Grumman A-6E Intruder - Palm Springs, CA - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

The United States Navy needed an all-weather carrier-based attack aircraft. The Douglas A-1 Skyraider did its job in the Korean War, but they desired a new aircraft with twin jet engines. The Grumman A 6 Intruder was introduced in 1963 and served as the Navy's and Marine Corps premier medium/all-weather attack aircraft all the way through the 1990s.

The Navy lated a request for proposals in 1955 and Boeing, Lockheed. Bell, Grumman, Douglas, Martin, Vought and North American 11 designs for a two-seat, subsonic attack bomber. The Navy requested side-by-side seating in under to increase workload in the cockpit. Grumman A25-1, which led to the A-6, received the contract and production in 1958.

The A-6 intruder was a notoriously ugly plane. Pratt & Whitney turbojets required twin intakes toward the front of the aircraft swelling the sides and giving the A-6 a blotted look. The rounded out and streamlined back end gave way to a joke that the plane was ball backwards

The plot sat the left and the border/navigator sat on the right: Both Navy and Marine Corps pilots liked this set-up because it allowed the navigator more access to be productive. Bombardier/navigators were responsible for monitoring airspeed power settings rate of descent, and altitude among others.

Intruder's avionics system included Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR), laser targeting Low Light Level TV (LLLTV) and Moving Target identification (MTI). However, DIANE was the biggest advancement in its electronic hardware.

Digital Integrated Attack and Navigation Equipment (DIANE) was essentially a bomb release tool. DIANE could incorporate any spend, rate of climb, angle of dive, G force, wind or altitude and calculate the proper time to release a payload. DIANES Vertical Display Indicator gave the pilot a representation of the horizon, sky, terrain, radar altitude and angle of attack. This tool allowed the A-6 to hug terrain, which gave it its low-level bombing prowes.

On loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation

Group that erected the marker: Unknown URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Palm Springs, CA

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