S-3 Viking in Detail & Scale is the 24th volume in the Detail & Scale Series, and it covers the first U. S. Navy jet aircraft originally designed specifically for the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission. In 1964, the Navy announced a design competition to develop a jet-powered replacement for the S-2 Tracker. Lockheed’s design, to be produced in concert with the Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) Aerospace Corporation, won the competition, resulting in the S-3 Viking. This successful aircraft later evolved into a highly capable multisession platform that served admirably with deployable Navy squadrons for more than thirty years. This service began strictly as an ASW aircraft, but eventually expanded to include an increased weapons capability, cargo carrying, air refuelling, and even specialized electronic intelligence (ELINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) missions.

Our coverage begins with a chapter that summarizes the history of the Viking’s development and operational use by the Navy. This is followed by a chapter that presents a look at each of the Viking variants and the ES-3A Shadow, the ELINT/SIGINT platform. This chapter is followed by a Viking pilot’s narrative about his experiences with the aircraft over most of his career. Next comes a look at the various paint schemes used on the Viking during its more than thirty years of operational service. As always, each volume in the Detail & Scale Series focuses on the aircraft’s details. In the Viking Details chapter, the major variants of the Viking and the Shadow are illustrated with more than 140 photographs and illustrations covering the aircraft’s details, both inside and out. More than ninety percent of these were taken specifically for this publication or come from the files of private photographers. Finally, our Modelers Section reviews all of the available kits of the Viking and Shadow. Information is also provided as to how to do improvements, conversions, and upgrades to build all of the variants of the Viking and the Shadow. S-3 Viking in Detail & Scale is the most extensive, detailed, and up-to-date coverage ever presented on the Viking and the Shadow in a single publication. The book contains nearly 250 full-colour photographs and dozens of drawings depicting one of the most historic naval aircraft of the last fifty years.