S-2 Tracker restoration honors MIA during Vietnam

The Museum’s volunteer AirGroup have restored a Grumman S-2 Tracker as a memorial to the four-man crew of Anti-Submarine Squadron Thirty-Five (VS-35). During the Vietnam War, the USS Hornet (CVS-12) conducted anti-submarine warfare operations in Southeast Asia. They also assisted in search and rescue operations for downed pilots. On January 22, 1966, William S Forman, Edmund H Frenyea, Robert R Sennett, and Erwin B Templin Jr took off from the flight deck of the USS Hornet in a S-2 Tracker (BuNo.149252) and never returned.

The restored aircraft (BuNo.136691) was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1959 and flew until 1982. In 1986 it was sold to a private collector and flown at air shows for many years. In the year 2000, the aircraft was donated to the Hornet Museum. AirGroup volunteers have been restoring this aircraft with the identical markings of the plane that went missing on January 22, 1966. With family members of the missing Aircrew in attendance, the aircraft was unveiled to the public on January 22, 2022 in a special presentation with a flag and wreath ceremony by the ship’s Chaplain– 56 years to the day.

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