Grumman W2F/E-2 Hawkeye
The Grumman E-2 Hawkeye (until 1962 designated W2F) is an aircraft specifically designed from the start as an airborne early warning platform to be operated from aircraft carriers. For performing this task the aircraft has a circular radome above the fuselage. This disturbs the airflow so much, that a single vertical stabiliser would not be sufficient. Hence the tail comprises of horizontal stabilisers in a V shape (so with dihedral), with vertical stabilisers up and down at the tips and two additional fins up only in between. Another characteristic of the Hawkeye is the cockpit area being higher than the rest of the fuselage, so it pops out a bit. Behind the cockpit there is a large air intake on top of the fuselage, probably for cooling the systems on board. The E-2 furthermore has two big engine nacelles under the wings, that include storage for the single wheel main landing gears. The nose gear has two wheels. As with most carrier-based aircraft, the wings can be folded, in this case at the side of the nacelles towards the rear.
From this angle you can see well that the cockpit is a bit higher than the rest of the fuselage, so it appears to 'pop out'. Also note the large air intake on top of the fuselage.
The tail is one of the key features of the E-2, although not unique. It has two small fins only pointing up and two large fins at the ends up and down.
Different versions
How to recognise the different versions of the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye will be added later.
Confusion possible with
Xian KJ-600
The Chinese nearly copied the E-2 when they developed their own carrier-based AEW aircraft, so you are likely to confuse them. This Xian KJ-600 has four cockpit windows against six on the E-2, a slightly different nacelle shape, six blade props and possibly other differences, but that is still too early to tell.
Grumman C-2 Greyhound
Based on the E-2 Grumman made a dedicated cargo aircraft to be operated on carriers. This C-2 Greyhound has a wider diameter fuselage and no radar on top of the fuselage, but is for the rest quite similar to the Hawkeye.
Grumman E-1 Tracer
The E-1 Tracer was the predecessor of the E-2 Hawkeye. Like the Hawkeye the Tracer has a radar disk on top of the fuselage, but this is not round. It more or less has the shape of an airfoil. Additionally, the E-1 has only an H-tail and radial piston engines instead of turboprops. Finally, the E-1 is smaller than the E-2.