A Great Photo of the USS Kitty Hawk Flight Deck with ASW and AWACS Aircraft on Deck.

Behind the E-2 are three S-3 Viking Anti Submarine aircraft. I believe that these were the first aircraft that were specifically built for the one purpose of Anti Submarine Warfare. ASW. Other ASW aircraft were modified patrol, bomber or cargo aircraft. You can't see it in this picture, but if you look at the back underside of the S-3, you will see an array of tubes that look like holes in the bottom of the airplane. In each of these tubes are sonar buoys which are long cylinders that are ejected from the airplane, fall into the water, then float so that most of the buoy is under the water. Their job is to listen for submarine activity under the water then by use of a small antenna, send this information back to the S-3 Viking. When their batteries run out, they open flood valves and the buoy sinks preventing the technology from washing up on enemy shores and also preventing a shipping hazard.
Click here to see pictures of he kitty hawk back in 1977  Click here to go to the Yellow Airplane Home Base