The Skyhawk first entered service with the US Navy almost 50 years ago. It is still in service with various US units and remains the backbone of many of the air forces of those countries to which it has been exported. It was originally conceived as a carrier-borne fighter bomber, but as the aircraft has evolved it has taken on other roles.This is an in-depth look at the design, production, evolution, operation and performance of the aircraft. It will also include first-hand accounts of flying the Skyhawk in action.
Few modern military aircraft can claim the longevity and success of the legendary Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. First flown in the mid-1950s, the A-4 Skyhawk achieved combat fame in the Falklands and Vietnam wars and saw service with the air arms of seven foreign countries including Israel and New Zealand. It is still in use today in South America. The A-4, also known as the Bantam Bomber and Scooter, was a small, subsonic aircraft which was originated during the 1950s. The A-4 dramatically bucked the trend toward ever bigger, faster, and more complicated tactical jet airplanes in favor of simplicity and low cost. Although originally optimized for the delivery of a nuclear bomb, it proved to be far more versatile in service and as a consequence the A-4 enjoyed a 25-year production run and operation for many more years by not only the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps but in the service of the foreign air forces to whom it had been supplied. For several years the U.S Navy's famed Blue Angels aerobatic team employed it for their air show demonstrations, a role for which it was ideally suited given its performance and maneuverability. Those same characteristics were utilized as a challenging adversary in the training of fighter pilots for air-to-air combat--A-4s flown by both the U.S Navy and the Israeli Air Force shot down faster Soviet-built fighters in combat operations. This is a fully revised and updated edition of the definitive history of the A-4 written by one of the leading authorities on U.S. naval aviation.
Originally designed to replace another aircraft from the same manufacturer Douglas, the famous Skyraider, the A-4 Skyhawk enjoyed a remarkable career for nearly half a century. It was first the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps who utilized this aircraft extensively, with the many squadrons labeled " Scooter " it's quasi-official nickname. The two branches implemented them especially during the Vietnam War before transforming them into "aggressors" within the core of the training units. In total, nearly 3000 Skyhawks were constructed until 1979, when manufacturing was terminated, while the success of the delta wing and the smaller dimensions went beyond the borders of the United States, with only seven other nations employing it in the world. Among these is Israel, whose A-4 made its debut during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and which was only retired from service in 2008. More recently the A-4 was used in Argentina, where the Skyhawk won several successes against the British forces during the Falklands War in 1982.
The light and agile A-4 Skyhawk was the first modern American jet to be offered to the Israeli Air Force, marking the point where the US took over from France as Israel's chief military supplier. Deliveries began too late for the A-4 to fight in the Six-Day War, but it soon formed the backbone of the IAF's ground-attack force. From 1969 to 1970 it flew endless sorties against Egyptian forces in the War of Attrition. Then, during the Yom Kippur War, five squadrons of A-4s saw combat and 50 planes were lost as they battled against the Arab armored onslaught. Using previously unpublished first-hand accounts and rare photography from the IAF archives and pilots' private collections, Shlomo Aloni tells the definitive history of the IAF's A-4 squadrons, including the story of Ezra “BABAN” Dotan who became an ace with an unique double-kill of MiG17s.
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is one of the most successful military aircraft programs in history. Skyhawks are still flying in military service in 2019, over 60 years after the first flight of the A-4. This latest entry in the Illustrated series contains over 250 photos and diagrams, most of them in color, many of them published here for the first time. The Skyhawk story is told by the men who flew it in testing and in combat and in peacetime. These first-person accounts are the highlight of the book, putting the reader in that tiny cockpit that has seen so much action in the Skyhawk's long and illustrious career.
The Skyhawk was involved in Vietnam from the very beginning, including the first offensive operations in 1963 into Laos, and the Pierce Arrow operations immediately following the Tonkin Gulf Incident of August 1964. Navy and Marine Corps A-4s quickly established a presence in south-east Asia participating in thousands of sorties against the entrenched communist forces in the South and the heavily defended targets in North Vietnam. A-4 pilots also struck targets along the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, working with ground-based and airborne forward air controllers to interdict the flood of supplies to communist forces in the south. This book will include many first-hand accounts from the pilots who flew one of the greatest attack aircraft ever built and will provide an insightful account of some of the most thrilling aerial combats that took place during Vietnam.
A detailed look at the combat aircraft designed by the legendary Edward H. Heinemann with one role in mind: tactical nuclear delivery. The Skyhawk first entered service with the US Navy almost 50 years ago. It is still in service with various US units and remains the backbone of many of the air forces of those countries to which it has been exported. “Heinemann’s Hot Rod” was never called upon for its original purpose—nuclear delivery from aircraft carriers—but its well-designed airframe proved adaptable to many other uses. This is an in-depth look at the design, production, evolution, operation and performance of the aircraft. It will also include first-hand accounts of flying the Skyhawk in action.
Volume Four chronicles aerial warfare in the South Pacific in the critical period between 19 June and 8 September 1942. It can be read alone or as a continuation of the first three volumes that spanned the first six months of the Pacific War, culminating in the Battle of the Coral Sea.Unlike the previous three volumes, no aircraft carriers appeared in New Guinea waters. Instead, the air war was fought solely by land-based air units. This was in the face of an increasingly complex strategic situation that saw the Japanese land at both Buna and Milne Bay. For the first time, airpower in the theater was tasked to support the land forces of both sides which became engaged in a bloody struggle in the mountains of Papua and then the narrow muddy quagmire of Milne Bay.Two veteran Japanese air groups, the Tainan and No. 4 Kokutai, continued their Herculean struggle against mounting Allied opposition. In the face of continued attrition, Japanese pilots had many notable successes including several coveted aerial victories against B-17s. Then, from August a plethora of fresh Japanese units arrived in theatre including the No. 2, No. 6, Chitose, Misawa and Kisarazu Kokutai.USAAF P-39s and RAAF P-40Es responded with low level close support missions and B-25s, B-26s and B-17s ramped up an unrelenting bombing campaign. Towards the end of the period A-20A strafers made their combat debut, portending a radical blueprint for future attack tactics in the theater.Never before has this campaign been chronicled in such detail, with Allied accounts matched against Japanese records for a truly factual account of the conflict.
With vivid detail and many exclusive photographs, Wayne Mutza chronicles the Convairs F-102 Delta Daggers unsteady course through history, from its inception to present-day survivors. Presented for the first time are the fascinating details surrounding the F-102 in the air defense role, special projects, its unconventional use during the war in Southeast Asia, service with foreign air arms, the Air National Guard and its extensive involvement with the drone program. Special features include a detailed listing of each aircrafts assignment history and many of the insignia associated with the F-102. Through in-depth research, the author has produced a most informative and interesting volume on a classic aircraft.
