO and saturated it with whatever frequency magic they used. You would hear the IED’s go off some days in the distance. Was a welcome sight. OEF4 🇺🇸 🇦🇫

The USAF never used the Prowler; they used the EF-111A Raven.

For our airmen, getting assigned to fly a prowler would have been like just missing the last chair in a musical chairs game.

I wish I could fly this plane. The seat arrangement is like driving a car. I hope they have cup holder also in the center console.

Never seen? My body is still rattling from how loud this thing was at high-power.

I was a Garuda, VAQ-134 NAS Whidbey Island. 1981-1985

I saw plenty of them aboard the USS Enterprise in the late 80s. I worked in AIMD and our shop and personal spaces were on O4 right above the hanger bay. Other than sick bay or the mess hall you pretty much had to walk the entire hanger bay to get anywhere on the ship fast, so there was plenty of time to see aircraft parked. They were just starting to phase in these new fangled jets called Hornets when I got out ;).

Grumman ironworks never looked better! I was an Marone A-6 pilot, looked very impressive when it was loaded wall-to-wall with 500 pounders

I'm guessing there were 20 Italian cable car patrons wishing they had never seen it either.

Thunderchief and A-6B were pioneers of modern SEAD. I love this airframe. To me it symbolizes the paradigm shift from air superiority to air dominance.

This is awesome, I never knew they had crews of 4! Very interesting!

Y'all have maybe never seen it - but I was stationed at NAS Whidbey, these were on the reg in the region.

The Air Force used the F111 and the F16 for it electronic countermeasures. The prowler was too slow to help with some of the Air Force missions.

The EA-6B was not slow. It would do almost 500 kts at sea level with 3 jamming pods and 2 fuel tanks. About as good as a Growler can do.

Another Grumman success airframe.

Joined the Army in 1983, seen plenty of them.

We had one fly over my school when I was a kid. Someone’s dad was a pilot.

Saw plenty of these on 3 major cruises on the USS Independence in the early 80's

Just because you've never heard of it doesn't mean nobody else has.

I watched many of these take off and land at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq 2006-2007.

My brother was a Flight Surgeon and rode in the back of one of these. I asked him what his role was. He said, "Weight and balance."

The plain is everithing......but not ugly More like nice, interestig.....unique look👌🙂

The Prowler at 2:45 would not be allowed to leave the deck until the pilot rolled down his sleeves.

Love the Prowler and Intruder. Great, dedicated aircraft now sadly gone.

Love this aircraft! (Having type rated on the GA7 Cougar for my CPL multi engine rating, I'm very biased towards Grumman!)

Saw them often back in the day... up here in Canuck land, testing the ADATS system.

You need A Disclaimer. The aircraft you've never see, IF You are under 30. Befor that you may well have seen them as an A-6 intruder. The only external visible difference is a slight bulb on top of the vertical stabilizer. You may also have watched or read flight of the intruder, A novel made into a movie, And a very good story. ( Thank you Steven Coonts!)

I saw an A-6 tear up the asphalt overrun during a run up before takeoff. Lifted it up and then blew it into chunks. Also, I watched an EA-6 crash into a fireball at Whidbey Island.

Sure do miss this jet. She was one bad bird! Loud as all get out and she did her job.

Seen quite a few of them landing at Paine Field, near Whidbey NAS..

VAQ-138 Yellow Jackets,jam and microwave anything.Enemy, Seattle or hot gogs just bypass the weight on wheels switch.😎🇺🇲

The Prowler is why the Growler is called Growler

Bold of you to assume I've never seen it.

Not one lost in combat but 50 - FIFTY! - lost in accidents? Jammed each other?

My guys, VMAQ-2 (CY). QA Chief '86-91, Maint Chief '91-98, so I saw them every workday for 12 years.

Awesome platform!

Never seen? I saw them every day for five years at Cherry Point. Heard them too, they loud as hell!

I saw the last USMC Prowlers Sunset ceremony at Cherry Point and I watched them take off and leave for the boneyard.

I’ve known about this EA6B since the late 1980s.

They scraped this platform over 15 years ago, apparently using the F-18 platform now... sometimes you just never know? Very interesting craft... very necessary purpose

Who writes this script? Middle school level writing and vocabulary skills

Stationed at Cherry Point for a bit in the 1990’s. Other than the harrier this is all we had there

Great looking aircraft in my opinion.

The Whidbey boys would fly blacked out training missions at 500 feet through the Suiattle River valley all the time. I saw them a bunch.

Marine Air Wings should be lobbying anyone with decision power to acquire the A10C Warthog