A-4 Skyhawk | A living legend

The A-4 has been in service for more than 65 years and is still going strong! This video gives tells the story of this remarkable aircraft and shows some of its quirks and features.
Attributions:
- 32FTS Aviation: • [4K] A-4N SKYHAWKS Sta...
- Xrm150: • The BEST A-4 Skyhawk C...
- Douglas Aircraft Company, US Navy and US Marine Corps.
Follow me on Facebook: / 1140864699685560
Support me: www.paypal.com/paypalme/MagnarN

[@kennethmartin1300]

VERY Cool!! This could be the ultimate, consummate, be-all, go-to vid for the Skyhawk. LOTS of stuff I did not know (and this is my favorite airplane!!). Comment section great also - lots of appreciative and gracious comments (I scanned a bunch before the vid to preview accuracy/content and leaped right in after just a few).

[@dragonmeddler2152]

My squadron flew the A-4E and F Skyhawk models during my 4 year Navy enlistment (1966-70). During that period, we endured 3 eight month cruises to SE Asia, but now, over 50 years later, I remember it as the time of my life! Our little scooters were (mostly) bullet proof and could easily withstand the impatience and occasional imperfect and rough treatment meted out through our 19 YO hands. Her thick, spacious Douglass delta wings also made a great spot to get horizontal when we had time. AO2, USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) & USS Oriskany (CVA-34), VA-192 Golden Dragons.

[@HandFromCoffin]

Seaman Dragon.. why does it take you all day to do a wing box check?

[@michaelmcgilbery1922]

You guys ever have a problem snapping Wings off? War-thunder seems to have modeled the Wing on the thing like papermache.

[@philodonoghue3062]

The Royal Zealand Air Force had A4 Skyhawks as its strike force for over 20 years. It was used in joint air-naval exercises as Red force as anti-ship force eg against the RAN and virtually always got through the defences. It was professionally flown and superbly maintained well beyond its anticipated service longevity. It was updated with replacement air frames as required. It was further massively upgraded with avionics comparable to F-15 and F-16 etc. It was disbanded by the fifth Labour government in the 80s in the teeth of widespread vehement public and expert opposition. They ended up being put up for sale on the global market but we’re mothballed as the US Government vetoed their sale as it did want the sophisticated avionics falling into adversaries’ hands. The RNZAF actually flew a flight from New Zealand via Hawaii without landing using airborne refuelling. The best ever video of Skyhawks is the last flight of the squadron the length of New Zealand 🇳🇿 a distance of well over a thousand miles including criss crossing towns and cities. Not few tears were shed, but many - and not just by air and ground crew. In effect, that Labour Party government and especially its Defence Minister Hodgson succeeded in doing what the Luftwaffe and Imperial Army and Navy Air Forces failed to do - the destruction of one of the finest air strike forces in the world. Some of the Skyhawks were eventually sold to the Draken private air force. The Draken Skyhawk shown in this video the Kiwi symbol can be seen on the fuselage air brake flap.

[@05thampton]

Great documentary on the A-4! I could smell the burnt fuel wafting into the back seat of our TA-4J's open cockpit, hot sun cooking the sweaty leather on the Nomex gloves as we taxied out of the VA-127 flight line to fly chase for a practice nuclear nav student. Think 500kt 50 feet off the sagebrush. This vid brought it all back in a rush though it was almost 50 years ago. Damn.

[@mike30534]

In the 1960s, when Dobbins AFB and NAS in Marietta, GA had the A-4s in their inventories, my home on our family farm was under their training flight path. It was absolutely incredible to watch them come over just a few hundred feet off the ground. Despite their speed, I could clearly make out the pilots at the controls and the colors on their helmets. In elementary school the A-4s and other jets would continue from our farm straight over my classroom, still only a few hundred feet off the ground. Many years later, while talking to a pilot from that era, he said, "So that was your school we were bombing? I always wondered how it looked and sounded from the ground. I had a camera rolling and could move on to my next phase of training when I had a certain number of bombs hitting that school." I was able to tell him the sound was deafening and the glass in all the windows rattled and shook violently. Even though it disrupted class for several minutes, I couldn't wait for the next A-4 Skyhawk to come over!

[@billjohnson9452]

A friend of mine was shot down over Vietnam in one of these. He lived to tell the tale. He was a fairly big man, and I always wondered how he fit into that little bitty airplane.

[@stevemccarty6384]

The Scooting was tiny and you had to squeeze into it. In cold weather they made us wear the winter flight suit which we call the Poopy Suit and we hated it. It was extremely bulky so much so that we had to reach in and turn on things before we crawled into it. Miserable. They told us that if we went into the water while wearing the Poopy Suite that we'd survive for a little longer. I figured that the suit would just take us longer to die and prolong the misery.

[@lookronjon]

A friend of my families was shot down in one. He was out one day driving the USS America and it was one of those days that he went on a mission. It didn’t end well. He spent the rest of the war as a guest in their Hilton. He’s the real Maverick. Byron Fuller.

[@clintfalk]

The USN wanted to replace the Skyraider. However, the Skyraider wound up being irreplaceable to the USAF in Vietnam, after they took on the Skyraiders the navy no longer needed. Still, the long period of service by the A-4 Skyhawk is incredible.

[@mickberick8575]

ALLWAYS LOVED this fighter - Made a 1/72 Revell model kit when I was 9 .

[@Marco_IK2CHZ]

I did the same at the same age :)

[@lookronjon]

My father was in VA-93. I would go to the hangar with him and sat in an A-4 as a small kid. It was so cool being down there. The squadron is gone now but so many memories. We moved to NATC pax river after that.

[@daviddallas4607]

I was an ADJ in the early 70s on loved the A-4 Skyhawk. We had the TA-4J and as a maintainer was able the get a lot of time in the back seat for maintenance check rides. Some of my best memories in my entire Naval career. As an enlisted guy I was able to get a lot of stick time while flying with our Maintenance Officer. BZ

[@krazylevin]

I grew up seeing the Skyhawk in many fighter jet books that my mom had bought for me. I've always loved it. Thanks for this vid.

[@norizammastor9072]

..n i only make a scrapbook with all pics of jet fighter is a cutout from newspaper n old mags. Turn out me becoming a pilot of 18wheeler.. YT make my Love for jets n military hardwares stronger.!! Cheers..

[@sgrinels2011]

In the Marine reserves I worked in avionics on these from 1966 in Norfolk, VA, (VMA-233), and then in Alameda, CA (VMA-133) from 1967 to 1972. It was a tough little bird and fairly easy avionics maintenance on the early models ( maintenance was basically "black box"; i.e. see what the the pilot's after flight report said was broken. verify that was the case, swap out the broken system "box", verify the system was now working and button it up). In those days all the electronics' systems still used vacuum tubes (really!) and were remarkably resilient! Thanks for the video!

[@stevemccarty6384]

I flew the Scooter in MAG-42 and in VMA-133. Great days and wonderful guys!

[@johnstreet1812]

Retired Marine Master Gunny here. Worked as J52 mech (P6, P8, & P408) on A-4s (and at the Intermediate Maintenance level on P-8B's 1975-76) from 1973-1985 when I moved over to A-6E/EA-6B (same engine). During that time, it addition to being low & high power turn-up qualified, I was also certified to taxi (something you never see anymore for ground crew in the military) and for 3 years I was certified to ride back seat in TA-4s. This is by far the best A-4 video I've seen; very well done. I only spotted a few items that were in need of either correction or clarification. I won't even slam the narrator for saying Marine Corpse, since even Barack Obama once said "Corpse-man" when speaking about a Navy Corpsman. At about the 10:30 mark, while discussing starting units, he states later models allowed for starting air to go 'directly to the engine' which is not exactly accurate. Where the air was directed was to a main engine gearbox-mounted air turbine starter which spun the engine #2 compressor for starting. He also does not mention the on-board starting unit used on the A-4M, the JFS100-34, which was mounted where the air turbine starter is on earlier models. The JFS100-34 was itself started via hydraulic accumulator pressurized by dedicated high pressure nitrogen bottle. It had, I believe, a maximum duty cycle of 2 minutes, so was not intended to be an APU-like unit. I'm not familiar with the variations with the stated 'DC starting motor and batteries'; I'm assuming this was on the export versions to Israel, New Zealand, Argentina, etc. At about 22:20, the aircraft shown is taxiing to the runway with spoilers extended. This was not S.O.P. for Navy/Marine Corps flight ops back in the day. Spoiler operation was verified during post-start ground checks (at sequence in checks along with speedbrakes and tailhook), but was then de-selected for taxi. I don't recall if they were routinely armed for take-off, although they could be, so as to automatically deploy for an aborted take-off. At about 24:35, reference is made to the upper, tail-mounted electronics pod, commonly referred to as the "hot dog" for obvious reasons. In addition to the A-4M, that pod was also on late models of the A4-F (circa >mid-'70s) , which also was the first version to have the powerful J52-P-408 engine, albeit without the JFS100-34 starter; they still used the air turbine starter. This variant was sometime referred to as the "Super Fox" and was the one used by the Blue Angels. For the Angels, both the "hot dog" and the upper fuselage avionics hump were removed for better aerodynamics and weight savings. The leading-edge slats were also permanently bolted in the up/closed position. At the 24:49 mark, I believe that is the UHF antennae, not VHF. This A-4M would have had both, but I think the VHF antenna was the smaller of the two. Earlier models were UHF only.

[@FlywithMagnar]

Thank you so much for your feedback! I appreciate that you took time to correct and clarify missing details in the video. Recently, I wisited the Air Force Museum in Singapore, and they have A-4S and A-4SU Super Skyhawk. The latter was upgraded with an F404 engine without afterburner. I'm planning a video about those machines.

[@richardniven675]

I had a tour of the MCD Skyhawk line in 1974. A very simple a/c to construct. Apparently the wing was able to handle huge amounts of groundfire. Note the bent refueling probe. The NZ Airforce invented this after some turbulence issues when buddy refueling. Most users worldwide adopted this mod as did MCD. Recommend the Ed Heinemann book with a great chapter on the A4. I love the way they designed (in a rush) the extra fairing for the tailpipe after some issues in the first test flight. They used an office rubbish bin as a template, it worked so the kept the shape. Thanks for the video. Easy to understand the commentary.

[@stevemccarty6384]

I was on active duty and flying the Scooter when they adopted the crooked refueling prob. It made it more difficult to air to air refuel. As soon as you got close to the basket the bow wave would cause the basket to take off and roll around the prob which caused me to swear. At night it was really tricky, specially if you were running out of gas! However refueling in the Scooter was much easier than it was in the Fox Four. Those guys were amazing!

[@free-birdrocker8809]

I saw the Blue Angels back in 75, and the A-4 was fun to watch...

[@rollyherrera623]

Thank you, sir! Falls in line with Wild Weasel, and the A-10....Not expected to outperform till this day! Those we're good times..

[@WildBillCox13]

Nice to hear positive pilot reviews on two classic naval attack aircraft; the A4 Skyhawk and the A7 Corsair 2. They "look right", little as that idea applies to practical aerodynamics.

[@SkyhawkSteve]

I used to work on A-4Ms and TA-4's. Both used the J52 engine, which did not dump oil overboard. When I saw a privately owned A-4C fly at an airshow, the streams of oil vapors visible at take-off really surprised me! It was definitely not what I was accustomed to seeing, but it was certainly great to see a Skyhawk flying again!

[@dunruden9720]

Growing up in New Zealand, as a kid our mighty air force had the Vampire, which was replaced by the Skyhawk. It was a real thrill when one landed at our airport. I think the scooter was NZ's last jet fighter.

[@allangibson2408]

Last fighter full stop (unless you count some privately owned Spitfires and WW1 versions).

[@evryhndlestakn]

We also had the Strikemaster. A great British aircraft. Certainly it was no A4 but seldom were any planes as much plane as the A4.

[@Shagsteri]

A very interesting walk-through on the A4. Thank you!!

[@controlledburst]

The A-4 is among the underappreciated aircraft (like the S-3). I am fortunate to have gotten to see the Blue Angels A-4's a few times before transitioning to the F-18. Great video

[@kennethmartin1300]

That's a coincidence, I had just finished a video sequence on the Viking. We'll have to check and see if 'Magnar' has a vid on that (I only just discovered the site).

[@FlywithMagnar]

Sorry, but I don't have a video about the Viking.

[@stevemccarty6384]

The Skyhawk was beautiful when in the diamond. I loved the Skyhawk Blue's show.

[@Stubbies2003]

Well since I worked on it for 20 years in the USAF the F-16 C/D or CG/DG models will always be my favorite fighter.

[@MadeiraAirport]

Really nice video, lovely details about this machine!

[@stephenmead8183]

New Zealand Airforce was the first to do an aerobatic manoeuvre with the trailing aircraft plugged in. I still remember the days when I was serving at RNZAF base Ohakea when the first of the A4s arrived. The first aircraft had to deploy its R.A.T due to a hydraulic problem. Great excitement all round. The RNZAF SKY HAWK fleet was increased with the purchase of Royal Australian Navy versions. The sad part was when our then not very popular Aunty Helen the Prime Minister declared they were clapped out and the aircraft with drawn and squadron was disbanded. Even tho the Aircraft went thru a very extensive modernisation rebuild before Aunty had a brain fart. Many personal lost their career. Some A4s were used as museum displays around New Zealand. Draken did purchase some aircraft and were used very successfully as opponent aircraft at a USAF training base. It was only last week that the ever so faithful scooter was no longer suitable as an opponent for the up and coming new age fighters. 😟

[@elliotdryden7560]

Thank you for videos like this. As a pilot myself, I prefer documentary productions that have more details and inferences that matter to my way of thinking and experience. Well done!

[@sverigeaao5196]

Magnar, this is absolutely top notch aviation content! Watched your MiG video yesterday. I can't understand why you are below 10 000 subs. I predict this will change. I for sure will advertise your channel to all my fellow avgeeks!

[@allgood6760]

Awesome! ...we had Skyhawk planes with our RNZAF they ended up with Draken International ..Thanks from NZ ✈️👍🇳🇿

[@ihateliberals8696]

i was in the air force in 1979....a crew chief on an F-106 delta dart...i saw lots of A-4's....been under them....cool plane....i watched a Vietnam strike film.....an A-4 approaches a river...with a bridge....packed with trucks and people moving across the bridge....obviously VC.....the A-4....flips....upside down.....travels under the bridge....sprays the bridge....while upside down.........and as soon as he reaches the other side.....flips right side up....and leaves.....what a cool display of craziness on the pilots part......love that little plane

[@stevemccarty6384]

When flying an attack/fighter being a little bit crazy is a benefit.

[@johnstreet1812]

Were you at Tyndall by any chance? We used to bring our Marine reserve pilots over from Jacksonville to go air-to-air against 106's there.

[@ihateliberals8696]

@@johnstreet1812 ....yes ..i was at Tyndall...a crew chief on f 106....and f 101

[@rs061290]

I love this aircraft a lot it’s my most favorite after the A-1 Skyraiders

[@oldfriend327]

Thank you so much for this video. I remember very clearly going to the mid 1980's Navy airshows with the A-4 Skyhawk and being absolutely blown away by how agile that aircraft was with the Blue Angles. In fact, I though for many years that General Dynamics secretly designed the F-16 in great part from the A--4.

[@dunruden9720]

Blue angles, right angles, acute angles...!!

[@soarrich]

Read the book Boyd, he was responsible for the F-15 and the F-16. He also planned Desert Storm, he wrote the book on how to dog fight, he invented the OODA loop, greatest military ever.

[@stevemccarty6384]

We Skyhawk drivers used to say that the Navy should put a burner in it, and then we'd have a 5th generation fighter/bomber. They didn't do it, of course, but putting the big engine in the little scooter was pretty neat and if clean we could get it to go supersonic in level flight...maybe pitch over just a tad. I always thought the Scooter was great to bring aboard. When all cocked up with hook and gear down it was solid in the groove. Can I be young and fly it again....please?

[@Nicolas-zw5ex]

It managed to accomplish its dream It is Argentina main fighter jet, now known as A-4AR Fightinghawk, or well just a Subsonic F-16.

[@dylanstone9956]

You describe as if if you designed all of these machines. Thank you every single you have made for for the world has given inspiration for future design and artistic inspiration . Thank you giving every part of technological advancements in all of your postings. This exposure lets new minds make advances in future technology AND DREAMS become reality

[@hmasyarra]

Nicely put together. Australian Navy flew these as I remember watching them land on our carrier waving to us as they lined up on final when we had the role of rescue destroyer.

[@dannymurphy4940]

I worked on the A-4M, TA-4J and the OA-4 in the Marine Corps. Awesome airplane!!

[@johnstreet1812]

Ditto. MARTD Jax, FL and VMA-214 El Toro.

[@Chris9rr]

Thank you for the video! Enjoyed all the way through. Very thorough!

[@macgybel7951]

Very informative, Magnar! Looking forward to more videos of the series :-)

[@ryansta]

Thank you, really enjoyed your presentation and learnt a lot about the Aircraft.

[@Shamdouh1]

Thank you, I learned a lot of things today

[@1joshjosh1]

Magnar kicks ass.!

[@cloudinthewind]

Your walk around is fantastic! So much I didn't know about.

[@theflyingfool]

Great video & commentary as always Magnar. A very interesting aircraft!

[@Kumarmynew]

Thank you,

[@julianmorrisco]

Thx for this. My favourite plane to fly. Virtually, of course. Old enough to not have to learn the awful programming of the 80s (the Hornet and Viper for example) where usability hadn’t been invented but modern enough to be real fun to fly.

[@choprjock]

Very well done video. Most informative.

[@conflictmagazine]

Love the military aircraft videos...keep up the good work!

[@blackhawk7r221]

Excellent very thorough presentation

[@bennybenitez2461]

Brilliant presentation. Well done.

[@athiftsabit1208]

Can't wait for another old warbirds history from you, thanks a lot sir 🍻

[@tommyslimpickens185]

I was stationed at NAS Kingsville, TX from 1983 to 1990 as an Air Traffic Controller becoming a fully qualified Facility Watch Supervisor at the (all) militaries busiest approach control, and those numbers were led by TA-4 and the initial jet trainers, the T-2. This video brought back many great memories watching the Scooter's, the Panthers, the AF T-38's, Navy T-45's. So many Great airplanes. Thanks P.S.-the previous 3 years I had been stationed aboard the USS Lexington, AVT-16, the Blue Ghost of WWII, working what? TA-4's and T-2's. Eleven Great years of training controllers and pilots. Thank you God...

[@stevemccarty6384]

While I loved flying the Skyhawk the T2 was maybe the best. You could hold a dance in the cockpit and vis was great! It was a training aircraft and we learned instrument flying, formation and gunnery in that airplane. Just wonderful! I loved flying the gun pattern! Some guys hit the boat in the Buckeye, but I didn't. They had an accident on the boat and I was sent on without doing car-quals....oh well...

[@cesardaconceicao567]

Why in English-language documentaries does nobody mention the MOST GLORIOUS AND HEROIC moment of this excellent American-made aircraft? I am referring to the impressive air-naval attacks carried out at sea level against the British Fleet in the War for the Malvinas Islands. There is an excellent American TV Documentary for Latin America about the A4... Guerra Aerea en Malvinas... I think you should watch it, you would be proud of this formidable plane from the 50's piercing one of the best anti-aircraft defenses of the 80's. When the journalist asked an Argentine pilot, how low were they flying? He replied... well, until your ass wrinkled. Greetings from Argentina🇦🇷

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Hmm...I dunno'! Mayhaps 'cause We like Top Gear too? ^With that said! You did pretty good against a stronger foe.

[@RobertJones-ux6nc]

When I was in the USMC I got to work with the A-4J, M and the TA-4J variations of the Skyhawks I was with the TACP ( Tactial Air Control Party ) for 1st of the 5th Marines.

[@tonk4967]

Very well done. I have about 600 hours in the TA-4J in the early 80's and this video brought back many wonderful memories.

[@32tfs]

Very nice video explaining the A4 scooter. Thumbs-up 👍

[@bigdmac33]

Excellent presentation. Could listen to you all night.

[@jadams3427]

Interesting. What an amazing aircraft !

[@64maxpower]

Excellent video

[@gaittr]

What a great video from a believable perspective

[@petesmith9472]

Brilliant and beautiful aircraft. Used by the Royal Australian Navy. No better close air support aircraft.

[@wolfemcgill6091]

Well done, great video. Thanks

[@jeffbird2983]

A very well done video about a great plane. Thanks for making it.

[@dylanstone9956]

Amazing thank you do not stop with this education for humanity and technology

[@kdrapertrucker]

That's why I liked the Boeing Joint strike fighter prototype, it reminded me very much of the A-4 with that one piece wing.

[@wysiwyg2489]

The landing gear is stored in the forward position. In the event of having an issue with the hydraulics, it can be unlocked and let gravity do the rest (simple and inexpensive solution).

[@kcouche]

Utmerket video, kaptein! The scooter was a wonderful aircraft for many many reasons.

[@call_me_stan5887]

Very interesting! Thank you! :)

[@luvr381]

Well done.

[@Trev0r98]

*_THHHHHHHISSSS_* is a 1954 Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Magnar is going to give you a tour of the Skyhawk, showing you all of its quirks and features, and then he's gonna get it in the sky to see how it flies, and then he's gonna give it a Magnar score.

[@FlywithMagnar]

1. Wow factor: 7 2. Utility: 3 3. Runway performance: 4 4. In-flight performance: 3 5. Reliability: 5 6. Maintenance friendliness: 6 7. Handling: 8 8. Ease of operation: 5 9. Safety: 6 10. Cost: 5 And the Magnar score iiis 52 out of 100.

[@Trev0r98]

@@FlywithMagnar ❤

[@obentophaut8693]

Great Stuff!

[@ConvairDart106]

Awesomely interesting presentation. I grew up on NAS Alameda, where the A-4 refurbishment was located. I loved watching them fly over the house, as I flew my models below. Btw, your choice of soundtrack fits nice. More please?

[@davidlegg9690]

Very good

[@stormshadow5555]

Not only was it used in the movie but also used in the real life Top Gun school too!

[@philliplopez8745]

Best wingform since the spitfire .

[@jayjordan3868]

A great plane. It is still flying! Let’s get red of the 35 and build new Skyhawks. You can get a hundred for one 35.

[@stirlingpekka4708]

Great Doco, do you know about the "KAHU" upgrade that the RNZAF did to the Skyhawks, there is a book by Don Simms called the RNZAF Skyhawks. NZ no longer has a fighter wing, due to cutbacks in our military our aircraft went to Draken, they still have the Kiwi Logo on the fuselage.

[@FlywithMagnar]

Yes, I learned about it when I made the video. It was an impressive update.

[@taproom113]

Great video, Magnar! I have two favorites aboard ... one military and one civilian. The military favorite is the Super Tomcat and the civilian favorite is the A-12 Archangel. Thanx & carry on ... Skal! ^v^

[@mrrolandlawrence]

please do a video on the F5 !! it has to be my favourite jet of all time.

[@FlywithMagnar]

Actually, I'm starting on the F-5 project tomorrow!

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Why? Odd favorite....

[@mrrolandlawrence]

@@WALTERBROADDUS price performance is unrivaled. Its easy to maintain. Ready rates are very good. Nimble aero and thanks to modern miniaturisation of the electrics means it can be more capable. Not every mission is against a tier one aggressor. Brazils f5s got upgraded and so did Singapore. Its also safer than many other jets. Especially of the era.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@mrrolandlawrence you do realize it 2021? F5 users like Switzerland and Brazil are replacing the F5. Switzerland is going F-35 Brazil is buying Saab Gripen.

[@gusgone4527]

The A4I Ayit as used by the IDF was amazingly effective.

[@fabiodecampos3509]

Good. Vídeo,see you next!

[@DrymouthCWW]

Veldig bra video!

[@HandFromCoffin]

Funny seeing that air cart painted yellow starting that A4. I tried on those air carts in tech school for C-141 but I don't think I ever used on after tech school. The 141 had a built in APU... no wait.. I remember using an air cart one time for a pressurization test. I don't remember if we used the air cart because the APU was out of service or if that was normal during a pressurization check. I didn't do many PSI checks.

[@HandFromCoffin]

Ya.. it has a 4-1 kill rate vs. the F14 in fake "training" situations the F14 should NEVER find itself fighting in. I'm sure specifically designed to clearly show the F14 trainee why they should never engage like that again.

[@ElizabethSurina-wu6sj]

the Skyhawk real Skyhawk id phenomenal

[@michellegrinder9484]

could u imagine the fighter the a4 could have been with an afterburner

[@Idahoguy10157]

52 years ago I knew navy pilot who loved flying the A-4 Skyhawk. Which did…over Vietnam. Off of the USS Ranger

[@davidalexoff1658]

Love fighter jets.

[@esphilee]

The designer is genius.

[@madyogi6164]

What a great plane! Thank you! How about A6?

[@heberortega5016]

Skyhawks are national aircraft in Argentina. Very good performance in the Malvinas/falkland war where they were very letal, sinking 7 ships of Royal Navy. The attacks were done to low level dropping bombs. Respect to both side of the conflict.

[@Twirlyhead]

Rubbish. Six (not seven) British ships were sunk in the Falklands War (5 warships + 1 merchant) and two of the six were sunk by Excocet missiles leaving a maximum of four that can be attributed to A4 Skyhawks. But, yes, they are great planes.

[@mickberick8575]

I didn't know that we had Skyhawks in our AUSSIE airforce !

[@davidtaylor351]

They were Royal Australian Navy aircraft. And operated off the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne.

[@mickberick8575]

@@davidtaylor351 thanks mate - Named after my hometown.

[@0MoTheG]

Wait, is this a subsonic jet without afterburner? non-all-moving elevator like on an airliner and crazy wing tips, strange. The beauty of this one was in it's function and engineering.

[@toomanyhobbies2011]

Great video! Thank you. Would have been better without such a strong accent. The closed captions helped.

[@nachoangeloni6062]

One of the greatest fighters ever made. Here in Argentina they sank HMS Coventry, HMS Ardent among others ... and damaged HMS Invincible, HMS Broadsword among so many others. Everything with air to land bombs flying over the war ships (old school). Very capable birds in the right hands, still a dozen of them in active service. Regards, Nacho.

[@norizammastor9072]

..just another pinch of salt to the wound that never healed..

[@chloejenkins1152]

HMS Invisible was never damaged,Argie properganda and do not forget sea harriers shot down 20 of those crap aircraft lol

[@luisvalle4846]

@@chloejenkins1152 we will know in 50 years of British secrecy...a lot of secet for crap aircrafts

[@nachoangeloni6062]

@@norizammastor9072 The wound won't be healed until UK stops its illegal occupation.

[@nachoangeloni6062]

@@chloejenkins1152 Harriers did not shot down 20 aircrafts, sidewinder missile provided by US did ... in fact there were only a couple of dog fights in the whole conflict around May 1st. Harriers was very superior in low altitude to Argentine aircrafts and Mirage/Dagger's were very superior at high altitude and with both air forces knowing that the encounters never happened after the first week. Many harriers were shot down by Argentine defenses and many A4 and Mirage/Daggers were shot down by Harriers from the most diverse angles given the sidewinder capabilities. You need to read a bit more ...

[@next2normal]

Be interested to see what type of plane it would have ended up ,if it never went out off production,it did tick a lot of boxes.

[@1d17m21sN103d51m01sE]

explore also the A4SU variant

[@quinnsavage2325]

Nice job Captain. 1 of my favorite birds. What about the ROCWELL OV- 10 Bronco. The predisesser to the A-10 warthog.?

[@stephenmead8183]

I did hear that the bend in the air to air refuelling pipe was to prevent raw fuel entering the engine duct when disconnecting from the hose ?

[@lineshaftrestorations7903]

As a kid I was fortunate to have seen the A4 with the Blue Angels. Having watched this program it struck me: What could have happened if the A4 was fitted with a center line gun pod like the F4 phantom had? 200 rounds isn't much.

[@stevemccarty6384]

For some reason I was designated as the duty Mk4 Gun Pod flyer and I flew many missions with one. Again for some reason I could get the thing to fire out. Some guys called it the world's biggest single shot. I'm not sure why I had no trouble getting the thing to fire out, but I did. At night the muzzle flash was dazzling, so you had to kind of look away when shooting. The gun pod carried a lot of rounds and I'd shoot the dickens out of it.....fun.

[@PatrioticAviator]

Sir still waiting for your video on NAMS...

[@nogod7184]

The aircraft that saved John McCain III.

[@bromyardcoachouse4876]

Good target practice for the UK military in the Falklands, almost all the Argentinian Skyhawks were lost in fighting the British between the Islands and Argentina, brave pilots though.

[@oceanhome2023]

Almost all from the latest sidewinders and with the early alarm from the Radar in Chile

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

On the other hand, they sunk a ton of ships.

[@jbaroli]

Almost all? You're not counting the ones who sank or damaged many ships...

[@COIcultist]

​@@oceanhome2023 Along with the Canberra(s) (No, not the Argentinian one we shot down) that photographed the bomb damage to Stanley Airport, there was at least one Nimrod flown from a Chilean base. The Punta Arenas story is BS but the Nimrods were flown from San Felix. KZbin gets funny about non YT links but try spyflightDOTCODOTUK then just look up operations. I don't think anyone who was alive at the time and is sane doubts the bravery of the Argentinean A4 pilots. Some are still angry at British TV reporting explaining the fusing errors to the world. Let's all play nicely after this man posting a nice film, nothing worse than eejits slinging slurs and curses at each other.

[@toyonano]

Well...the argentinians had to fly from the continent and had to come back, so they could not engage in fuel burning combats with the brits. Very similar to the battle of britain, btw

[@taketimeout2share]

You are a good salesman. Where do I sign for one of these?

[@FlywithMagnar]

There's a two-seater for sale in California: www.controller.com/listing/for-sale/208434649/1993-mcdonnell-douglas-ta4j-skyhawk-turbine-military-aircraft