- GENERAL INFORMATION / CREDITS DUE
- From Dan M. Schill,
- Tinker AFB, OK
- OC-ALC/Office of History
- HISTORY OF US NAVY TACAMO
- The concept
of an airborne communication wing was born in the
corridors of the Pentagon on 03 July 1963 when Rear Adm
Bernard F. Roeder, USN, gave the order to "Take
Charge And Move Out". In a traditional military
manner, Lt Jerry 0. Tuttle, who received the order,
wrote in his notebook the acronym TACAMO
which has carried on to this day. This project was based
on the concept of a survivable airborne communications
link between the National Command Authority and deployed
nuclear ballistic missile submarines.
TACAMO was considered a temporary fix until a hardened
shore-based system could be developed to communicate
with the ballistic missile submarine fleet. However, due
to the accuracy of Soviet missiles against fixed
geographical locations, the "temporary fix" became a
long-term solution. Within 18 months after the initial
order was given to determine the feasibility of an
airborne Very Low Frequency (VLF) communications system,
the first operational TACAMO aircraft was delivered.
A Lockheed C-130 "Hercules" (149806, see the
following article by Harry S. Gann)
was initially used to test the electronics and in 1964
four Lockheed EC-130Gs were delivered
with two aircraft going to VR-21 TACAMO
Component, Naval Air Station (NAS) Barbers Point, Hawaii
and two planes to VR-1 TACAMO Component, NAS
Patuxent River, Maryland. At this stage the
communications equipment consisted of roll-on/roll-off
removable vans that could be installed within hours.
- On 1 January 1966, the VR-21 component
was transferred to Agana, Guam.
- The TACAMO program was expanded with the
addition of eight EC-130Q aircraft with
the communications equipment permanently installed in
- After equipment modification and testing of
the airborne VLF communication techniques, Fleet
Air Reconnaissance Squadrons THREE and FOUR, VQ-3 Naval
Air Facility (NAF) Agana, Guam and VQ-4 Patuxent River,
respectively, were commissioned on 1 July 1968.
- During the years following the formal
commissioning, the TACAMO aircraft continued to receive
modifications such as a dual trailing wire antenna system,
a high-speed reel system, a message processor system,
extended range fuel tanks, wing top antenna pods for
satellite communcations and Electromagnetic Pulse
- The VQ-3 squadron In Guam soon became know as
the "Ironman Squadron" and was tasked with maintaining at
least one aircraft airborne 50 percent of day.
- In 1981 this squadron moved (back)to Barbers
Point, Hawaii and soon it was tasked with providing
airborne coverage on an around-the-clock basis.
- This coverage was essential in order to
eliminate the possibility of a Soviet submarine missile
attack catching all the aircraft on the ground and leaving
the United States without a survivable communications link
to its submarines.
- The TACAMO program had undergone constant
improvements since its inception as a VLF Strategic
- The TACAMO I system was developed and installed
in one C-130F aircraft.
- The TACAMO II
system consisted of three self-contained vans which could
be installed in the EC-130G aircraft in approximately five
- The TACAMO III
system improvements included an antenna more than five
miles long which trailed the aircraft and 25 kilowatts of
VLF transmitting power which were permanently installed in
- With the
TACAMO IV system the aircraft became an airborne
communication center with more than 200 kilowatts of power
transmitted through a dual trailing wire antenna system.
- The prototype EC-130 (149806) 806 started life as a
tanker but was selected to be configured as a prototype
- During this interval, the in-flight tanking equipment
was removed from the airframe and new equipment was
installed to aid the R & D for the intended submarine
message relay mission of the TACAMO aircraft. At the
completion of this test program, it was decided that it
would be uneconomical to return the aircraft to its
- From Bob Daley:
- The 11 EC-130's at ASI/DMI belong to an outfit called
Airplane Sales International and are stored at the yard
- They look pretty sad. One is said to be in good
- From the US Navy Historical Aircraft web page:
- In 1965 the Navy procured a number of C-130G's to
provide support to Polaris submarines and the exchange of
their crews. Essentially the same as the F model, these
aircraft have increased structural strength, allowing
higher gross weight operation.
- All models feature crew and cargo compartment
pressurization, single-point refueling and a Doppler
One other model, the EC-130Q, served in two VQ squadrons.
This version had a permanently installed VLF radio
transmitter system used to supplement shore based
communications facilities and acted as strategic
communications aircraft, communicating with
ballistic-missile submarines, under the TACAMO program.
- I must give credit where credit is due!
- Thanks Bob!!
- The Blue Angels Alumni Association
- The GO!NAVY website
- The U.S. Navy TACAMO Survivors Veterans Association
- The WILLIE VICTOR Roster
- Joe Baughers US Military BUNO / SERIAL NUMBER
- James L. Crowder, Chief of the History Office for
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