A-4 Skyhawk
| Douglas A-4F Skyhawk |
|---|
image depicts later A-4M version |
| Description |
|---|
| Role | Attack aircraft |
| Crew | one, pilot |
| Dimensions |
|---|
| Length | 12.22m | 40' 3" |
| Wingspan | 8.38m | 27' 6" |
| Height | 4.57m | 14' 11" |
| Wing area | 24.15m² | 259ft² |
| Weights |
|---|
| Empty | 4,750kg | 10,448 lb |
| Loaded | | |
| Maximum take-off | 11,136kg | 24,500 lb |
| Powerplant |
|---|
| Engines | 1x Pratt & Whitney J52-P8A |
| Power | 41.4 kN | 9,300 lb |
| Performance |
|---|
| Maximum speed | 1,100km/h | 686 mph |
| Combat range | 3,220km | 2,000 miles |
| Ferry range | | |
| Service ceiling | 12,880m | 42,250ft |
| Rate of Climb | 2,572m/min | 8,440ft/min |
| Armament |
|---|
| Guns | 2x 20mm Mk 12 cannon |
| Fuselage centreline station | 1,590kg | 3,500 lbs |
| Inboard wing stations | 1,000kg each | 2,200 lbs each |
| Outboard wing stations | 454 kg each | 1,000 lbs each |
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk (formerly A4D Skyhawk, Douglas later McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing) is an attack aircraft originally designed to operate from United States Navy aircraft carriers. Fifty years after the type's first flight, some of the nearly 3,000 Skyhawks produced remain in service with smaller air arms around the world.
History
The Skyhawk was designed by Douglas' Ed Heinemann in response to a Navy call for a jet-powered attack aircraft to replace the A-1 Skyraider. Heinemann opted for a design that would minimize size, weight, and complexity. The result was an aircraft that weighed only half of the Navy's specification and had a wing so compact that it did not need to be folded for carrier stowage. The diminutive Skyhawk soon received the nicknames "Scooter", "Bantam Bomber", and on account of its nimble performance, "Heinemann's Hot-Rod".
The aircraft is of conventional design, with a low-mounted delta-like wing, tricycle undercarriage, and a single jet engine in the rear fuselage, with intakes on the fuselage sides. The tail is of cruciform design, with the horizontal stabilizer mounted above the fuselage. Armament consisted of a 20mm cannon in each wing root, and large variety of bombs, rockets, and missiles carried on a centreline hardpoint under the fuselage and two hardpoints under each wing (early versions had only one hardpoint under each wing).
The Navy issued a contract for the type on June 12 1952, and the first prototype first flew on June 22, 1954. Deliveries to Navy and Marine Corps squadrons commenced in late 1956.
The Skyhawk remained in production until 1975, with a total of 2,960 aircraft built, including 555 two-seat trainers. The US Navy began removing the aircraft from its front-line squadrons in 1967, with the last retiring in 1975. The last Marine Skyhawk was delivered in 1979 and were used until the mid 1990s. Trainer versions of the Skyhawk remained in Navy service, however, until 1999 when the last were replaced with the T-45 Goshawk. As of 2001, a few last Skyhawks remained in military use in the US for target-towing and as adversary aircraft for combat training.
In Combat
Skyhawks received much use in the early years of the Vietnam War until being supplanted by the A-7 Corsair II in the light bomber role. Skyhawks carried out some of the first air strikes by the US during the conflict and a Marine Skyhawk is believed to have dropped the last US bombs on the country. Shortly afterwards, Israeli Air Force Skyhawks would prove their worth in the Yom Kippur War. Argentine Navy Skyhawks played a role in the Falkland Islands War, and more recently, Kuwaiti Air Force Skyhawks fought in the first Gulf War.
Variants
Prototypes
- XAD4-1 Prototype
- YAD4-1 Flight-test prototypes
A-4A
- A4D-1 (A-4A) Initial production version, 166 built
A-4B
- A4D-2 (A-4B) Strengthened aircraft and added air-to-air refueling capabilities, 542 built
- A-4P Remanufactured A-4Bs sold to Argentine Air Force
- A-4Q Remanufactured A-4Bs sold to Argentine Navy
- A4D-3 Proposed advanced avionics version, none built.
A-4C
- A4D-2N (A-4C) Night/adverse weather version of A4D-2 (improved avionics), 638 built
- A-4L 100 A-4Cs remanufactured for naval reserve squadrons
- A-4S 40 A-4Cs remanufactured for Republic of Singapore Air Force
- TA-4S 7 trainer versions of the above. Different from most Skyhawk trainers in that they have a second canopy for the instruction, rather than seating student and instructor under one long canopy.
- TA-4SU ("Super Skyhawk") extensively modified and updated A-4S with General Electric F404 engine and 1980s electronics.
- A-4PTM 40 A-4Cs and A-4Ls refurbished for Royal Malaysian Air Force, incorporating many A-4M features.
- TA-4PTM small number of trainer versions of above
- A4D-4 cancelled, A-4D designation skipped to prevent confusion with A4D
A-4E
- A4D-5 (A-4E) major upgrade including new Pratt & Whitney J52 engine, strengthened airframe, improved avionics. 499 built.
- TA-4E two A-4Es modified as prototypes of a trainer version
A-4F
- A-4F further refinement of A-4E. Extra avionics housed in a hump on the fuselage spine (this feature later retrofitted to A-4Es and some A-4Cs). 147 built
- TA-4F conversion trainer - standard A-4F with extra seat for an instructor. 241 built
- OA-4M Twenty-three TA-4Fs modified for Forward Air Control duties for the USMC.
- EA-4F Four TA-4Fs converted for ECM training
- TA-4J Dedicated trainer version based on A-4F, but lacking weapons systems and with down-rated engine. 277 built new, and most TA-4Fs were later converted to this configuration.
- A-4G eight aircraft built new for the Royal Australian Navy with minor variations from the A-4F. Subsequently, eight more A-4Fs were modified to this standard for the RAN.
- TA-4G two trainer versions of the A-4G built new, and two more modified from TA-4Fs.
- A-4H Ninety aircraft for the Israeli Air Force based on the A-4F. Later, some A-4Es later locally modified to this standard.
- TA-4H Twenty-five trainer versions of the above.
- A-4K Ten aircraft for Royal New Zealand Air Force
- TA-4K Four trainer versions of the above
A-4M
- A-4M dedicated Marine version with improved avionics and more powerful engine. 158 built.
- A-4N 117 modified A-4Ms for the Israeli Air Force.
- A-4KU 30 modified A-4Ms for the Kuwaiti Air Force. Brazil purchased some of these second-hand and redesignated them AF-1.
- TA-4KU 6 trainer versions of the above. Brazil purchased some of these second-hand and redesignated them AF-1A.
- A-4AR 36 A-4Ms refurbished for Argentina
A-4SU/TA-4SU
- A-4SU Upgrade by Singapore Aerospace with non-afterburning version of F/A-18's engine, new avionics/ECM and radar and laser capability
- TA-4SU Unique Singapore two-seat version, with additional canopy aft of the original one-seat canopy.
Units Using the A-4
USN
- VA-12
- VA-15
- VA-22
- VA-23
- VA-34
- VA-36
- VA-44
- VA-46
- VA-55
- VA-56
- VA-64
- VA-65
- VA-72
- VA-76
- VA-81
- VA-83
- VA-86
- VA-93
- VA-94
- VA-95
- VA-106
- VA-112
- VA-113
- VA-125
- VA-127
- VA-144
- VA-146
- VA-152
- VA-153
- VA-155
- VA-161
- VA-163
- VA-164
- VA-165
- VA-176
- VA-195
- VA-204
- VA-205
- VA-209
- VA-210
- VA-212
- VA-216
- VA-303
- VA-304
- VA-305
- VA-776
- VA-831
- VA-873
- VAQ-208
- VAQ-308
USMC
- VMA-211
- VAM-214
- VAM-223
- VMA-311
- VMA-331
Brazillian Air Force
Argentinian Air Force
Argentinian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Israeli Air Force
Kuwaiti Air Force
Royal Malaysian Air Force
Singapore Air Force
- Modernised A4-SU and TA-4SU versions.
