The U.S. Navy ended six decades of C-2A Greyhound operations Tuesday when the aircraft completed its final in-service flight from Norfolk, Virginia, to Naval Air Station Pensacola. The Greyhound joined the Blue Angels for a formation flight before landing at Sherman Field, where nearly 6,000 people watched from the National Naval Aviation Museum.
Final Flight to the Museum
The aircraft received a water salute after landing, and Cmdr. Paul Ingram, commanding officer of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40, transferred its logbooks to museum officials. The museum plans to rehabilitate the Greyhound and place it on public display in 2027.
“When a C-2 appears on the horizon, it brings with it far more than just cargo,” Ingram said in a Naval Air Station Pensacola release. “Every single mission carries a deep, personal meaning for someone aboard the carrier.”
CMV-22B Takes Over
Grumman developed the C-2A from the E-2 Hawkeye airframe for carrier onboard delivery missions. The aircraft entered operational service in 1966 and accumulated more than 500,000 flight hours and 250,000 arrested carrier landings. The Navy said Greyhounds carried more than 2.5 million passengers and 100 million pounds of cargo during their service.
VRC-40, known as the Rawhides, was the Navy’s final squadron to operate and maintain the C-2A and is being disestablished. The CMV-22B Osprey has assumed the carrier delivery role, using its tiltrotor configuration to operate from carriers and shore locations without a conventional runway.
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