The Prowler! I love all things Grumman, and the A-6/EA-6 family of jets are some of my favorite to roll off the Ironworks line. I'm honored to have been part of one of the final Prowler deployments and I absolutely love this jet!
The EA-6B Prowler is a 4-seat electronic warfare aircraft. It was introduced in 1971 and was originally designed for the USMC to replace the EF-10B. It was developed from the A-6 – in fact, the EA-6As were 2-seat converted Intruders. It was capable of jamming enemy radar and could deploy anti-radiation missiles against enemy targets. The type served the US until its retirement in 2019. After the EF-111Bs retirement in the late 90s, the Prowler was the only dedicated EW platform until the EA-18G came on line in 2009. 170 total Prowlers were made.
Our tags were cut from a single speedbrake we dug up at a boneyard. This speed brake was removed from aircraft buno 161348 - a Desert Storm vet that also flew with the USMC. The speed brakes on these jets were located on the wingtips – there was an upper and lower, and they opened opposite of each other. Interestingly, the A-6 and EA-6B would land with the boards deployed in order to have those J52 engines spooled up in the event of a waveoff or bolter.
We have multiple whole fuselages here to cut into, but using individual components is something we take great pride in. It is a time-consuming task to dismantle these items and preserve as much material as possible. The runs are small, but these component tags are very satisfying to produce and are cut from items already removed from the aircraft.
These tags are offered in 5 variants: Grey (exterior skin), Red (underside skin), Red Thick, Double-sided (Grey on top and Red on back), and Structured. All tags are aluminum.
- The Grey tags were cut from the top/outer skin of the speed brake. They feature exterior Navy grey paint. These are flat tags with a grey composite back adhered to the aluminum skin. These tags will come with a printed design on the back for the first week after launch.
- The Red and Red Thick tags were cut from the underside of the speed brake, which would have been visible when the speed brake was deployed. These tags featured a heavy aluminum honeycomb on the back. The Red Thick tags are thicker than the standard Red tag and have some chunky polished aluminum areas.
- The Double-sided tags were cut from the trailing edge of the speedbrake. They are a full cross-section of the speedbrake and have polished edges. These are the kind of tags JE is known for – thick heavy things with intricate detail and structure. I love em. These tags will come with the etching on BOTH sides so you can display them how you see fit.
- The Structured tags were cut from an area that had numerous fasteners and structure. These tags feature Grey outer paint and Red on the back. The backs are super irregular and feature rivets/screws/etc.
BVR went nuts with the art on this card. It's so good and we’re offering these tags with 2 versions of the card: a less saturated monochromatic card and a fully colored card. The Grey tags will come with the monochromatic card. The Red tags will come with the colored card. The Double-sided tags will come with BOTH cards!
We’re also listed t-shirts featuring this art. The front of the shirt will have the blueprint we used on the tag and the back will have the card art. A full description with sizing info is included with the listing in the JET SHOP.
There ya have it! I am SO stoked over these tags. The etching turned out so good and the cards are primo. There are only 200 of these puppies and ultra-limited numbers of the Double-sided, Structured, and Red Thick tags.