The US Marines flew the A-4M up through the mid 80s. The last A-4M was delivered in 1979, so the A-4 was produced for 27 years. The last A-4Ms were replaced by the AV-8B.
@@AnthonyTolhurst-dw1nc I have more collected/inherited paraphernalia of the A4 than any of his other aircraft but the Skyraider was my personal favorite.
My grandfather was in the Navy till 1965. He worked on the A-4E Skyhawks and F-8E Crusaders aboard USS Oriskany. Pretty much everyone spoke well of them (A4’s) for their simplicity. He passed away years ago but I’m still in touch with people he served with and talk about stories with them. Their active combat tour of Vietnam was something else. At this time there was A4E Skyhawks, F8E Crusaders, A-1H Skyraiders and A3B Skywarriors all on deck at this time for combat roles. There was a marine detachment of F8’s as well.
@@AnthonyTolhurst-dw1nc, I was introduced to it as _Heinemann's Hotrod._ As an engineer, this aircraft has long inspired my sense of design elegance. 😊
I flew in A-4s with VC-1 in Hawaii in the 80s. Great airplane. I was wondering if Mr. Heineman ever met John Boyd? Boyd is the father of the F-16 and the "fighter mafia" and believed in simple, air superiority fighters and I feel certain that they would have got along and been kindred spirits.
My wife was an AO (bomb loader) on these in the late 90s. I always love finding ones in museums, and getting pictures for or with her. As an engineer, the amazing simplicity is just awesome!
@foxkill7 Yes, they did. You could literally google this. The USMC retired it in 1998 and the US Navy retiring it in 2003. The most recent to retire the aircraft was Israel in 2015. And countries like Argentina still use it to this day.
I believe Ed Heinemann was a brilliant aeronautical engineer and it is even more amazing considering he never went to university and he was self taught. For this reason, he should be in the same breath as Johnson and Northrop.
One of the points made about it is that Heinemann did not develop a wing for the A4, he developed a fuel tank that generated lift. Those two big drop tanks also served double duty - if the undercarriage was shot up, the pilot needed to emergency land or ditch into water, the drop tanks served as very effective landing skids.
Actually he did develop the wing, where one of the things he did was put the landing gear struts under the wing in the fairings on the bottom of it, of course he also did do the drop tanks as a part of it and the role they pay.
Arguably, first generation jets might have been more challenging to maintain in the field than the piston-powered planes they replaced. However, jets were NOT more difficut to fly! The air cooled radial or liquid cooled in-line engines which powered WWII fighter and attack airplanes were far more labor intensive to operate than jets, and required a lot more attention from the pilot in flight. The jet was the ultimate in simplicity, just push the throttle lever and forget about it! I was lucky enough to fly the A-4 Skyhawk for just under a thousand hours. It was a marvelous airplane to fly, stable, responsive, and highly maneuverable. Simplicity and reliability were hallmarks of Ed Heineman's remarkable design from both a maintenance and operational point of view. It had two aerodynamic design flaws which could be dangerous, one on the A and B models, and one up through the E model, but design fixes were added that eliminated the problems. The F and J through M (for "Marine") were dream machines to fly.
The "Mike" models have probably been the most interesting to read about, both in Foreign and Domestic service. A few were actually used as adversaries (majority of the adversarial Scooters were Es and Fs) both with NFWS and VF-126 "Bandits". At least two of the TOPGUN Mikes that I know of (BuNo 160045, Desert Camo / BuNo 158171, two-tone green and light grey camo) were refit as A-4AR Fightinghawks for Argentina (160045 becoming C-922 and 158171 becoming C-919). Then, there's the Private Red Air use, where things get even more interesting (such as Top Aces fitting at least one ex-Israeli A-4N "Ayit" with AESA radar and an IRST)... It's a fantastic little plane!
@@OldGlaseye-gf7si I remember coming across pictures of those! It's a bit odd to see one without the hump (likely due to proportions of the cockpit/windshield), but must've been a lot of fun to work on!
@@Tigershark_3082 There is an A-4M without the hump and stripped for the adversary role on static display at the Reserve Base in Ft Worth. It threw me for a loop when I first saw it, having split my maintenance time on both the Super Fox and then the Mike versions. The bubble canopy and JFS hole on the starboard side were dead give aways.
Saved my butt several times also. MC aviator here 2 tours in Nam. Cannot say enough about how versatile the Scooter was(is). 2000+hrs in it as an attack/fighter(VMA-214DetN, USS Hornet) and instructor. This was a great video tribute for the Skyhawks. Would have loved to have flown the versions with upgraded engines. I went from the basic J-65 to the J-52 which really made a significant difference in performance.
I remember in 1976 I was on a snow/ski holiday on the Tukino slopes in New Zealand, got socked in for a week by a blizzard and only had radio contact with the outside world. The RNZAF sent a couple of Skyhawks to do a fly past and I can distinctly recall looking down on them as they flew up the valley to assess. In the end we stayed the extra time and had a ball.
I was a Marine Corps avionics tech in the late 1960s and did flight line maintenance at VMA 211 A4Es in ChuLai Vietnam. Then stateside duty at a reserve squadron of A4As and A4Bs. Always love watching videos about the capable little plane.
I went through US Navy flight school in Milton and Pensacola in 1982-1983. We started in the T-34C, and if selected for jets, went to the T-2C. Finally we transitioned to the TA-4C. I absolutely LOVED the TA-4C. It was a hotrod compared to anything we had flown before and the 720º/sec roll rate was insane! DEFTAC in this airplane was the most fun I have had in my entire 66 years on this planet.
A great tribute to a legend! I grew up near a US Naval Air Station that the Blue Angels visited almost every year with their A-4s. I've always loved them.
Perhaps you noticed the video is incorrect. When I saw the Blue Angels perform in 1983, they were flying the Phantom II. The F/A-18 transition came later for the Blue Angels.
@@amerigo88 According to the Blue Angels own website, they stopped using the Phantom in 1974, when they switched to the A-4. Perhaps you saw a one-off performance?
@@fepatton I must have remembered wrong then. I clearly recall meeting Ensign George Gay of Midway fame. I also clearly recall the Angels having a game of chicken with two aircraft racing at each other head on. They were maybe 30 feet above a runway at Belle Chase NAS when each aircraft made a quick 90 degree snap roll to miss one another. I could no longer bear to watch and closed my eyes at the apparent moment of impact. It was an excellent air show.
@@fepatton Yes, I remember watching an interview with a member of the Blue Angels team during the changeover year, saying that they were going to miss the lithe and highly agile Scooter, but that the huge performance envelope of the Hornet was going to make it an incredible show bird that would allow the team to do maneuvers and aerobatics that the older Skyhawk could never achieve.
Grew up in a Navy family and watched the “Scooter” fly overhead through the 70s. Joined the Navy myself and watched them continue flying through the 80s. I was sad to see them gone from fleet use by the 90s, but glad other countries were still enjoying them. Nice to see they had such a sustained career. Bravo Zulu from this old Bosun !
great video, Skyhawk will always have a place in our hearts in Argentina! In the war to recover the Falklands, both the Armada (Navy) and Fuerza Aérea (Air Force) operated Skyhawks. The Navy had 8 A-4Q in the 3rd Attack Squadron, the Air Force had 25 A-4C in the Fighter Group 4, and 50 A-4B in the Fighter Group 5.
OMG cannot forget too the Pucaras. I got to see the one that shot down the British helicopter. That Pucara was part of Fidae 1996 in Chile when my dad lived there.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force strapped a F-18 engine to these birds and created the super SkyHawk. It is mentioned 7 minutes into the video. The modifications was done by Singapore Aircraft Industries or ST Aerospace now. They even created dual cockpit versions of the A4SU super sky hawk for training pilots. The national aerobatic team the Black Knights also used these Super Skyhawks for aerial displays.
Marine Corps veteran. Plane Captain, TA-4F & A4M . 1979-1983. H&MS-31, MAG 31, MCAS Beaufort, SC. H&MS-12, 3rd MAW, FMF PAC, MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. 1980-81. VMAT-102, 3rd MAW, MCAS YUMA, AZ. 1981-83. The A4 will always have a special place in my heart. As well as the special Marines i had the privilege, pleasure and honor to work and serve alongside. Semper Fi Flight Line Brothers!
As a veteran Naval Aviation Electrician (AE) I served in two A-4F squadrons at NAS Lemoore, CA. If you've never heard of Lemoore, consider yourself fortunate. I liked the airplane, but never fully appreciated it until I got transferred to an A-7E squadron. I envied the Marines who got our aircraft.
The A-4 was a great little jet. The rumor in the fleet was that she was designed to carry an atomic bomb -on a one way mission. I knew many US Navy pilots that loved this jet. I even knew a tech rep from Douglas Aircraft that spent his entire career servicing the A-4 in GTMO, aboard CV'S, and Puerto Rico. I slept well knowing our A-4's were on duty. I know one Navy pilot that retired as a Captain (O-6) that flew one in Vietnam, took battle damage, and flew his jet-upside down-back to a USMC airbase, flipped it over just before he landed it, and walked away. He was later the CO of the NAVSTA, Roosevelt Roads PR. His name was: "Captain Connor".
I was on a destroyer pushing out of San Diego. An A4 right above the waves& 50yrds abeam of ship gave me a great view!. He then pulled up while doing aileron rolls. At that point I promised myself, I would be a pilot some day! I kept that promise almost 40yrs ago
In 1993 I went on an Australian Dept of Defence civilian "sea day" where I sailed on HMAS Sydney between Sydney Harbour and Jervis Bay. Along the way we came under mock attack by RNZAF Skyhawks based at HMAS Albatross. The WWII Corvette association veterans also on board had a great time calling out the approaching aircraft.
My last aircraft in US Navy flight school school was the TA-4J. I absolutely loved it. It was like strapping into a sports car compared to the T-2C. I really miss that airplane.
I remember these-the Blue Angels would come screaming over my barracks room every Wednesday morning when I was at NAS Pensacola, and we had the TA-4J 2 seat version there, in 1983. I remember all the screaming and hollering going on when they were replaced with the F-18. Best combat aircraft ever made.
I grew up watching the Blue Angels flying the A4 Skyhawk. I had a fascination/obsession (depending who you ask) with aviation in general and jets in particular from a very young age. My friends and I were always building model planes, getting/giving them for presents. The A4 Skyhawk was always one if our favorites m
Great video on an awesome and underrated aircraft. I also love the stock footage that I've never seen before. F86s in formation and love the sailor cooking hot dogs on the jet exhaust!😂
Pound for pound a very effective and affordable aircraft which performed great in the CAS role in which I reveled as I flew CAS for the troops on the ground in Nam. Managed to accumulate little over 2000 hrs in the Skyhawks and loved every second/minute/hours in the scooter. Semper Fi!!
I had tons of fun maintaining the CP741 Loft, Toss and Over the Shoulder bombing system in the A-4F. Quite the analog computer system for special weapons delivery. Every once in awhile our pilots would still have a Mk76 bombing derby using it for delivery even into the 1980's.
@@Skyhawks1979 doing those maneuvers in the A4B was a chore. Had to really concentrate on keeping G sched with needles centered going into whichever profile you were executing. Over the shoulder was the most fun for me especially when the WSF kicked off.
@14:45 Israel had originally wanted 24 examples of the Grumman A-6A Intruder. However, due to teething problems with the A-6's Digital Integrated Attack and Navigation Equipment (DIANE), as well as assessments that were dubious of Israel's capability to operate and maintain the Intruder, plus the rush by the US Navy to re-equip its A-1 Skyraider squadrons with the new aircraft, the US State Department shot down the idea. Forty-eight A-4 Skyhawks, the first batch to enter service with Israel, were ordered in 1966 instead.
Particularly those in non-first world countries. You could produce this today and it'd still be "plenty" for most air forces and what they encounter/fight.
I agree to an extent. Yes, it is important to not Rube Goldburg a device ment to do only one or two tasks, look at the A-10. But there is such a thing as making something so simple it's inflexible. Again, the A-10 is a good example. Take the F-16: it was built to be a pure dogfighter and it's very capable in this role, but soon after its introduction it was pressed into becoming a light multirole fighter, not because that's what the Air Force wanted for it but because that's what was needed to stay combat relevant for the next few decades. I guess what I'm trying to say is keep simple stuff to do simple tasks. The problem is air defense networks are made extremely difficult to penetrate on purpose; especally modern near-peer ones which are way more intricate than they were back in Vietnam, to the point where you kinda need something as complicated as an F-35 to do so.
@@pyronuke4768or you make two comparitively cheaper alternatives, one focus on air to air to protect your “growlers” and one to focus on anti radiation sorties, and then many more cheaper craft without stealth for once air defenses have been disabled. Most of these nations are never going to face a threat from NATO, the US, or Russia/China in full force, and this is more than enough. Most nations would be sufficiently armed with 6-12 Boramae, a growler super hornets, and 10-20 f-16/grippens/rafales or even f-5’s and another 10-12 planes in the ta-50/t7/super tuscano mix
@@cjones070 it sounds like a good idea now, but what happens two decades in the future when a much larger and aggressive nation comes after you with a fifth-gen aircraft of their own while you've sat on your hands upgrading fourth gens from fifty years ago? You would be rather powerless to stop them. That's why half of NATO has been trying to obtain F-35's: to dissuade any potentially aggressive threats from attacking in the first place.
Seeing an A4SU with sidewinder bring back so much memories. Still recall seeing some being scrap in the west of the island in early 2000s. A sad sight.
The armor (shielding in front, below and behind the pilot was good, but the sides weren’t shielded at all. A friend of mine, a Marine pilot flew an A-4 in Vietnam. On the way home from a mission one day, he told me he did a high bank, tight, low to the ground turn around a wooded hill. In the tightest part of his turn he said an enemy soldier in the jungle fired his AK-47 into the air and in a fluke shot hit his jet. My friend said one bullet hit his A-4, easily pierced the thin metal side and went through both of his legs. The bullet stopped in the fabric of his flight suit on the other side). With no real damage done to the aircraft, he was able to make it back to his airbase for a safe, albeit very painful landing. (Can you imagine trying to apply the brakes with a bullet wound like that.)
I worked on the communications systems for the Skyhawk when I was in the US Marines. The retirement of this airplane saddened me, but the Harrier could operate from helicopter carriers and from very short expeditionary airfields with most of the same Skyhawk capabilities.
15:44 The RCN never purchased the Skyhawk. TopAces has a fleet of them today (recently heavily upgraded) but they've never been used offensively, and were purchased second-hand.
It was a quantum jump from prop to jet. However, the A-1 continued in use for many years after it was declared "out of date", and its true successor was the A-10, at least in the Air Force.
They came out with new generations of aircraft every few years in the 1950s. A plane that was high tech in 1938 was totally obsolete by 1942, a plane from 1940 was hopeless by 1945. Why is that strange? They were also far, far cheaper and simpler than modern jets. Five years is already half a decade, and they already considered piston engines obsolescent when the A-1 was finally introduced. They basically started designing the replacement as soon as the previous aircraft entered production, because obviously much better aircraft will be available in a few years. And they were. The F-4 first flew less than 15 years after the end of WW2. You don't go from F6F and P-47 to F-4 without a few generations, and you need to fit all those generations into a few years. Then design peaked essentially, it became much harder and more expensive to materially improve on actual performance. That's why we have had the F-15 for fifty years. _that_ is the anomaly, not the rapid evolution of design. That has never happened before now. Same with the modern combat rifles. It's hard to design something that's enough of an improvement to make it worth replacing, especially when the new jets will cost astronomical prices.
I've wondered about the A-4 ever since I built my first model aircraft carrier. To me it's a slick looking plane, nice lines. Thanks for posting this video. It's only the 3rd vid by you that I've watched and I knew I had to subscribe. Oh, I know this is goofy, but I've always had an affinity to aircraft that have a rotation to their landing gear for stowage, oh well, takes all kinds, ha ha.
16:38 Just to clarify, the Brazilian Navy still uses the A4 for training, but they don't have the Gripens, only the Air Force will receive the F-39. The Navy has studies with Saab/Embraer to create a Aircraft based Gripen, but right now it's only on paper.
And pretty much the only reason the A-4 Skyhawk will be retired is because the airframes will exceed their service life limits and it will not be financially viable for the countries using them to rebuilt/refurbish them and get new spare parts. There have been upgraded Skyhawks in the past. Singapore had the Super Skyhawk that was modernized... But I would love to see a Skyhawk built today from scratch with every upgrade and bell and whistle you could find. Digital fly-by-wire, glass cockpit, new engine, etc. It would be scary...
I'd argue the closest thing to a modern Skyhawk would probably be armed trainer jets of today. Something like a BAE Hawk 200 (a single seat hawk trainer used as a light fighter from the 90's) or the L-39NG (modern/new production version of the older L-39 trainer). I argue they spiritually/indirectly inherit many of the A-4's features and roles (small size, cost-effective, nimble) while also being modern aircraft. If you want we could also include KAI T-50 or T-7 for singe-engine super-sonic examples.
Wow, Argentina purchased 130 of those? Holy shit, that's ridiculously impressive for South American standards. The Brazilian Air Force has never come close to operating so many fighters of just one model.
Refueling these birds during VMGR-352's TRANSPAC ops from MCAS El Toro via MCAS Kaneohe (parked the refuelers and the USN C-9 Pathfinder at Hickam AFB), then on to Wake Island and ultimately MCAS Iwakuni in the early to mid-70's - then dragging the returning 'fast movers' back to CONUS ---> the second best job I ever had. Semper Fi!
They rolled, with stick to the stop and a bit of rudder with the stick, at +/- 750 degrees per second. Only the Northrop T-38 and F-5 have a faster roll rate, at over 800 per second. The SF-260 that I flew at Air Combat USA rolled at about 90° per second, same as the P-51, and the Pitts S-2A and S-2B, that I flew for years in the '80s, rolled at 180° per sec. Plenty fast. A friend that flew for us at Air Combat USA, who had flown the A-4 as an aggressor pilot at Top Gun/NAS Miramar, told us that he would brace his helmet on the canopy opposite from the direction of which he was going to roll, when doing full-deflection rolls, so that his helmet didn't bang on the canopy when he went hard-over on the stick. 🙄🤣
Nice review of a great aircraft! I was under the impression that they drew Interest in projects like these because of just how good the Mig 15s were, but yet They weren't really bought up like they should have been. I also wasn't aware it was a 1952 design that first flew in 54. That is kind of wild to consider all the money that went to waste on plane after plane that quickly was replaced. Asking congress and the American people to foot a bill that is largest really is a tale of the time. They scared the shit out of its people to pay for all this when it was clear the big war had been over.
14:35 I'm from Argentina and the fact that the F-16s are replacing the A-4ARs is not true, they're here to replace the Mirages only! Nice video too by the way
I love this video. I especially love how you put a couple of movie scenes in it for a joke. Like cooking hot dog sausages on a jet engines thrust from the movie "Hot Shots". The other from the little known New Zealand political horror movie "Sleeping Dogs" where a military dictatorship takes control of New Zealand. You see two New Zealand A4s take part in a rocket attack in that movie flying closer together than they normally would to make a good movie scene.
in the 1960s McDonnell Douglas developed a carrier borne A-4E Skyhawk multi role strike fighter that incorporated the all essential folding wings feature . . . it was intended exclusively for foreign navies on a budget . . . the A-4E was perfect for foreign navies operating light 18,362 ton - 26,053 ton (CATOBAR) aircraft carriers where below deck hangar space was at a premium . . . thus warranting carrier borne fighter jets to feature folding wings . . .
Such a small mention of New Zealand, even though it was our only combat aircraft for a while, and so far our last. We also gave it tons of modernisation, and some nice camos. They saw action in the Malayan emergency as well. So much could’ve been covered there.
I was in the Marines, and while I was a pilot at the time I was supporting an A-4 squadron, I did not fly the A-4, but I always wanted too. I was 6 foot, an the cockpit was pretty tight.
While the US military aviation designers got it so wrong with the USN Cutlass and USAF Starfighter. Yet they really hit the mark of success with the A-4 Skyhawk with great serviceability and those classic looks that still make it very appealing to this day.
A1 Skyraider: Obsolete within 5 years of launch A4 Skyhawk: 35 year Production Run, Countries still seeking to purchase them second hand 15 years after production ceased, still flying in military forces 10 years later... Designed to be cheap as possible aircraft for ground attack, quarter the cost of the equivalent gen air superiority fighter. 20 years later it's used to give the next generation of fighter aircraft a challenging opponent for air to air combat training. Absolute legend.
Despite the A-1 being “obsolete” it still served from 1947ish to 1973 in combat roles. A very long service life especially for a prop driven attack platform. It was essentially the A-10 for that era. Nowadays the A-10 has been toted as obsolete for around 10-15 years but its role in loitering counter-insurgency and ground attack in airspace free of anti air still needs filled. (I will preface the A-10A was pretty terrible because it was too simplistic and blue on blue incidents were notorious because it had no friendly identification technology or map displays. A lot of these issues were remedied with A-10C)
The design process of the A-4 Skyhawk reminds me of the electrical engineering concept of "Muntzing." Removing components until the circuit doesn't work anymore, then putting the last component back in.
Never realized such an underrated and quietly efficient plane played such an important role in linking the early and late jet age.
The US Marines flew the A-4M up through the mid 80s. The last A-4M was delivered in 1979, so the A-4 was produced for 27 years. The last A-4Ms were replaced by the AV-8B.
And it's cute as a button 😍
Heinemann family member here...always happy and proud to see the A-4 be acknowledged and discussed.
I always remember A4 as “Heineman’s Rocket”. Beautiful honest fit for purpose airplane.
@@AnthonyTolhurst-dw1nc I have more collected/inherited paraphernalia of the A4 than any of his other aircraft but the Skyraider was my personal favorite.
My grandfather was in the Navy till 1965. He worked on the A-4E Skyhawks and F-8E Crusaders aboard USS Oriskany.
Pretty much everyone spoke well of them (A4’s) for their simplicity. He passed away years ago but I’m still in touch with people he served with and talk about stories with them. Their active combat tour of Vietnam was something else.
At this time there was A4E Skyhawks, F8E Crusaders, A-1H Skyraiders and A3B Skywarriors all on deck at this time for combat roles. There was a marine detachment of F8’s as well.
@@AnthonyTolhurst-dw1nc, I was introduced to it as _Heinemann's Hotrod._ As an engineer, this aircraft has long inspired my sense of design elegance. 😊
I flew in A-4s with VC-1 in Hawaii in the 80s. Great airplane. I was wondering if Mr. Heineman ever met John Boyd? Boyd is the father of the F-16 and the "fighter mafia"
and believed in simple, air superiority fighters and I feel certain that they would have got along and been kindred spirits.
My wife was an AO (bomb loader) on these in the late 90s. I always love finding ones in museums, and getting pictures for or with her. As an engineer, the amazing simplicity is just awesome!
These weren’t used in the late nineties by America 🤔🤔
@foxkill7 Yes, they did. You could literally google this. The USMC retired it in 1998 and the US Navy retiring it in 2003. The most recent to retire the aircraft was Israel in 2015. And countries like Argentina still use it to this day.
One flew over our town (local lad), when oz retired its aircraft carrier Melbourne, (@ 79). Fleeting glimpse...
@@foxkill7 Retired by the USMC in 1998 and the USN in 2003. The Argentine Air Force and Brazilian Navy still fly them to this day.
Your wife is awesome. I wish my wife was physical and worked in military
There is a sort of a rule that I remember, "if it looks right..." This is a good looking plane. It just looks "right". Always liked it.
A4's Forever, 1200+ hours, 200+ traps. Greatest Airplane I ever flew.
Sierra Hotel!
VC-5 Checkertails 78-80
AOC USN (ret)
I grew up watching the Blue Angels fly these; I was rather sorry when they switched to the Hornets.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏🏼🇺🇸🇺🇸
This is like the NEW "Discovery Wings Channel".. Fantastic vids!! TY!
The F-5 and A-4 are the pinnacle of inexpensive combat aviation, in my opinion.
Yes, they are training planes. They can barely hold ordinance.
@@christophejergales7852The 3.9 tons of ordinance of the A-4 is respectable for a light jet, not anything like "barely."
@@philalcoceli6328 Yes, light jets hold light things. We are both clear on that.
@@christophejergales7852 nice backpedaling
@@ihavewaited90daystochangem51 I don't see that at all.
I believe Ed Heinemann was a brilliant aeronautical engineer and it is even more amazing considering he never went to university and he was self taught. For this reason, he should be in the same breath as Johnson and Northrop.
One of the points made about it is that Heinemann did not develop a wing for the A4, he developed a fuel tank that generated lift. Those two big drop tanks also served double duty - if the undercarriage was shot up, the pilot needed to emergency land or ditch into water, the drop tanks served as very effective landing skids.
I remember one of my dad's friends mentioning a story about having to do that when he was with the Marines
Actually he did develop the wing, where one of the things he did was put the landing gear struts under the wing in the fairings on the bottom of it, of course he also did do the drop tanks as a part of it and the role they pay.
Arguably, first generation jets might have been more challenging to maintain in the field than the piston-powered planes they replaced. However, jets were NOT more difficut to fly! The air cooled radial or liquid cooled in-line engines which powered WWII fighter and attack airplanes were far more labor intensive to operate than jets, and required a lot more attention from the pilot in flight. The jet was the ultimate in simplicity, just push the throttle lever and forget about it!
I was lucky enough to fly the A-4 Skyhawk for just under a thousand hours. It was a marvelous airplane to fly, stable, responsive, and highly maneuverable. Simplicity and reliability were hallmarks of Ed Heineman's remarkable design from both a maintenance and operational point of view. It had two aerodynamic design flaws which could be dangerous, one on the A and B models, and one up through the E model, but design fixes were added that eliminated the problems. The F and J through M (for "Marine") were dream machines to fly.
The "Mike" models have probably been the most interesting to read about, both in Foreign and Domestic service.
A few were actually used as adversaries (majority of the adversarial Scooters were Es and Fs) both with NFWS and VF-126 "Bandits". At least two of the TOPGUN Mikes that I know of (BuNo 160045, Desert Camo / BuNo 158171, two-tone green and light grey camo) were refit as A-4AR Fightinghawks for Argentina (160045 becoming C-922 and 158171 becoming C-919).
Then, there's the Private Red Air use, where things get even more interesting (such as Top Aces fitting at least one ex-Israeli A-4N "Ayit" with AESA radar and an IRST)...
It's a fantastic little plane!
In the early jets that's not quite true. They sped up and slowed down slowly, leading to significant lag in throttle response.
@@Tigershark_3082 True but I owned 4 A-4M, got them from the USMC...humpless. VF-126, 1990-1992...
@@OldGlaseye-gf7si I remember coming across pictures of those! It's a bit odd to see one without the hump (likely due to proportions of the cockpit/windshield), but must've been a lot of fun to work on!
@@Tigershark_3082 There is an A-4M without the hump and stripped for the adversary role on static display at the Reserve Base in Ft Worth. It threw me for a loop when I first saw it, having split my maintenance time on both the Super Fox and then the Mike versions. The bubble canopy and JFS hole on the starboard side were dead give aways.
It's awesome the Skyhawk was able to serve so long. A testament to well thought out, quality engineering.
My uncle was a Marine aviator and flew these for most of his career and credited it for saving his life more than once in Vietnam.
Saved my butt several times also. MC aviator here 2 tours in Nam. Cannot say enough about how versatile the Scooter was(is). 2000+hrs in it as an attack/fighter(VMA-214DetN, USS Hornet) and instructor. This was a great video tribute for the Skyhawks. Would have loved to have flown the versions with upgraded engines. I went from the basic J-65 to the J-52 which really made a significant difference in performance.
I remember in 1976 I was on a snow/ski holiday on the Tukino slopes in New Zealand, got socked in for a week by a blizzard and only had radio contact with the outside world. The RNZAF sent a couple of Skyhawks to do a fly past and I can distinctly recall looking down on them as they flew up the valley to assess. In the end we stayed the extra time and had a ball.
Mt Ruapehu was a low flying zone for them.
Good script, very pleasant video archives, good background information and effort! Thumbs up! Greetings from Austria 🇦🇹
I was a Marine Corps avionics tech in the late 1960s and did flight line maintenance at VMA 211 A4Es in ChuLai Vietnam. Then stateside duty at a reserve squadron of A4As and A4Bs. Always love watching videos about the capable little plane.
I went through US Navy flight school in Milton and Pensacola in 1982-1983. We started in the T-34C, and if selected for jets, went to the T-2C. Finally we transitioned to the TA-4C. I absolutely LOVED the TA-4C. It was a hotrod compared to anything we had flown before and the 720º/sec roll rate was insane! DEFTAC in this airplane was the most fun I have had in my entire 66 years on this planet.
A great tribute to a legend! I grew up near a US Naval Air Station that the Blue Angels visited almost every year with their A-4s. I've always loved them.
Perhaps you noticed the video is incorrect. When I saw the Blue Angels perform in 1983, they were flying the Phantom II. The F/A-18 transition came later for the Blue Angels.
@@amerigo88 According to the Blue Angels own website, they stopped using the Phantom in 1974, when they switched to the A-4. Perhaps you saw a one-off performance?
@@fepatton I must have remembered wrong then. I clearly recall meeting Ensign George Gay of Midway fame. I also clearly recall the Angels having a game of chicken with two aircraft racing at each other head on. They were maybe 30 feet above a runway at Belle Chase NAS when each aircraft made a quick 90 degree snap roll to miss one another. I could no longer bear to watch and closed my eyes at the apparent moment of impact. It was an excellent air show.
@@fepatton Yes, I remember watching an interview with a member of the Blue Angels team during the changeover year, saying that they were going to miss the lithe and highly agile Scooter, but that the huge performance envelope of the Hornet was going to make it an incredible show bird that would allow the team to do maneuvers and aerobatics that the older Skyhawk could never achieve.
This is the video I needed today, thank you. I loved this aircraft as a kid. Douglas specialty.
New Zealand’s last strike aircraft, I had the pleasure of seeing one of them at the fleet air arm museum in Australia
Grew up in a Navy family and watched the “Scooter” fly overhead through the 70s. Joined the Navy myself and watched them continue flying through the 80s.
I was sad to see them gone from fleet use by the 90s, but glad other countries were still enjoying them. Nice to see they had such a sustained career. Bravo Zulu from this old Bosun !
great video, Skyhawk will always have a place in our hearts in Argentina! In the war to recover the Falklands, both the Armada (Navy) and Fuerza Aérea (Air Force) operated Skyhawks. The Navy had 8 A-4Q in the 3rd Attack Squadron, the Air Force had 25 A-4C in the Fighter Group 4, and 50 A-4B in the Fighter Group 5.
Viva la patria! Islas Malvinas Argentinas
Love too the Miarges, Daggers/neshers and Etendards :)
OMG cannot forget too the Pucaras. I got to see the one that shot down the British helicopter. That Pucara was part of Fidae 1996 in Chile when my dad lived there.
The Falklands have been British since before Argentina was even invented. You need to read your history. 🇬🇧
@@ivortoad The islands have always been and will always be Argentinian
I restored two of these. Amazing engineering in that aircraft .
Great narration, the A4 has been one of my personal favorites for over 50 years.
Thank you!
Thank you for another very informative video. Well Done!
The Republic of Singapore Air Force strapped a F-18 engine to these birds and created the super SkyHawk. It is mentioned 7 minutes into the video. The modifications was done by Singapore Aircraft Industries or ST Aerospace now. They even created dual cockpit versions of the A4SU super sky hawk for training pilots. The national aerobatic team the Black Knights also used these Super Skyhawks for aerial displays.
Holy- WHAT?!?!? That's awesome!!!
The non after burning F404 and the J52 P408 were almost identical in thrust.
Ya Loved the A-4SGs. But rumour has it that the new engines were too powerful for the airframe so the plane had the tenancy to shake a bit. Do u know?
Marine Corps veteran. Plane Captain, TA-4F & A4M . 1979-1983.
H&MS-31, MAG 31, MCAS Beaufort, SC.
H&MS-12, 3rd MAW, FMF PAC, MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. 1980-81.
VMAT-102, 3rd MAW, MCAS YUMA, AZ. 1981-83.
The A4 will always have a special place in my heart. As well as the special Marines i had the privilege, pleasure and honor to work and serve alongside.
Semper Fi Flight Line Brothers!
As a veteran Naval Aviation Electrician (AE) I served in two A-4F squadrons at NAS Lemoore, CA. If you've never heard of Lemoore, consider yourself fortunate. I liked the airplane, but never fully appreciated it until I got transferred to an A-7E squadron. I envied the Marines who got our aircraft.
Loved "Scooters"
Both of my parents had the opportunity to fly the A-4 and it ranks high up on both their lists of fun/enjoyable aircraft.
The A-4 was a great little jet. The rumor in the fleet was that she was designed to carry an atomic bomb -on a one way mission. I knew many US Navy pilots that loved this jet. I even knew a tech rep from Douglas Aircraft that spent his entire career servicing the A-4 in GTMO, aboard CV'S, and Puerto Rico. I slept well knowing our A-4's were on duty. I know one Navy pilot that retired as a Captain (O-6) that flew one in Vietnam, took battle damage, and flew his jet-upside down-back to a USMC airbase, flipped it over just before he landed it, and walked away. He was later the CO of the NAVSTA, Roosevelt Roads PR. His name was: "Captain Connor".
I was on a destroyer pushing out of San Diego. An A4 right above the waves& 50yrds abeam of ship gave me a great view!. He then pulled up while doing aileron rolls. At that point I promised myself, I would be a pilot some day! I kept that promise almost 40yrs ago
In 1993 I went on an Australian Dept of Defence civilian "sea day" where I sailed on HMAS Sydney between Sydney Harbour and Jervis Bay.
Along the way we came under mock attack by RNZAF Skyhawks based at HMAS Albatross. The WWII Corvette association veterans also on board had a great time calling out the approaching aircraft.
As a Singaporean, I'm so happy to see the Super Skyhawk mentioned. 🇸🇬
My last aircraft in US Navy flight school school was the TA-4J. I absolutely loved it. It was like strapping into a sports car compared to the T-2C. I really miss that airplane.
I remember these-the Blue Angels would come screaming over my barracks room every Wednesday morning when I was at NAS Pensacola, and we had the TA-4J 2 seat version there, in 1983.
I remember all the screaming and hollering going on when they were replaced with the F-18.
Best combat aircraft ever made.
Another Excellent Video - "Semper-Fi"
Great aircraft. Worked on them in the 1980's in New Zealand. 2 Sqn and 75 Sqn. They're still flying at Draken USA.
Great video. The A-4 was also nicknamed "Scooter". Thanks for sharing with us all the information.
I grew up watching the Blue Angels flying the A4 Skyhawk. I had a fascination/obsession (depending who you ask) with aviation in general and jets in particular from a very young age. My friends and I were always building model planes, getting/giving them for presents. The A4 Skyhawk was always one if our favorites m
We had these on both carriers that I was on and a vital aircraft to the mission. It must be such a blast to fly one.
Always liked the little guy.
It could carry one hell of a load.
One of Douglas Aircraft's winners in military contracts.
Great video on an awesome and underrated aircraft. I also love the stock footage that I've never seen before. F86s in formation and love the sailor cooking hot dogs on the jet exhaust!😂
Much of it, including the hot dog scene, was from Hollywood films.
An amazingly compact, uniform, good-looking little machine that has proven its excellent capabilities in many wars.
My favorite little guy.
Always loved the A-4 so under appreciated, a real workhorse.
Embraer modernized 7 of them (5 single-seaters/2 two-seaters), between 2019 and 2022. Congrats for the video.
I attended several “Blue Angels” air shows, and have not yet seen an aircraft that could out roll an A-4 ! Awesome plane!
I always thought the A4 was a beautiful aeroplane. Love the video and now subscribed
Pound for pound a very effective and affordable aircraft which performed great in the CAS role in which I reveled as I flew CAS for the troops on the ground in Nam. Managed to accumulate little over 2000 hrs in the Skyhawks and loved every second/minute/hours in the scooter. Semper Fi!!
I had tons of fun maintaining the CP741 Loft, Toss and Over the Shoulder bombing system in the A-4F. Quite the analog computer system for special weapons delivery. Every once in awhile our pilots would still have a Mk76 bombing derby using it for delivery even into the 1980's.
@@Skyhawks1979 doing those maneuvers in the A4B was a chore. Had to really concentrate on keeping G sched with needles centered going into whichever profile you were executing. Over the shoulder was the most fun for me especially when the WSF kicked off.
@14:45 Israel had originally wanted 24 examples of the Grumman A-6A Intruder. However, due to teething problems with the A-6's Digital Integrated Attack and Navigation Equipment (DIANE), as well as assessments that were dubious of Israel's capability to operate and maintain the Intruder, plus the rush by the US Navy to re-equip its A-1 Skyraider squadrons with the new aircraft, the US State Department shot down the idea. Forty-eight A-4 Skyhawks, the first batch to enter service with Israel, were ordered in 1966 instead.
This is exactely what Aero Engineers should learn
Particularly those in non-first world countries. You could produce this today and it'd still be "plenty" for most air forces and what they encounter/fight.
I agree to an extent. Yes, it is important to not Rube Goldburg a device ment to do only one or two tasks, look at the A-10. But there is such a thing as making something so simple it's inflexible. Again, the A-10 is a good example.
Take the F-16: it was built to be a pure dogfighter and it's very capable in this role, but soon after its introduction it was pressed into becoming a light multirole fighter, not because that's what the Air Force wanted for it but because that's what was needed to stay combat relevant for the next few decades.
I guess what I'm trying to say is keep simple stuff to do simple tasks. The problem is air defense networks are made extremely difficult to penetrate on purpose; especally modern near-peer ones which are way more intricate than they were back in Vietnam, to the point where you kinda need something as complicated as an F-35 to do so.
@@pyronuke4768or you make two comparitively cheaper alternatives, one focus on air to air to protect your “growlers” and one to focus on anti radiation sorties, and then many more cheaper craft without stealth for once air defenses have been disabled. Most of these nations are never going to face a threat from NATO, the US, or Russia/China in full force, and this is more than enough.
Most nations would be sufficiently armed with 6-12 Boramae, a growler super hornets, and 10-20 f-16/grippens/rafales or even f-5’s and another 10-12 planes in the ta-50/t7/super tuscano mix
@@cjones070 it sounds like a good idea now, but what happens two decades in the future when a much larger and aggressive nation comes after you with a fifth-gen aircraft of their own while you've sat on your hands upgrading fourth gens from fifty years ago? You would be rather powerless to stop them. That's why half of NATO has been trying to obtain F-35's: to dissuade any potentially aggressive threats from attacking in the first place.
Simple aircraft DIE in combat since ohhh 1980?
"holy shit it's Viper" 😆
"BINGO, Maverick's dead. Your outta there, kid." -Jester
@@kingKaiju393"The Department Of Defense regrets to inform you that your sons are dead because they were stupid." 😒
A beautiful design. Unmistakeable.
Seeing an A4SU with sidewinder bring back so much memories. Still recall seeing some being scrap in the west of the island in early 2000s. A sad sight.
I learned a lot on his one. 70 yrs for a small jet. Respect.
In NZ we called them Squawks. A play on Skyhawk.
I still see these beautiful machines flying overhead almost every day in the skies of Kinston NC.
Any day with a new Sky video is a great day.
I always liked the A4 you did a great job on this video
The armor (shielding in front, below and behind the pilot was good, but the sides weren’t shielded at all. A friend of mine, a Marine pilot flew an A-4 in Vietnam. On the way home from a mission one day, he told me he did a high bank, tight, low to the ground turn around a wooded hill. In the tightest part of his turn he said an enemy soldier in the jungle fired his AK-47 into the air and in a fluke shot hit his jet. My friend said one bullet hit his A-4, easily pierced the thin metal side and went through both of his legs. The bullet stopped in the fabric of his flight suit on the other side). With no real damage done to the aircraft, he was able to make it back to his airbase for a safe, albeit very painful landing. (Can you imagine trying to apply the brakes with a bullet wound like that.)
The deck crew guy roasting a hotdog in the jet exhaust cracked me up! :D
The very first shot of A4 #808 is from the 1988 movie The Rescue, played by a 75 SQN RNZAF A4-K with fictional markings.
Great presentation as always :)
Using a lot of images from “The Right Stuff” in this video. One of my favorite movies. Keep up the good work brother:)
Great stuff as always!!
I worked on the communications systems for the Skyhawk when I was in the US Marines. The retirement of this airplane saddened me, but the Harrier could operate from helicopter carriers and from very short expeditionary airfields with most of the same Skyhawk capabilities.
Excellent video, featuring an excellent aircraft. Thank you!
One day when i retire with tons of money im buying and flying a Skyhawk. Its one of my favorite planes.
today is going to be a very nice day, now that he's uploaded
The last versions of the A4 with the bigger engine had awesome thrust to weight and was supposed to be pretty awesome to fly
I worked with a Scooter pilot- he said it was super fun.
First aircraft I worked on. It was a great bird to learn on.
I don't know if it's due to the novel "Forgotten Heroes", but I've always had a soft spot for the Skyhawk. It's quite a beautiful plane.
15:44 The RCN never purchased the Skyhawk. TopAces has a fleet of them today (recently heavily upgraded) but they've never been used offensively, and were purchased second-hand.
Military aircraft being "outdated" at *FIVE* years old is a pretty wild concept.
It was a quantum jump from prop to jet. However, the A-1 continued in use for many years after it was declared "out of date", and its true successor was the A-10, at least in the Air Force.
They came out with new generations of aircraft every few years in the 1950s. A plane that was high tech in 1938 was totally obsolete by 1942, a plane from 1940 was hopeless by 1945. Why is that strange? They were also far, far cheaper and simpler than modern jets. Five years is already half a decade, and they already considered piston engines obsolescent when the A-1 was finally introduced. They basically started designing the replacement as soon as the previous aircraft entered production, because obviously much better aircraft will be available in a few years. And they were. The F-4 first flew less than 15 years after the end of WW2. You don't go from F6F and P-47 to F-4 without a few generations, and you need to fit all those generations into a few years. Then design peaked essentially, it became much harder and more expensive to materially improve on actual performance. That's why we have had the F-15 for fifty years. _that_ is the anomaly, not the rapid evolution of design. That has never happened before now. Same with the modern combat rifles. It's hard to design something that's enough of an improvement to make it worth replacing, especially when the new jets will cost astronomical prices.
Great documentary about this fighter.
I've wondered about the A-4 ever since I built my first model aircraft carrier. To me it's a slick looking plane, nice lines. Thanks for posting this video. It's only the 3rd vid by you that I've watched and I knew I had to subscribe. Oh, I know this is goofy, but I've always had an affinity to aircraft that have a rotation to their landing gear for stowage, oh well, takes all kinds, ha ha.
Great video
It's a great plane!
An all-time great!👍
16:38 Just to clarify, the Brazilian Navy still uses the A4 for training, but they don't have the Gripens, only the Air Force will receive the F-39.
The Navy has studies with Saab/Embraer to create a Aircraft based Gripen, but right now it's only on paper.
And pretty much the only reason the A-4 Skyhawk will be retired is because the airframes will exceed their service life limits and it will not be financially viable for the countries using them to rebuilt/refurbish them and get new spare parts.
There have been upgraded Skyhawks in the past. Singapore had the Super Skyhawk that was modernized... But I would love to see a Skyhawk built today from scratch with every upgrade and bell and whistle you could find. Digital fly-by-wire, glass cockpit, new engine, etc. It would be scary...
I'd argue the closest thing to a modern Skyhawk would probably be armed trainer jets of today. Something like a BAE Hawk 200 (a single seat hawk trainer used as a light fighter from the 90's) or the L-39NG (modern/new production version of the older L-39 trainer).
I argue they spiritually/indirectly inherit many of the A-4's features and roles (small size, cost-effective, nimble) while also being modern aircraft. If you want we could also include KAI T-50 or T-7 for singe-engine super-sonic examples.
Impressive load out for such a small aircraft. Lots of bang for the buck.
Goodo! Cheers from australia!
Wow, Argentina purchased 130 of those? Holy shit, that's ridiculously impressive for South American standards. The Brazilian Air Force has never come close to operating so many fighters of just one model.
They made good use of it in the Falklands.
Refueling these birds during VMGR-352's TRANSPAC ops from MCAS El Toro via MCAS Kaneohe (parked the refuelers and the USN C-9 Pathfinder at Hickam AFB), then on to Wake Island and ultimately MCAS Iwakuni in the early to mid-70's - then dragging the returning 'fast movers' back to CONUS ---> the second best job I ever had. Semper Fi!
Ooorahh, 352 Raider! 89-99 W/C 210 and 1st Mech, good times!
now this is a good video essay or whatever it is called.
When the Blue Angels flew these, the fast aileron roll rate was awesome to behold.
It was their most capable mount. As you said, that roll rate made for a great show. 👍
@@socaljarhead7670 Totally agree. The best shows were performed in the A-4.
They rolled, with stick to the stop and a bit of rudder with the stick, at +/- 750 degrees per second. Only the Northrop T-38 and F-5 have a faster roll rate, at over 800 per second. The SF-260 that I flew at Air Combat USA rolled at about 90° per second, same as the P-51, and the Pitts S-2A and S-2B, that I flew for years in the '80s, rolled at 180° per sec. Plenty fast. A friend that flew for us at Air Combat USA, who had flown the A-4 as an aggressor pilot at Top Gun/NAS Miramar, told us that he would brace his helmet on the canopy opposite from the direction of which he was going to roll, when doing full-deflection rolls, so that his helmet didn't bang on the canopy when he went hard-over on the stick. 🙄🤣
@@conradinhawaii7856 Thanks for the information and experiences! 👍
Nice review of a great aircraft! I was under the impression that they drew Interest in projects like these because of just how good the Mig 15s were, but yet They weren't really bought up like they should have been. I also wasn't aware it was a 1952 design that first flew in 54. That is kind of wild to consider all the money that went to waste on plane after plane that quickly was replaced. Asking congress and the American people to foot a bill that is largest really is a tale of the time. They scared the shit out of its people to pay for all this when it was clear the big war had been over.
14:35 I'm from Argentina and the fact that the F-16s are replacing the A-4ARs is not true, they're here to replace the Mirages only!
Nice video too by the way
I love this video. I especially love how you put a couple of movie scenes in it for a joke. Like cooking hot dog sausages on a jet engines thrust from the movie "Hot Shots". The other from the little known New Zealand political horror movie "Sleeping Dogs" where a military dictatorship takes control of New Zealand. You see two New Zealand A4s take part in a rocket attack in that movie flying closer together than they normally would to make a good movie scene.
Aussie here, have to find that movie!
in the 1960s McDonnell Douglas developed a carrier borne A-4E Skyhawk multi role strike fighter that incorporated the all essential folding wings feature . . . it was intended exclusively for foreign navies on a budget . . . the A-4E was perfect for foreign navies operating light 18,362 ton - 26,053 ton (CATOBAR) aircraft carriers where below deck hangar space was at a premium . . . thus warranting carrier borne fighter jets to feature folding wings . . .
Such a small mention of New Zealand, even though it was our only combat aircraft for a while, and so far our last. We also gave it tons of modernisation, and some nice camos. They saw action in the Malayan emergency as well. So much could’ve been covered there.
every navy and airforce that had them, love them, simple little machine that could
I was in the Marines, and while I was a pilot at the time I was supporting an A-4 squadron, I did not fly the A-4, but I always wanted too. I was 6 foot, an the cockpit was pretty tight.
You always do a great job
I saw A4's still flying in the early 80's. I think the famous VMA-214 Blacksheep squadron flew A4. They were extremely maneuverable.
I reckon the A4 would make a great personal aircraft for anyone who could get hold of a low hours machine.
While the US military aviation designers got it so wrong with the USN Cutlass and USAF Starfighter.
Yet they really hit the mark of success with the A-4 Skyhawk with great serviceability and those classic looks that still make it very appealing to this day.
A1 Skyraider: Obsolete within 5 years of launch
A4 Skyhawk: 35 year Production Run, Countries still seeking to purchase them second hand 15 years after production ceased, still flying in military forces 10 years later...
Designed to be cheap as possible aircraft for ground attack, quarter the cost of the equivalent gen air superiority fighter. 20 years later it's used to give the next generation of fighter aircraft a challenging opponent for air to air combat training. Absolute legend.
Despite the A-1 being “obsolete” it still served from 1947ish to 1973 in combat roles. A very long service life especially for a prop driven attack platform.
It was essentially the A-10 for that era. Nowadays the A-10 has been toted as obsolete for around 10-15 years but its role in loitering counter-insurgency and ground attack in airspace free of anti air still needs filled.
(I will preface the A-10A was pretty terrible because it was too simplistic and blue on blue incidents were notorious because it had no friendly identification technology or map displays.
A lot of these issues were remedied with A-10C)
@@ICECAPPEDSKY 1979 in Chad.
The design process of the A-4 Skyhawk reminds me of the electrical engineering concept of "Muntzing." Removing components until the circuit doesn't work anymore, then putting the last component back in.
My Dad was the RIO in an F-4B Phantom II in the 1960s. But, as a kid, I thought the A-4s were the coolest planes on the ship.