Vought A-7 Corsair II

Summary

Description

The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as a replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk following a United States Navy (USN) requirement known as VAL (Heavier-than-air, Attack, Light). To minimize costs, proposals had to be based on existing designs; Vought's bid, derived from their F-8 Crusader, featured a shorter airframe with a rounded nose. Vought was awarded an initial contract on 8 February 1964. The aircraft received the name Corsair II in 1965 to reflect the lineage of the F4U Corsair. The first A-7A performed its maiden flight on 27 September 1965. Flight testing proceeded rapidly, and the first A-7 squadrons achieved operational status on 1 February 1967, commencing combat operations in the Vietnam War by December.

The LTV A-7 Corsair II featured a design derived from the Vought F-8 Crusader, distinguished by a shorter, broader fuselage and a longer-span wing, omitting the Crusader's variable-incidence feature. The A-7's wing, while larger, had reduced sweepback and accommodated six under-wing pylons. Two additional fuselage pylon stations were provided for AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs. Fully powered flight controls were present, utilizing conventional outboard ailerons and large slotted flaps on the inboard wing area, with a wing fold situated between these surfaces for carrier operations. A substantial air brake was positioned on the aircraft's underside, and the three-unit landing gear retracted into the fuselage, with a steerable twin-wheel nose gear designed for catapult-assisted take-offs. Early US Navy versions featured two 20 mm Colt Mk 12 cannons, each equipped with 250 rounds. Later variants like the A-7D and A-7E were fitted with a single M61A1 Vulcan 20 mm rotary cannon, with 1,030 rounds carried on the A-7E. Early A-7 versions employed a single Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-6 turbofan engine, producing 11,350 lbf (50.5 kN) of thrust, while later models adopted more powerful Pratt & Whitney TF30-8, TF30-408 or Allison TF41-A-2 engines. Air was supplied to the engine through a simple nose inlet. An aerial refueling probe was located on the nose's right side. For self-defense, it featured provisions for AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. The A-7 incorporated an AN/APQ-116 radar, later upgraded to the AN/APQ-126, integrated into the ILAAS digital navigation system, along with an IBM navigation and weapons delivery computer and a modern head-up display. The aircraft had a theoretical maximum ordnance capacity of 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) carried on wing pylons, though the practical limit was dictated by the maximum takeoff weight. The A-7 carried a variety of ordnance, including rockets such as LAU-10 rocket pods, air-to-air missiles, and air-to-ground missiles such as the AGM-45 Shrike, AGM-62 Walleye, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM. Bomb loads included up to 30 Mark 82 500 lb (230 kg) bombs or various Mark 80 series unguided bombs, Paveway laser-guided bombs, and nuclear bombs of types B28, B43, B57, B61, or B83.

Initial operational basing for USN A-7 squadrons was at NAS Cecil Field, Florida, for Atlantic Fleet units and NAS Lemoore, California, for Pacific Fleet units, mirroring the bases that hosted A-4 Skyhawk attack squadrons. From 1967 to 1971, 27 US Navy squadrons received A-7A/B/C/E models. In 1974, when USS Midway was homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, two A-7A squadrons assigned to Carrier Air Wing Five were moved to NAF Atsugi, Japan, later transitioning to the A-7E in 1976. The turbofan engine provided improved fuel efficiency. The A-7D first entered service in 1970 with the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing at Luke AFB Arizona. USAF A-7Ds flew 12,928 combat sorties during the Vietnam War with six losses, carrying high bomb loads per sortie with notable accuracy. In Vietnam, the hot, humid air affected engine performance, contributing to lengthy takeoff rolls and limiting speed when fully armed. On 15 May 1975, A-7Es from USS Coral Sea and A-7Ds from Korat RTAFB provided air cover for the recovery of SS Mayagüez. Ninety-eight USN A-7 Corsairs were lost during the war. During Operation Urgent Fury, ANG units deployed A-7Ds to support operations in Grenada, and in December 1989, ANG squadrons participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama. Navy A-7E squadrons provided close air support during the Invasion of Grenada in 1983 and air support during the U.S. mission in Lebanon in 1983; one A-7 was shot down by a Syrian SAM. A-7s from USS Saratoga responded to Libyan SA-5 missile launches during the Gulf of Sidra dispute in 1986 by launching AGM-88 HARM missiles. In April 1986, A-7Es from USS America participated in Operation El Dorado Canyon, attacking Libya with HARM and Shrike anti-radar missiles. In Operation Desert Shield, the USN deployed two of its last A-7E squadrons aboard USS John F. Kennedy, flying the last combat sorties of the A-7 in Operation Desert Storm. The 4450th Tactical Group used A-7s as a surrogate aircraft for F-117 pilot training between 1981 and 1989.

Main Variants:

• A-7A: The initial production version for the US Navy featured two 20 mm Colt Mk 12 cannons and the AN/APN-153 navigational radar, AN/APQ-115 terrain-following radar, and AN/APQ-99 attack radar.

• A-7B: An improved version with an uprated TF30-P-8 engine producing 12,190 lbf of thrust, later upgraded to the TF30-P-408 engine with 13,390 lbf of thrust, and the AN/APQ-116 terrain following radar replacing the AN/APQ-115.

• A-7D: This version, built for the US Air Force, featured a more powerful Allison TF41-A-1 turbofan engine generating 14,250 lb of thrust, a single M61 Vulcan 20 mm rotary cannon, an improved AN/APN-185 navigational radar, and an upgraded AN/APQ-126 terrain-following radar.

• A-7E: Effectively an A-7D modified for naval operations, this model incorporated the Allison TF41-A-1 engine and the M61 Vulcan 20 mm rotary cannon, with arrester gear and folding wings for carrier operations.

• A-7K: A two-seat trainer variant developed for the Air National Guard, this model was fully combat-capable and equipped with dual controls for training purposes.

Technical specifications

Current operating countries

No country is operating the A-7 Corsair II in 2025.

All operators

Greece • Portugal • Thailand • United States

Armament

Missiles payload:

• Anti-Radiation AGM-45 Shrike
• Air-to-Surface AGM-65 Maverick
• Anti-Radiation AGM-88 HARM
• Air-to-Air Short-Range Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinder

Bombs payload:

• Thermonuclear B28 (脡U : Mk 28)
• Thermonuclear B57 Mod 1
• Thermonuclear B61
• Low-Drag Mk 82

Photo of A-7 Corsair II