LTV A-7E Corsair II - Lake City, FL
Posted by: 
kb7ywl
N 30° 09.027 W 082° 40.375
17R E 338883 N 3336638
LTV A-7E Corsair II BuNo 158003
Waymark Code: WMDW8M
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 02/29/2012
Views: 10
The Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II is a single seat, single engine, carrier-based subsonic light attack aircraft introduced to replace the US Navy's Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, initially entering service during the Vietnam War (Feb1967). The Corsair II was later adopted by the US Air Force, including the Air National Guard, to replace the Douglas A-1 Skyraider, North American F-100 Super Sabre and Republic F-105 Thunderchief. The aircraft was also exported to Greece in the 1970's, and Portugal and Thailand in the late 1980's. It was one of the first combat aircraft to feature a head-up display (HUD), an inertial navigation system (INS), and a turbofan engine.
In 1962, the Navy began preliminary work on VAX (Heavier-than-air, Attack, Experimental), a replacement for the A-4 Skyhawk with greater range and payload. A particular emphasis was placed on accurate delivery of weapons to reduce the cost per target. The requirements were finalized in 1963, announcing the VAL (Heavier-than-air, Attack, Light) competition. The USAF philosophy was to employ only supersonic fighter-bombers such as the F-105 Thunderchief and F-100 Super Sabre. However, the Navy felt that a subsonic design could carry the most payload the farthest distance, due to the lower fuel burn rate from avoiding supersonic flight.
To minimize costs, all proposals had to be based on existing designs. Vought, Douglas Aircraft, Grumman and North American Aviation responded. The Vought proposal was based on the successful F-8 Crusader and was selected as the winner on 11 February 1964. On 19 March the company received a contract for the initial batch of aircraft, designated A-7. In 1965, the aircraft received the popular name Corsair II, after Vought's highly successful F4U Corsair of World War II.
Compared to the F-8, the A-7 had a shorter, broader fuselage. The wing had a longer span, and the unique variable incidence wing of the F-8 was omitted. To achieve the required range, the A-7 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-6 turbofan producing 11,345lbf/50.5kN of thrust, the same engine produced for the F-111 and early F-14's, but without the afterburner needed for supersonic speeds. Turbofans achieve greater efficiency by moving a larger mass of air at a lower velocity.
The A-7 had a fast and smooth development. The YA-7A made its first flight on 27 September 1965, and began to enter Navy squadron service late in 1966. The first Navy A-7 squadrons reached operational status on 1 February 1967, and began combat operations over Vietnam in December of that year.
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara prodded the USAF to adopt not only the hugely successful F-4, but also the Navy's A-7 Corsair as a low-cost follow-on to F-105's until the troubled F-111 came online, and as a close-air support replacement the for A-1 Skyraider. On 5 November 1965, the USAF announced that it would purchase a version of the A-7, designated the A-7D. The USAF ordered the A-7D with a fixed high speed refueling receptacle behind the pilot optimized for the KC-135's flying boom rather than the folding long probe of the Navy aircraft. The most important difference from the preceding Navy versions was the adoption of the Allison TF41-A-1 turbofan. With 14,500lbf/64.5kN of thrust, the engine offered a considerable boost in performance. The M61 Vulcan cannon was selected in place of the twin single-barrel 20mm cannon, and avionics were upgraded. The YA-7D prototype with TF30 flew on 6 April 1968, with the first TF41 aircraft taking to the air on 26 September 1968. The aircraft were later updated to carry the Pave Penny laser spot tracker to add the capability to drop guided bombs. A total of 459 were built and assigned to wings of the Tactical Air Command.
The Navy was so impressed with the performance gain of USAF A-7D that they ordered their own version with the TF41 engine and M61 cannon, the A-7E, to go along with the new continuous solution weapon systems and sophisticated avionics developed in the A-7C. The first prototype flew on 25 November 1968. A-7E's were built in the 1970's with outstanding mission success in the fleet. In 1979 the first around-the-clock night-attack FLIR-capable aircraft were delivered. These aircraft were fitted with a fixed FLIR pod on the right inboard wingstation which displayed temperature discriminating images through the HUD.
Production of Corsairs continued through 1984, yielding a total of 1,569 aircraft built. The A-7 Corsair has the distinction of being the only US single seat jet fighter-bomber of the 1960's that was designed, built, and deployed directly into the Vietnam War.
Initial operational basing/homeporting for USN A-7 squadrons was at NAS Cecil Field, FL, and NAS Lemoore, CA. This was in keeping with the role of these bases in already hosting the A-4 Skyhawk attack squadrons that would eventually transition to the A-7. In 1974, when the USS Midway (CV 41) became the first Forward Deployed Naval Force aircraft carrier to be homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, two A-7B squadrons assigned to Carrier Air Wing FIVE (CVW-5) were concurrently homeported at NAF Atsugi, Japan. In 1978, these squadrons transitioned to the much more advanced A-7E. Six Naval Reserve squadrons would also eventually transition to the A-7. An additional active duty squadron stood up in the 1980's, Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 34 (VAQ-34) at NAS Point Mugu, which would operate twin-seat TA-7C and EA-7L aircraft with both a pilot and a Naval Flight Officer in an adversary electronic warfare role.
Initial USAF basing of the A-7D was at Edwards AFB, CA, and Eglin AFB, FL, in 1968 for prototype testing. Initial lead-in pilot training squadrons were established at Luke AFB, AZ, and Nellis AFB, NV, in 1969. The first operational USAF basing was at Myrtle Beach AFB, SC, in 1970, with subsequent basing at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, in 1971 and England AFB, LA, in 1972. The Luke-based A-7D's were reassigned to Davis-Monthan in 1971 along with the lead-in pilot training mission. A fourth operational A-7D wing was assigned to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, in early 1973 derived from deployed Myrtle Beach aircraft.
Pilots of the early A-7's lauded the aircraft for general ease of flying and excellent forward visibility but noted a lack of engine thrust. Pilots quipped that the Corsair "is not very fast, but it sure is slow." This was addressed with the A-7B and more thoroughly with the A-7D/E. The turbofan engine provided a dramatic increase in fuel efficiency compared with earlier turbojets; the A-7D was said to have specific fuel consumption one sixth that of an F-100 Super Sabre at equivalent thrust.
In Vietnam, the hot, humid air robbed even the upgraded A-7D and A-7E of power. Takeoff rolls were lengthy, and fully armed aircraft struggled to reach 800kph. For A-7A aircraft, maximum weight runway takeoffs often necessitated a "low transition", where the aircraft was intentionally held in "ground effect" a few feet off the runway during gear retraction, and as much as a 10mi/16km departure at treetop altitude before reaching a safe flap retraction speed. (The A-7A wing flap systems were either fully extended or fully retracted. The flap handle did not have the microswitch feature of later models that permitted the flaps to be slowly raised by several degrees per tap of the flap handle as airspeed slowly increased during max-weight takeoffs.)
Carrier catapult launches at maximum weight under these performance-robbing conditions were not significantly better and were characterized by the aircraft decelerating by as much as 20kts/37kph immediately after launch. As a result, A-7A units operated their aircraft four thousand pounds below the max-rated takeoff weight.
The first Navy A-7A's made their first combat sortie on 4 December 1967. In January 1968, USS Ranger participated in the incident surrounding the capture of USS Pueblo in the Sea of Japan by North Korea. The Navy's improved A-7B model arrived in Vietnam in early 1969, with the definitive A-7E following in 1971. The US Navy's first A-7 loss occurred on 22 December 1967, less than three weeks after entering combat.
During a ten-month deployment in 1972, USS America (CV-66) A-7's played a role in the attack that destroyed the Thanh Hoa Bridge, a vital link in the North Vietnamese Army supply lines and a target that seemed indestructible. Four A-7C's successfully delivered 8,000lb of high explosives with two planes carrying two 2,000lb/910kg Walleyes, while two others carried 2,000lb in Mk 84 GP bombs. In a simultaneous attack, the center piling on the bridge's west side was hit and broke the span in half. After this, the Thanh Hoa bridge was considered permanently destroyed and removed from the target list. Approximately 98 USN A-7 Corsairs were lost during the war.
USAF A-7D's entered combat over Indochina in October 1972 and attacked targets as far as 800km from their deployed base at Korat, extensively using mid-air refueling. The A-7D's were quickly assigned the "Sandy mission" of providing air cover for Combat Search and Rescue missions of downed pilots. Taking over for A-1 Skyraiders, they adopted their call sign of "Sandy". The A-7's higher speed was somewhat detrimental for escorting the helicopters, but the aircraft's high endurance and durability were an asset, performing admirably. On 18 November 1972, Maj Colin A Clarke led a successful CSAR mission near Thanh Hoa to rescue a downed F-105 Wild Weasel crew. The mission lasted a total of 8.8 hours during which Clarke and his wingman took a number of hits from 50-cal anti-aircraft fire. For his actions in coordinating the rescue, Clarke was awarded the Air Force Cross, the USAF's second-highest decoration for valor, and his A-7D (S/N 70-0970) was eventually placed on display on 31 January 1992 at the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.
A-7D's from Korat engaged in combat operations over Vietnam until mid-January 1973; in Laos until 22 February 1973, and in Cambodia until 15 July 1973 when an A-7D carried out the last air support mission in support of Khmer National Armed Forces against the Khmer Rouge.
The USAF A-7D flew a total of 12,928 combat sorties during the war with only six losses–the lowest of any US fighter in the theater. The aircraft was second only to Boeing B-52 Stratofortress in the amount of ordnance dropped on Hanoi and dropped more bombs per sortie with greater accuracy than any other US attack aircraft.
On 15 May 1975, Navy A-7E aircraft, in conjunction with USAF A-7D aircraft, provided air cover in what is considered the last battle of the Vietnam war, the recovery of the SS Mayagüez after it was hijacked by Khmer Rouge gunboats. By the time Operation Mayaguez was over, three USAF CH-53 helicopters had been shot down, 2 Airmen, 11 Marines and two Navy Corpsmen had been killed in action and a further 3 Marines were missing in action.
Navy A-7E's from the USS Independence provided close air support during the Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, in October 1983.
Navy A-7's also provided air support during the US mission in Lebanon in 1983. Along with a Grumman A-6 Intruder, one A-7 was shot down by Syrian surface-to-air missiles on 4 December 1983.
On 24 March 1986, during the Gulf of Sidra dispute with Libya, Libyan air defense operators fired SA-5 missiles at two USS America F-14's that were orbiting in international air space on a Combat Air Patrol station. A-7's operating from Saratoga responded by firing the first AGM-88 HARM missiles used in combat. On the next day, A-6's attacked Libyan warships approaching the US Fleet, while A-7's again launched HARM missiles against Libyan SAM sites.
In April 1986, USS America A-7E's participated in Operation El Dorado Canyon, the retaliatory attack on Libya, using HARM and Shrike anti-radar missiles to protect the naval strike force from SAM's.
During the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980's, continued Iranian and Iraqi attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf were becoming so frequent that by 1987 the Kuwaitis requested US assistance. To maintain freedom of navigation within that body of water, Operation Earnest Will was initiated. Beginning on 22 July 1987, 11 Kuwaiti tankers were "re-flagged", the Middle East Force escorted the first ships through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf to Kuwait, and then returned outbound.
During escort duty, steaming 55mi/89km northeast of Qatar on 14 April 1988, lookouts on board guided missile frigate USS Samuel B Roberts spotted three mines ahead. The ship struck a fourth mine that exploded and severely damaged the ship. Coalition mine countermeasures vessels located eight additional mines, examination of which left little doubt as to their Iranian origins.
Operation Praying Mantis was designed as a "measured response" to this incident, as well as to repeated Iranian shipping harassment and provocations; A-7E's and A-6E's participated in sinking the Iranian frigate Sahand, which had fired missiles at two American A-6E's.
In August 1990, USS John F Kennedy (CV-67) A-7E's made the last combat sorties of the A-7 in Operation Desert Storm flying from the Red Sea to targets throughout Iraq. The A-7 was used both day and night to attack a wide range of heavily defended deep interdiction targets in Iraq as well as "kill boxes" (geographically defined kill zones) in Kuwait, employing a variety of weapons including precision-guided munitions, such as the TV-guided Walleye glide bomb, unguided general purpose bombs, and High Speed Anti-Radiation missiles (HARM). The A-7 was also used as a tanker in numerous in-flight refueling missions.
The 4450th TG at Nellis AFB, NV, was the last active USAF unit to operate the A-7. Their mission was the operational development of the F-117 Nighthawk. A-7D/K's were used as a deception and training aircraft by the group between 1981 and 1989. Some operated from the Tonopah Test Range Airport where the F-117's were being operationally tested. As a deception operation, care was taken to ensure that F-117's were never left parked outside the hangars during daylight hours. However, A-7's were routinely left outside for the benefit of any orbiting Soviet spy satellites.
F-16's began replacing the Air National Guard Corsairs beginning in the late 1980's with the last USAF A-7D's retiring in 1993. Navy A-7 Corsairs began being phased out of the fleet during the mid-1980's replaced by the McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The last Navy A-7's were retired in May 1991 shortly after their return from Operation Desert Storm.
Source: Wikipedia
Type of Aircraft: (make/model): LTV A-7E Corsair II
Tail Number: (S/N): BuNo 158003
Construction:: original aircraft
Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Located in a field on the east side of I-10 accessed from Cannon Bridge Rd off Sister Welcome Rd (CR341) at the west end of Cannon Creek Airport.
inside / outside: outside
Access restrictions:
None
Other Information:: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)
Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.