A-7 Corsair II
The A-7 Corsair II was a light bomber and attack aircraft used primarily by the Navy. It was intended as a complement and eventually a replacement for the A-4 Skyhawk.
Design
The Navy wanted an aircraft with increased range and payload to replace the A-4. Several companies, including Grumman, Douglas, and North American tried for the contract, but eventually it was Vought who received the contract.
Vought built the aircraft in a remarkably short time, mostly because it was basically the same design as the F-8 Crusader. The first test aircraft (named after the World War II fighter) were delivered in 1964.
After a period of onshore testing, the A-7 was delivered to VA-147 on the USS Ranger in 1966. The Air Force also bought a more highly powered version for light ground support.
Versions
A-7B
The A-7Bs had the more powerful Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-8 engine, which provided 12,200 pounds of thrust. These airplanes were the primary A-7 version in Vietnam.
A-7C
The A-7Cs were modified to carry the 13,400 pounds of thrust Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-408 engine.
A-7D
The A-7Ds were the first to carry the M61A-1 Vulcan cannon in the fuselage. They also were equipped with laser-guided bombs.
A-7E
The A-7Es had an Allison/Rolls-Royce engine which provided 15,000 pounds of thrust. It also was equipped with forward looking infrared (FLIR) equipment which enabled it to fly at night.
Service
Vietnam
The A-7's combat debut came in Vietnam, where it was effective in attacks on North Vietnamese MiG bases and on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. The first A-7 squadron to be deployed to Vietnam was VA-147, based aboard the USS Ranger; they flew over 1400 sorties, losing only one aircraft.
A-7's were effective in search and rescue missions, where they escorted helicopters to the location of the downed aircraft; they replaced the A-1 Skyraider in this role. Air Force A-7D's flew nearly 13,000 missions in Vietnam, and the aircraft was second for the record for the most ordnance dropped on Hanoi, after the B-52 Stratofortress.
One shining star on the career of the airplane came when six Navy A-7s with Mark 55 mines, supported only by several F-4s and two EA-6 Prowlers, mined Haiphong Harbor in 1972.
Despite doubts by some military leaders, the aircraft held its own against supersonic jets.
Lebanon
Corsairs saw combat again ten years later, in strikes on Syrian positions in Lebanon in December 1983.[1]
Libya
A-7's also saw action against Libya in 1986; after Libyan air defense operators fired surface-to-air missiles at a pair of F-14 Tomcats an A-7E accompanied them and used an AGM-88 HARM to destroy the Iranian radar. Later, they participated in Operation El Dorado Canyon, a retaliatory strike against Iranian targets with AGM-45 Shrike and AGM-88 HARM missiles.
Iran
The aircraft saw action against Iranian targets in the Persian Gulf during Operation Praying Mantis in April 1988.
First Gulf War
Navy A-7s were still effective in the first Gulf War, using Walleye TV guided bombs, HARMs, and laser bombs to attack Iraqi targets. Tanker A-7s also performed well.
Retirement
By the second Gulf War, the A-7s had been retired. The last mission of A-7s in active duty was the testing of anti-radar equipment for the F-117. The plane has been replaced in the Navy by the F-18 Hornet and in the Air Force, by the A-10.
Operators
Greece
Greece operates two A-7 squadrons, which have been much upgraded with superior avionics and arms capability, under the name of A-7H and A-7E. They are used for ground attack missions, although they also use some variants as training aircraft.
Portugal
Portugal ordered 20 A-7 airframes in 1980, and later purchased six training aircraft and 24 other A-7's. Corsair II's logged over 64,000 flight hours in the Portugese Navy before being retired in 1999.
Thailand
Thailand purchased fourteen A-7E's and four TA-7C's in 1995. They are currently operative but not operational.
Specifications
| Type | Light attack aircraft |
| Contractor | Vought |
| Power plant | (A-7E) One Allison/Rolls-Royce TF41-A-2 with 15,000 pounds of thrust |
| Length | 46 feet |
| Height | 16 feet, 1 inches |
| Speed | 690 miles per hour without stores |
| Wingspan | 38 feet, 9 inches |
| Weight | 19,111 pounds empty |
| Crew | One |
| Range | Unrefueled 2,861 miles |
| Maximum Weight | 42,000 pounds |
| Armament | Assorted stores up to 15,000 pounds, including Mark 55 mines, anti-radiation missiles, unguided bombs, TV guided bombs, and laser-guided bombs. One Vulcan M61A-1 cannon in the fuselage. |
