I had an uncle that flew the A6 in Viet Nam. He was shot down in August of '72 when I was only 3 months old, so I never got to meet him. RIP Lt CMDR Roderick B. Lester, and his BN, Lt Harry S Mossman.
i joined the A-6 community in Dec 1963 with VMA 242 and when I retired from VMA 332 in Dec 1981 I was still working on them. The best aircraft that was built for the military.
@@johntack1049 The National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola Florida USA. The video here takes place there. Its a wonderful for a aviation enthusiasts. or any fan of airplanes and/or museums!
I was in VA-165 the boomers.out of Whidbey island Wa. I was a AMH. From 86-90. And our squadron did all the filming scenes for the movie. Flight of the intruder. Bombing scenes, we flew out of Savannah, Ga.a old army base.14 days there. And the jungle scene we flew out of Hawaii. 21 days there. And carrier scene off the coast of California. Miramar.. 7 days. And Danny Glover and william dafoe came and flew w us. For a day. Our squadron won the McCluskey award as the best squadron in all branches of the military. For a A-6 squadron to do that considering the airplane was 30 yrs old. Was crazy. Alot of hard work. We never missed a flight on workup or on cruise. .
I was on the USS Ranger from '84-'88. This was my favorite plane on the ship. The guys that flew them loved it. Nothing out there that can do what it did as well as it did. Shout out to VA-145 and VMA-121.
Semper Fi. Member of VMA-AW-533 with the A6E. Went to Yuma a couple if time fir Red Flag exercises. Our Intruders were the incoming bombing force that USAF had to defend against. In one the engagements our CO who was BN, his aircraft that day shot down an F15. When landed the metal shop guys were on hand and immediately painted a little red F15 kill mark on the plane. Proud moment. But of course no one ever mentioned how many of our planes got shot down throughout the whole exercise. F15 were a fairly new aircraft then. With USAF fighter jocks bragging to our crews about their new aircraft and what it could do. Sorry got a little long winded here.
Thank you for the lecture. Nice work on the presentation. I learned a lot. Much respect for the folks that maintained the aircraft, and the crews that flew her.
I used to be a jet fanatic as a kid. I have forgotten a lot of all that I read back then, but "Flight of the Intruder"-- I found the paperback in a used bookstore at about age 11, and must have read that thing a thousand times cover to cover. I never thought this jet looked ugly, just interesting and mean. Same with the A-10.
@@vicoschangoku609 Heatblur is making the A-6. It’ll be a few years before it arrives, though. The A-7 will likely release sooner, and that’s an equally unique and powerful aircraft.
Thank you colonel. The A-6 may be gone but is certainly not forgotten. I used to live under the approach pattern to Oceana and an A-6 on final would put a hold on all conversations- ooo-weee-ooo-weee! They were low enough that we could see the flight crew. Later in life I worked on the A-6 at NADEP Norfolk over in flight test and for a combat aircraft it was fairly mech-friendly; it's hard not to love such an ugly duckling! Semper Fi!
I was assigned to Atkron (VA 34) Thirty Four from 1984 to 1987 at NAS Oceana. I worked at the organizational level as an Aviation Fire Control technician and at the intermediate level (AIMD) on the TRAM Hughes DRS (FLIR) system to 1991. Great time and fantastic experience working on the A-6E Intruder.
This really brings back a lot of memories. I was a Marine avionics tech in a SACE shop at MCAS El Toro in 1970 to 1972 where we supported a squadron of A6-Bs. My specialty was the memory drum ( forward ped unit) that the pilot mentioned. What a beast that was to repair. Got sent to Nam Phong, Thailand with 9 months to go and worked at a SACE shop there before getting discharged. Always loved those ugly A6’s.
Well I mean Fighters are technically just enablers and a support mission until they added the attack role. But still who ever decided to replace the A-6 with F/A-18 was insane you can’t carry anywhere near this amount of weapons. The air force they buy planes based on looks and are obsessed with Air-Air glorification. That’s why they named the f-111 and 117 with F designation. Like the A-10 they’ve tried to kill it before it was introduced into service. The rescue pave hawks those poor guys have flee med Evacs non stop in old outdated aircraft. The army has went three 3 models and they’ve been stuck one the same one. Just now they are getting the whiskey model. And it’s because the air force wanted to blow money on stealth fighters when they haven’t had an air to air engagement in over 20yrs. The normal common sense thing is buy what your actually needing right now but they don’t do that. They just spend money on crap before we need it then other countries build a counter to it. The navy ive always said thet but planes based on function and the air force buys planes based on looks. They can’t go a day without trying to glorify air to air and treat the bomber guys like they are useless. When bombers are the mission and the fighter role is just a support mission. We’ve used the f-22 on 1-2 missions into Syria that’s it. They will try and say it prevents wars. But the nuclear icbms is what prevents wars. They know Americans are dumb and will buy anything they sell. That’s just an excuse to spend a ton of money on crap we won’t use. The reality is soviets and now Russia they don’t want war that’s why they spend all the money on defensive weapons when we spend money on offensive weapons. Alll you gotta do is look at how many wars we’ve been involved with the last 80yr and look at Russia how many countries they’ve just attacked and it explains why 9/11 we got attacked. We stuck our nose where it didn’t belong and they finally had enough of it
I was at TBS with an air contract. In 1977 Pensacola was backed up months. At the time I wanted to stay as a reserve office so I dropped my contract and went ground. To this day the A6 is my favorite plane. As an aside I am moving from California to Pensacola to be with many of my old MC buddies.
Worked on that plane and its' systems my entire Navy career. Sometimes it was a pain to work on BUT it was better at the job it was supposed to do, than anything going today
@@casey9439 If the Navy had gone with the A-6F, or probably G by now, no doubt it could. I could only imagine the potential in avionics and modern weapons control available now, surgical strikes would be down to the inch. For those of us who worked with the A-6 and saw all of those Russian vehicles parked in a nice straight line, 2 to 3 A-6's, 20 Mk-82's each............yummy! There are a lot of systems that Colonel didn't talk about that are not generally known (and may still be classified) that I can't imagine where we would be on those. Remember that the computing power in your smart phone VASTLY outruns even the best we had in the E at the time. The closest active competitor may be the A-10. They don't have the total capacity, but they at least had a gun! LOL! But, the mission is changing and the need for aircraft to carry a large number weapons is almost to an end. All of the weapons the Intruder carried, and many more, can be carried by UAV platforms. True, not in the numbers, but smart weapons rule the roost now and in the big picture, probably for the better. Less chance of accidental bombing of non combatants (dumb bombs) and the loss of an aircrew is always a negative. As UAV's advance I think I can predict that carriers won't go away but instead of having around 100 manned strike and support aircraft, you can have 300+ UAV's and a small squadron of manned rescue and support aircraft. Instead of hundreds of maintenance guys, you have maybe 100 per squadron and a larger number of UAV pilots.
Semper Fi. Served in the Marine Corps myself 1977 to 1983, MCAS Cherry Point home base two west-pac deployments '79-'80 and '81-'82. MOS-6013, A6E plane captin VMA-(AW)-533.
An amazing aircraft,and to me at least, a beautiful looking one. And a fantastic museum that I was lucky enough to visit, over several days. Well worth the 5000 mile hike to get there!
I was an IMA avionics tech for the A6. I was with VMA-AW-533 from '78-'82. It's good to see Intruder the respect that it deserves. Fantastic bird! Semper Fi !!
I spoke yesterday with another retired USMC COL who flew both the A-4 and A-6. He stated that it was a mistake not to build the A-6F and in his opinion, the A-6 should still be in service because of its' range and load carrying ability. Another time I spoke with a retired USN CAPT who stated that the A-6 could not have been more efficient even if it had been designed on computer, which of course came much later.
I agree. Worked on A-6Es with VMA(AW)-242 from1987 to 1991. Right as I was getting out, the Marine Corps was transitioning to the F-18D and had a fraction of the capabilities of the A-6.
Was an AQ in VA-42 late 80's.... and much like the movie... we used to kick the rotary driven B/N's 'compuer' to get it working. Wonderful beast though!
Excellent interview and story of the mighty A-6 and its system. Now, it does really pay to have an expert/veteran pilot or navigator explain the aircraft and its system. Excellent format. Please keep it up.
Nice to see that beautiful old bird. I was a Navy parachute rigger from 1974 to 1978 packed parachutes for the A6 A4 and F4. It was awful fun to sit in the cockpit of those beautiful old planes.
On the A-6 it had the flaperon, and on the S-2 we had spoilers. Turn the yoke to the left and both kill some of the lift on the left wind and the aircraft turns. We lost a bit of altitude on the S-2, I would imagine you lost a bit with the A-6 as well. But boy is the aircraft maneuverable. Good old Grumman Iron Works.
I worked avionics on A-6E SWIP Intruders and KA-6D tankers for VA-75 Sunday Punchers back in day. Yes, they were amazing as they were ugly. Regarding kicking things to fix them, there is truth in that. Many of the avionics systems consisted of boxes of electronics (connected by clusters of cables) and inside the boxes they had circuit boards plugged into main boards. The boards could come loose after bench-level repair (AIMD) during shipping and storage. On the plane, when systems had problems, these boxes could be removed from the aircraft and gently pounded on the deck or tarmac reseatting the boards and fixing the problem. So, yes, confirmed. Sometimes things could be fixed with a vertical impact procedure. That said, we did it mostly when the bird was in the hangar being worked on. Rarely if ever did we have to do it on the catapult.
Secondary confirmation: There was this one box in the nose wheel well that was installed in such a way where the boards would shimmy out of the main board because it was installed, by design, upside down! Forgot the acronym for that one but you might. You forgot kick-checking the A/D converter, I had that one work a couple of times. I'm sure AIMD wondered where all those boot marks came from. So yeah it could sometimes be fixed with a hammer. Was in VA-65 from 89-92, just down the street from you.
Great video on the A-6, one of the best aircraft ever designed. Having been to the Naval Aviation Museum many times, I can honestly say it is one of the best aviation museums in the world. By the way, the cafe is awesome with great food and decorations.
I'm from Nebraska and have always loved aviation. The A-6 has always just jumped out at me as one of my favorites... Like you said at the beginning of your wonderful presentation, some may think ugh... this thing is ugly!! (everyone is entitled to their opinion), But I've always thought this this in BEAUTIFUL. My dad was a mechanic for the F4-Phantom for the Nebraska Air National Guard in the early 70's. I think my timing is correct... so ever since I was born we always went to Airshows in Lincoln Nebraska, and of coarse Offutt AFB, better known as SAC. My Aunt also was the secretary to a few Base commanders for the NE Air Guard and in summers when there was no school, id stay with her and my Uncle Richard Luebbe, who had the chance to be a pilot for several aircraft such as F-86, F-102,RF-84, and the RF-4 Totally 6,000 flight hours... his fishing cabin had pictures down the length of the hallway of these planes, which I always would just walk up and down looking at these BEAUTIFUL planes.. I wish he was still alive today, I think about him all the time, and trust me when I say, Uncle Richard would love these presentations you guys do, and so do I, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. And thanks for the trip back in time. sorry for the novel here, but this is so special in my heart.
I was an A-6A Plane Captain from '66 to '69 in VMA-225 and VMA-224. When I first saw the A-6 I thought it was the ugliest thing I'd ever seen as I looked out over what became my flight line. It grew on me. As a Plane Captain in an all weather squadron I can tell that when they said All Weather; they meant it! We flew in everything except hurricanes! Which also meant I was out in it. I actually loved the job. I took great pride in the job and what I did. It was a different kind of relationship with the officers than most people in the military have. It was a day to day working relationship with a lot of mutual respect. I will tell you; apropos of nothing; that I categorically refuse to watch "Top Gun".
That means you are a pussy and the least you can do is mouth and whine like a bitch and not protesting that the gov’t is finding an excuse in taking away your rights from going back there, dimwit!!!!!
AN/APQ 148/156 TRAM are the RADAR nomenclatures for the A6E variants. I started working at Norden in 79 as a test technician troubleshooting and testing these Radars for the Navy. Great presentation, the RADAR also had a terrain following mode, enabling knap of the Earth flying,, set the altitude and follow the steering points to the target!
Guilty. I'm already a big fan of their Tomcat module, and since the official announcement I've been making an honest effort to learn more about the plane. The Intruder's low level, all-weather capability, as well as the multi-crew feature will scratch a seriously needed itch in DCS. Even though Heatblur has stated that it's still too early to name a variant, I'm hoping we get more than one, like their F-14. In particular, a 1990s SWIP upgraded jet would be nice since that would give us access to more modern toys like Mavericks and HARMS. Only time will tell.
The A-6 is a very versatile aircraft. the presentation given by someone who knows the A-6 well. Great job LtCol Geil. My real interest is that funny looking plane hanging above the A-6's right wing, the OV-10. From what little I have been able to find out, it is aircraft # 155472. If so, I worked on that OV-10. I hope that you can do a bit of a presentation on this aircraft and its mates, assigned to VaL-4. I worked on this very aircraft during the work up to VAL-4 when at VS-41. In actuality I was one of the first 5 AO's to be trained and work on NAVY OV-10's. Great video ;-)
I made 2 WestPac/Vietnam cruises in USS Ranger. We had the A-6 Intruders on both cruises. On my 1st cruise we also had the A-4 Skyhawk and that was replaced by the A-7 Corsair II on my 2nd cruise. Ranger had some sponsons on either side of the ship forward of the elevator doors. The port side, where the aircraft came from the waist cats was a cool place, albeit very noisy. Being on that sponson and watching the A-6s and A-7s launch with full loads under their wings was quite a sight. Although Jerry didn't mention it, the Intruder had a refueling probe right in front and center of the windscreen. This allowed the planes to take off with a maximum load, tank right away to have full tanks, and fly a longer mission. I was told everything in that bulbous nose cost about $5,000,000 in 1968. BTW, I always thought the Intruder/Growler looked like a pregnant guppy.
If that bird has the BUNO-155610 it was in VA-65 between 1972-1976 when I was in the squadron. You ought to paint her in the colors she had back then. Even the Grumman magazine “Intruder News” said Va-65 had the best looking paint scheme in the fleet.
Hi. I'm in the UK. Thanks Colonel. Great and fascinating talk. During desert storm UK did laser guided attacks using jaguar sepecat as the laser designator aircraft and Tornado fighter bomber to deliver the weapon. If only we had something like the A6 would have been so much easier and far less risk.
Hi Greg I'm in the UK too. Think you're mistaking that Jag for the Buccaneer - an aircraft made for almost the same role as the A6. A truly brilliant aeroplane but how does it compare to the A6? Interesting discussion.
@@danwelch Hi Dan. Yes my mistake was the buccaneer as designator. I was just thinking that with the A6 the mission could have been easier as the A6 could paint the target and drop ordnance on its own.
I had a front row seat at NAS Fallon in Feb 87 where we watched A6’s, A7’s, and F/A-18’s bomb targets that we were marking. We, meaning 2 sections of 105 howitzers who’s mission was to shoot WP and Illum rounds on targets designated by the Ground FAC / FO. We were set in where we could actually see the targets in the impact area. And out of all the aircraft the A6 had the best accuracy.
Yep! Full length flaps just like the JU87 Still my friend😁oh, and I was stationed in West Berlin in the early 80's and had rotated back to the States about 6 weeks before the Disco club bombing. I think I actually visited the place once, wasn't far from the Main Px area and BBDE headquarters. Was walking distance I believe
The Intruders airframe was billited from a single chunk of aluminum. The reason why it could carry 12 500lb bombs, one 3000lb (belly) and all of the air to air and air to surface missles. Plus rounds for getting everyone else's attention!
Thank you for sharing! Very nice... Would be great to hear a bit about the station wagon variant - the Prowler as well... Since there is still a 13yo inside of me - "from chair pilot", I say this one is a must at least in DCS! xD
I worked on A6's and EA6B'Ss stationed at Whidbey from 1984 - 2003 in different squadrons. I was "O" Level the entire time. This brings back a lot of memories. Same for VAQ-134's JOPA car. I remember when they first got it. I am surprised it made cross country. Great artifact to have.
One of my beast friends in college flew the intruder out of AOCS. He had over 300 traps and flew Desert Storm. Today he is one of the head civilians for the Navy Pacific Air Command.
My grandpa used to fly the A-6, he never got into dog fights luckily. He is still alive And healthy. He gave me a model A-6 and I still have it, the stick on the front broke off though.
The canopy has a slight dip in the top middle. So when it has water on it and you open the canopy the water drains all over the center console. For some strange reason the electronics doesn't like water.
I heard these were very lively after dropping the full payload. IE you suddenly reduce your loading by say 9000 pounds and you have already burned say 1000 pounds+ of fuel. One guy said it flew like a hawker hunter after losing that weight.
@@FlyingDutchmanPodcast Steel Beach makes the conversion set that I used. I found the antenna in the set was bent, so I used a photoetched one instead and I added a short piece of brass tubing to the back of the drogue unit as the basket sets recessed when retracted.
![Twenty One Pilots - “The Line” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E2Rj2gQAyPA/mqdefault.jpg)
I had an uncle that flew the A6 in Viet Nam. He was shot down in August of '72 when I was only 3 months old, so I never got to meet him. RIP Lt CMDR Roderick B. Lester, and his BN, Lt Harry S Mossman.
i joined the A-6 community in Dec 1963 with VMA 242 and when I retired from VMA 332 in Dec 1981 I was still working on them. The best aircraft that was built for the military.
The best museum I've ever been to. A must see for aviation fans. It's free, and it's a great family day attraction
Which museum is this?
@@johntack1049 The National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola Florida USA. The video here takes place there. Its a wonderful for a aviation enthusiasts. or any fan of airplanes and/or museums!
I was in VA-165 the boomers.out of Whidbey island Wa. I was a AMH. From 86-90. And our squadron did all the filming scenes for the movie. Flight of the intruder. Bombing scenes, we flew out of Savannah, Ga.a old army base.14 days there. And the jungle scene we flew out of Hawaii. 21 days there. And carrier scene off the coast of California. Miramar.. 7 days. And Danny Glover and william dafoe came and flew w us. For a day. Our squadron won the McCluskey award as the best squadron in all branches of the military. For a A-6 squadron to do that considering the airplane was 30 yrs old. Was crazy. Alot of hard work. We never missed a flight on workup or on cruise. .
Too cool
Bill "Otis" Shurtleff and "Too Tall" Indorff
I was on the USS Ranger from '84-'88. This was my favorite plane on the ship. The guys that flew them loved it. Nothing out there that can do what it did as well as it did. Shout out to VA-145 and VMA-121.
The Ranger and Midway went to Iraq in 91. CVW-2 was an "all Grumman" wing with Tomcats and Intruders and CVW-5 had Legacy Hornets and Intruders
Semper Fi. Member of VMA-AW-533 with the A6E. Went to Yuma a couple if time fir Red Flag exercises. Our Intruders were the incoming bombing force that USAF had to defend against. In one the engagements our CO who was BN, his aircraft that day shot down an F15. When landed the metal shop guys were on hand and immediately painted a little red F15 kill mark on the plane. Proud moment.
But of course no one ever mentioned how many of our planes got shot down throughout the whole exercise. F15 were a fairly new aircraft then. With USAF fighter jocks bragging to our crews about their new aircraft and what it could do.
Sorry got a little long winded here.
Thank you for the lecture. Nice work on the presentation. I learned a lot. Much respect for the folks that maintained the aircraft, and the crews that flew her.
I used to be a jet fanatic as a kid. I have forgotten a lot of all that I read back then, but "Flight of the Intruder"-- I found the paperback in a used bookstore at about age 11, and must have read that thing a thousand times cover to cover.
I never thought this jet looked ugly, just interesting and mean. Same with the A-10.
We really need an Intruder in DCS simulator.. as I learn to fly the A-10 on it, it would be his perfect naval counterpart :)
That was a movie. Truth is a6 was an underpowered hunk of shit. Look up its survival rate it was a death trap.
@@vicoschangoku609 Heatblur is making the A-6. It’ll be a few years before it arrives, though.
The A-7 will likely release sooner, and that’s an equally unique and powerful aircraft.
Thank you colonel. The A-6 may be gone but is certainly not forgotten. I used to live under the approach pattern to Oceana and an A-6 on final would put a hold on all conversations- ooo-weee-ooo-weee! They were low enough that we could see the flight crew. Later in life I worked on the A-6 at NADEP Norfolk over in flight test and for a combat aircraft it was fairly mech-friendly; it's hard not to love such an ugly duckling! Semper Fi!
Finally youtube a close up video of the BEST the Intruder. Thank you to the people who made this.
COL Geil you are a rock star! Thank you for your service & great presentation.
I worked on A-6s for 8 years back in the 80s and 90's. It was a fantastic airplane, brutally tough, relatively easy to work on and mission capable.
Great video, much appreciated. Underrated plane and not ugly at all. Its Millenium Falcon Ugly
I was assigned to Atkron (VA 34) Thirty Four from 1984 to 1987 at NAS Oceana. I worked at the organizational level as an Aviation Fire Control technician and at the intermediate level (AIMD) on the TRAM Hughes DRS (FLIR) system to 1991. Great time and fantastic experience working on the A-6E Intruder.
Blue Blasters. Took Intruders to the Gulf of Sidra during the 80s and was the last Legacy Hornet team ever
Great guy, good speaker, pleasure to watch and very informative. Thanks 🇬🇧👍
This really brings back a lot of memories. I was a Marine avionics tech in a SACE shop at MCAS El Toro in 1970 to 1972 where we supported a squadron of A6-Bs. My specialty was the memory drum ( forward ped unit) that the pilot mentioned. What a beast that was to repair. Got sent to Nam Phong, Thailand with 9 months to go and worked at a SACE shop there before getting discharged. Always loved those ugly A6’s.
"Fighter pilots make movies, bomber pilots make history." - Flight of the Intruder
Book was excellent. The movie was superb. The shots of the aircraft were awesome! LT Grafton's dance moves; not so impressive!
They filmed it on the Indy when I was ships company. The book was much better than the movie.
@Scott Murphy It can't be as bad as how F-16 pilots felt after watching "Iron Eagle". 😁
@Scott Murphy Lawn dart pilots. Haha
Well I mean Fighters are technically just enablers and a support mission until they added the attack role. But still who ever decided to replace the A-6 with F/A-18 was insane you can’t carry anywhere near this amount of weapons. The air force they buy planes based on looks and are obsessed with Air-Air glorification. That’s why they named the f-111 and 117 with F designation. Like the A-10 they’ve tried to kill it before it was introduced into service. The rescue pave hawks those poor guys have flee med Evacs non stop in old outdated aircraft. The army has went three 3 models and they’ve been stuck one the same one. Just now they are getting the whiskey model. And it’s because the air force wanted to blow money on stealth fighters when they haven’t had an air to air engagement in over 20yrs. The normal common sense thing is buy what your actually needing right now but they don’t do that. They just spend money on crap before we need it then other countries build a counter to it. The navy ive always said thet but planes based on function and the air force buys planes based on looks. They can’t go a day without trying to glorify air to air and treat the bomber guys like they are useless. When bombers are the mission and the fighter role is just a support mission. We’ve used the f-22 on 1-2 missions into Syria that’s it. They will try and say it prevents wars. But the nuclear icbms is what prevents wars. They know Americans are dumb and will buy anything they sell. That’s just an excuse to spend a ton of money on crap we won’t use. The reality is soviets and now Russia they don’t want war that’s why they spend all the money on defensive weapons when we spend money on offensive weapons. Alll you gotta do is look at how many wars we’ve been involved with the last 80yr and look at Russia how many countries they’ve just attacked and it explains why 9/11 we got attacked. We stuck our nose where it didn’t belong and they finally had enough of it
I was at TBS with an air contract. In 1977 Pensacola was backed up months. At the time I wanted to stay as a reserve office so I dropped my contract and went ground. To this day the A6 is my favorite plane. As an aside I am moving from California to Pensacola to be with many of my old MC buddies.
Worked on that plane and its' systems my entire Navy career. Sometimes it was a pain to work on BUT it was better at the job it was supposed to do, than anything going today
in your opinion, could the A-6 still hold its own in contemporary ops?
@@casey9439 If the Navy had gone with the A-6F, or probably G by now, no doubt it could. I could only imagine the potential in avionics and modern weapons control available now, surgical strikes would be down to the inch. For those of us who worked with the A-6 and saw all of those Russian vehicles parked in a nice straight line, 2 to 3 A-6's, 20 Mk-82's each............yummy!
There are a lot of systems that Colonel didn't talk about that are not generally known (and may still be classified) that I can't imagine where we would be on those. Remember that the computing power in your smart phone VASTLY outruns even the best we had in the E at the time. The closest active competitor may be the A-10. They don't have the total capacity, but they at least had a gun! LOL!
But, the mission is changing and the need for aircraft to carry a large number weapons is almost to an end. All of the weapons the Intruder carried, and many more, can be carried by UAV platforms. True, not in the numbers, but smart weapons rule the roost now and in the big picture, probably for the better. Less chance of accidental bombing of non combatants (dumb bombs) and the loss of an aircrew is always a negative.
As UAV's advance I think I can predict that carriers won't go away but instead of having around 100 manned strike and support aircraft, you can have 300+ UAV's and a small squadron of manned rescue and support aircraft. Instead of hundreds of maintenance guys, you have maybe 100 per squadron and a larger number of UAV pilots.
My sim instructor for the 747 flew A-6s in the Marines. My dad was with an A-6 squadron in the Navy.
I used to be a 7583 from 1978 to 1981. Last squadron was VMA 224, “Fightin’ Bengals”.
What job specialty is that?
@@johnthomas2485 a B/N
I worked on the APQ-148 at HMS 14 Semper Fi Bro!!
I was a P/C in 224 in '68 and '69
VMFA AW 224 Bengals
"Whiskey Kilo"
One of the unique design, function over look
Semper Fi. Served in the Marine Corps myself 1977 to 1983, MCAS Cherry Point home base two west-pac deployments '79-'80 and '81-'82. MOS-6013, A6E plane captin VMA-(AW)-533.
An amazing aircraft,and to me at least, a beautiful looking one. And a fantastic museum that I was lucky enough to visit, over several days. Well worth the 5000 mile hike to get there!
Great Aircraft with a long impressive history. My retired Navy salute to the A6 and the EA6-B. Retired ADCS with 21 years active duty.
I was an IMA avionics tech for the A6. I was with VMA-AW-533 from '78-'82. It's good to see Intruder the respect that it deserves. Fantastic bird! Semper Fi !!
533 Hawks- In Hoc Signo Vinces
I was with VMA-AW-533, from 77-83, Plane captain, flight line shack. CO was Maj- Carr
I spoke yesterday with another retired USMC COL who flew both the A-4 and A-6. He stated that it was a mistake not to build the A-6F and in his opinion, the A-6 should still be in service because of its' range and load carrying ability.
Another time I spoke with a retired USN CAPT who stated that the A-6 could not have been more efficient even if it had been designed on computer, which of course came much later.
I agree. Worked on A-6Es with VMA(AW)-242 from1987 to 1991. Right as I was getting out, the Marine Corps was transitioning to the F-18D and had a fraction of the capabilities of the A-6.
Beautiful aircraft
Thank you for your service.
The A-6 is great a great cool jet, but my personal favorite is the A-1E Skyraider!!!!😃
It was an awesome workhorse. And a very worthy adversary.
I think that the A6 is one of the coolest looking aircraft ever
The first time I saw one of those was on Slide Mountain in NY as it flew past my boy scout troop. Awesome!
Was an AQ in VA-42 late 80's.... and much like the movie... we used to kick the rotary driven B/N's 'compuer' to get it working. Wonderful beast though!
THE BEST LOOKING PLANE EVER, BUT MEAN LOOKING, TOTAL BAD ASS!
GREAT PRESENTATION!
I always liked the A-6, I thought she was a good looking aircraft. She did what was asked of her and looked good doing it!
I remember in the 90s when the A-6's screaming overhead would set off every car alarm in the parking lot of the Lynnwood mall in Virginia Beach.
Excellent interview and story of the mighty A-6 and its system. Now, it does really pay to have an expert/veteran pilot or navigator explain the aircraft and its system. Excellent format. Please keep it up.
Nice to see that beautiful old bird. I was a Navy parachute rigger from 1974 to 1978 packed parachutes for the A6 A4 and F4. It was awful fun to sit in the cockpit of those beautiful old planes.
On the A-6 it had the flaperon, and on the S-2 we had spoilers. Turn the yoke to the left and both kill some of the lift on the left wind and the aircraft turns. We lost a bit of altitude on the S-2, I would imagine you lost a bit with the A-6 as well. But boy is the aircraft maneuverable.
Good old Grumman Iron Works.
Cool vid! ...I like movie Flight of the Intruder. ✈️
I worked avionics on A-6E SWIP Intruders and KA-6D tankers for VA-75 Sunday Punchers back in day. Yes, they were amazing as they were ugly. Regarding kicking things to fix them, there is truth in that. Many of the avionics systems consisted of boxes of electronics (connected by clusters of cables) and inside the boxes they had circuit boards plugged into main boards. The boards could come loose after bench-level repair (AIMD) during shipping and storage. On the plane, when systems had problems, these boxes could be removed from the aircraft and gently pounded on the deck or tarmac reseatting the boards and fixing the problem. So, yes, confirmed. Sometimes things could be fixed with a vertical impact procedure. That said, we did it mostly when the bird was in the hangar being worked on. Rarely if ever did we have to do it on the catapult.
Secondary confirmation: There was this one box in the nose wheel well that was installed in such a way where the boards would shimmy out of the main board because it was installed, by design, upside down! Forgot the acronym for that one but you might. You forgot kick-checking the A/D converter, I had that one work a couple of times. I'm sure AIMD wondered where all those boot marks came from. So yeah it could sometimes be fixed with a hammer.
Was in VA-65 from 89-92, just down the street from you.
The VDI was 70 pounds so Jesus forbid that it falls out during launch
Great video on the A-6, one of the best aircraft ever designed. Having been to the Naval Aviation Museum many times, I can honestly say it is one of the best aviation museums in the world. By the way, the cafe is awesome with great food and decorations.
Very informative! Thank you.
Very good presentation. I was an AMS with VA-115 on the Midway
use to work on these beautiful birds in the Marines for VMA(AW)-242 as ComNav. Brings back some wonderful memories. Bravo Zulu. Nicely done!
I'm from Nebraska and have always loved aviation. The A-6 has always just jumped out at me as one of my favorites... Like you said at the beginning of your wonderful presentation, some may think ugh... this thing is ugly!! (everyone is entitled to their opinion), But I've always thought this this in BEAUTIFUL. My dad was a mechanic for the F4-Phantom for the Nebraska Air National Guard in the early 70's. I think my timing is correct... so ever since I was born we always went to Airshows in Lincoln Nebraska, and of coarse Offutt AFB, better known as SAC. My Aunt also was the secretary to a few Base commanders for the NE Air Guard and in summers when there was no school, id stay with her and my Uncle Richard Luebbe, who had the chance to be a pilot for several aircraft such as F-86, F-102,RF-84, and the RF-4 Totally 6,000 flight hours... his fishing cabin had pictures down the length of the hallway of these planes, which I always would just walk up and down looking at these BEAUTIFUL planes..
I wish he was still alive today, I think about him all the time, and trust me when I say, Uncle Richard would love these presentations you guys do, and so do I, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. And thanks for the trip back in time. sorry for the novel here, but this is so special in my heart.
thank you Heatblur Simulations
I was an A-6A Plane Captain from '66 to '69 in VMA-225 and VMA-224. When I first saw the A-6 I thought it was the ugliest thing I'd ever seen as I looked out over what became my flight line. It grew on me. As a Plane Captain in an all weather squadron I can tell that when they said All Weather; they meant it! We flew in everything except hurricanes! Which also meant I was out in it. I actually loved the job. I took great pride in the job and what I did. It was a different kind of relationship with the officers than most people in the military have. It was a day to day working relationship with a lot of mutual respect. I will tell you; apropos of nothing; that I categorically refuse to watch "Top Gun".
VMA-(AW)-533, Plane captain from 77 to 83.
Semper Fi
@@bobrivett7645 I salute you. Your Squadron was at Cherry Point the same time I was. I actually knew people in your outfit. Glad to hear from you.
I’ve been to the museum numerous times and love it. I’m very disappointed that it’s no longer open to the public.
That means you are a pussy and the least you can do is mouth and whine like a bitch and not protesting that the gov’t is finding an excuse in taking away your rights from going back there, dimwit!!!!!
love this bird. worked on them.VA-55 WARHORSES CV43
Coral Sea! They got some of the first Legacy Hornets and they got to use them against a real enemy
AN/APQ 148/156 TRAM are the RADAR nomenclatures for the A6E variants. I started working at Norden in 79 as a test technician troubleshooting and testing these Radars for the Navy. Great presentation, the RADAR also had a terrain following mode, enabling knap of the Earth flying,, set the altitude and follow the steering points to the target!
Truly amazing museum, well worth a Pensacola trip.
My favorite plane of all time, absolutely love the A-6
What an awesome guy. I love how as soon as he was back in his old seat in the cockpit he was like ‘nah I don’t need my notes anymore...’
Who else is here watching this after DCS Heatblur Announcement and video??
Guilty.
I'm already a big fan of their Tomcat module, and since the official announcement I've been making an honest effort to learn more about the plane. The Intruder's low level, all-weather capability, as well as the multi-crew feature will scratch a seriously needed itch in DCS.
Even though Heatblur has stated that it's still too early to name a variant, I'm hoping we get more than one, like their F-14. In particular, a 1990s SWIP upgraded jet would be nice since that would give us access to more modern toys like Mavericks and HARMS. Only time will tell.
Yup.
after watching this I cant wait
The A-6 is a very versatile aircraft. the presentation given by someone who knows the A-6 well. Great job LtCol Geil.
My real interest is that funny looking plane hanging above the A-6's right wing, the OV-10. From what little I have been able to find out, it is aircraft # 155472. If so, I worked on that OV-10. I hope that you can do a bit of a presentation on this aircraft and its mates, assigned to VaL-4.
I worked on this very aircraft during the work up to VAL-4 when at VS-41. In actuality I was one of the first 5 AO's to be trained and work on NAVY OV-10's.
Great video ;-)
Best Jet I worked on
I made 2 WestPac/Vietnam cruises in USS Ranger. We had the A-6 Intruders on both cruises. On my 1st cruise we also had the A-4 Skyhawk and that was replaced by the A-7 Corsair II on my 2nd cruise. Ranger had some sponsons on either side of the ship forward of the elevator doors. The port side, where the aircraft came from the waist cats was a cool place, albeit very noisy. Being on that sponson and watching the A-6s and A-7s launch with full loads under their wings was quite a sight. Although Jerry didn't mention it, the Intruder had a refueling probe right in front and center of the windscreen. This allowed the planes to take off with a maximum load, tank right away to have full tanks, and fly a longer mission. I was told everything in that bulbous nose cost about $5,000,000 in 1968. BTW, I always thought the Intruder/Growler looked like a pregnant guppy.
My favorite plane
If you saw the movie "Flight of the Intruder" there was a scene where Willem Defoe was kicking that mechanical computer during the raid on Sam City...
Oh groovy another Hollyweird war hero. Deal in reality ace.
@@martindavis9930 Doesn't mean it wasn't necessarily based on fact. I have no clue if it was or wasn't. But that was a B Prowler model.
True, it was called DIANE.(DIGITAL INTERGRATED AIR NAVEGATION EQUIP.
Damn rotary drum computer
❤
If that bird has the BUNO-155610 it was in VA-65 between 1972-1976 when I was in the squadron. You ought to paint her in the colors she had back then. Even the Grumman magazine “Intruder News” said Va-65 had the best looking paint scheme in the fleet.
I wonder when was this video recorded originaly. Otherwise I'm a bit surprised that it has been uploaded to youtube in 2020 in 360p.
Hi. I'm in the UK. Thanks Colonel. Great and fascinating talk. During desert storm UK did laser guided attacks using jaguar sepecat as the laser designator aircraft and Tornado fighter bomber to deliver the weapon. If only we had something like the A6 would have been so much easier and far less risk.
Hi Greg I'm in the UK too. Think you're mistaking that Jag for the Buccaneer - an aircraft made for almost the same role as the A6. A truly brilliant aeroplane but how does it compare to the A6? Interesting discussion.
@@danwelch Hi Dan. Yes my mistake was the buccaneer as designator. I was just thinking that with the A6 the mission could have been easier as the A6 could paint the target and drop ordnance on its own.
Of course my favourite plane is backkkk
This bird was my baby. ALQ-99/APS-130 and APQ-148/156 tech
I was hoping LtCol Geil would discuss the infamous raid on “SAM City” and the effectiveness of the Intruder when her aircrew took her “Downtown“ …..
How about a tour of that squadron Cadillac? The facts and lore would be very entertaining.
also love the av-8 harrier above it
I had a front row seat at NAS Fallon in Feb 87 where we watched A6’s, A7’s, and F/A-18’s bomb targets that we were marking. We, meaning 2 sections of 105 howitzers who’s mission was to shoot WP and Illum rounds on targets designated by the Ground FAC / FO. We were set in where we could actually see the targets in the impact area. And out of all the aircraft the A6 had the best accuracy.
I need an A-6 cockpit like that, on my basement. 😂
That cockpit was made by paramount picture. For the movie. And was on the movie set.
@@robbj938 Loved Flight of thr Intruder.
I also need one, for dcs😂
Yea where can a person buy a military cockpit
A-6 intruder Forever !
VA-65 Airframes And QA 1988-1992...USS Coral Sea, USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT and USS ABRAHAM Lincoln shake down....it's a BEAST!!🍻🍻🍻🍻
I love it. I am working on a new painting of the A-6 VA-196 USS Ranger 1969
Thanks Colonel.
Yep! Full length flaps just like the JU87 Still my friend😁oh, and I was stationed in West Berlin in the early 80's and had rotated back to the States about 6 weeks before the Disco club bombing. I think I actually visited the place once, wasn't far from the Main Px area and BBDE headquarters. Was walking distance I believe
Can we talk about that sweet Lincoln in the background too?
The Intruders airframe was billited from a single chunk of aluminum. The reason why it could carry 12 500lb bombs, one 3000lb (belly) and all of the air to air and air to surface missles. Plus rounds for getting everyone else's attention!
The thing could carry seven and a half tons of ordinance. One plane. Just amazing.
Great video. Fantastic plane
Thank you for sharing!
Very nice... Would be great to hear a bit about the station wagon variant - the Prowler as well...
Since there is still a 13yo inside of me - "from chair pilot", I say this one is a must at least in DCS! xD
Spotted one of my command insignia on the bulkhead, VA-52. Very cool. Then you moved around the side here was another VA-196.
I prefer function over form. The A6 and A10 are beautiful in their design of pure function.
I worked on A6's and EA6B'Ss stationed at Whidbey from 1984 - 2003 in different squadrons. I was "O" Level the entire time. This brings back a lot of memories. Same for VAQ-134's JOPA car. I remember when they first got it. I am surprised it made cross country. Great artifact to have.
Were you ever in VA-95?
@@Offthedeepend67Yes. 84 -87
Was he in spaceballs and honey! I shrink kids?
One of my beast friends in college flew the intruder out of AOCS. He had over 300 traps and flew Desert Storm. Today he is one of the head civilians for the Navy Pacific Air Command.
My grandpa used to fly the A-6, he never got into dog fights luckily. He is still alive And healthy. He gave me a model A-6 and I still have it, the stick on the front broke off though.
The "stick" would be the air refueling probe.
@@raisingcaine5480 yeah I know that now, I didn’t know what it was before now.
At-2 flight deck trouble-shooter in VA-52, WHEN WE MINED Hyphong Harbor.
The canopy has a slight dip in the top middle. So when it has water on it and you open the canopy the water drains all over the center console. For some strange reason the electronics doesn't like water.
That wing, Lawerence Mead Jr. Later also adapted that wing for the F-14 Tomcat!
The A-6 was actually quite manueverable as it had anhedral (downward angle from fuselage).
I heard these were very lively after dropping the full payload. IE you suddenly reduce your loading by say 9000 pounds and you have already burned say 1000 pounds+ of fuel. One guy said it flew like a hawker hunter after losing that weight.
This guy is good
that's no ugly. that's classic exotic
I love this A-6 reminds me of my former life and former self in the US Navy on board the USS Ranger CV-61, V-3 91-93 last ride.
My dad is a plank owner on CV61.
@@michaelbooher339 That is cool.
360p?! C'mon, it's the year 2020...
I enjoyed watching these planes conducting flight ops on my carriers back in the day! I am currently converting a 1/48 scale A-6A into a KA-6D.
Where did you get the conversation kit?
@@FlyingDutchmanPodcast Steel Beach makes the conversion set that I used. I found the antenna in the set was bent, so I used a photoetched one instead and I added a short piece of brass tubing to the back of the drogue unit as the basket sets recessed when retracted.
A6 Intruder.......i still read Flight of the Intruder to this day and have been since elementary school
This was great. Thanks !
Last duty station? VA-42, A-6 RAG. Been up close and personal.
Loved loading ordnance on this jet...
Ugliest aircraft? In my opinion it’s the most beautiful and my personal favorite