A-4 Skyhawk. The American subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft made by Douglas | Upscaled

The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later by McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D under the U.S. Navy's pre-1962 designation system.
The Skyhawk is a relatively light aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds (11,100 kg), and has a top speed of 670 miles per hour (1,080 km/h). The aircraft's five hardpoints support a variety of missiles, bombs, and other munitions. It is capable of carrying a bomb load equivalent to that of a World War II-era Boeing B-17 bomber, and can deliver nuclear weapons using a low-altitude bombing system and a "loft" delivery technique. The A-4 was originally powered by the Wright J65 turbojet engine; from the A-4E onwards, the Pratt & Whitney J52 engine was used.
Skyhawks played key roles in the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War, and the Falklands War. In 2022, nearly seven decades after the aircraft's first flight in 1954, some of the 2,960 produced (through February 1979) remain in service with the Argentine Air Force and the Brazilian Naval Aviation.
The Skyhawk was designed by Douglas Aircraft's Ed Heinemann in response to a U.S. Navy call for a jet-powered attack aircraft to replace the older Douglas AD Skyraider (later redesignated A-1 Skyraider). Heinemann opted for a design that would minimize its size, weight, and complexity. The result was an aircraft that weighed only half of the Navy's weight specification. It had a wing so compact that it did not need to be folded for carrier stowage. The first 500 production examples cost an average of $860,000 each, less than the Navy's one million dollar maximum. The diminutive Skyhawk soon received the nicknames "Scooter", "Kiddiecar", "Bantam Bomber", "Tinker Toy Bomber", and, on account of its speed and nimble performance, "Heinemann's Hot-Rod".
The aircraft is of conventional post-World War II design, with a low-mounted delta wing, tricycle undercarriage, and a single turbojet engine in the rear fuselage, with two air intakes on the fuselage sides. The tail is of cruciform design, with the horizontal stabilizer mounted above the fuselage. Armament consisted of two 20 mm (.79 in caliber) Colt Mk 12 cannons, one in each wing root, with 100 rounds per gun (the A-4M Skyhawk II and types based on the A-4M have 200 rounds per gun), plus a large variety of bombs, rockets, and missiles carried on a hardpoint under the fuselage centerline and hardpoints under each wing (originally one per wing, later two).
The short-span delta wing did not require the complexity of wingtip folding, saving an estimated 200 pounds (91 kg). Its spars were machined from a single forging that spanned across both wingtips. The leading edge slats were designed to drop automatically at the appropriate speed by gravity and air pressure, saving weight and space by omitting actuation motors and switches. Similarly the main undercarriage did not penetrate the main wing spar, designed so that when retracted only the wheel itself was inside the wing and the undercarriage struts were housed in a fairing below the wing. Thus the wing structure was lighter with the same overall strength. The rudder was constructed of a single panel reinforced with external ribs.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 40 ft 1.5 in (12.230 m)
Wingspan: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
Wing area: 260 sq ft (24 m2)
Airfoil: root: NACA 0008-1.1-25; tip: NACA 0005-.825-50
Empty weight: 9,853 lb (4,469 kg)
Gross weight: 16,216 lb (7,355 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 24,500 lb (11,113 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney J52-P-6A turbojet engine, 8,500 lbf (38 kN) thrust
Performance
Maximum speed: 585 kn (673 mph, 1,083 km/h) at sea level
Range: 1,008 nmi (1,160 mi, 1,867 km)
Ferry range: 2,194 nmi (2,525 mi, 4,063 km)
g limits: +8 -3
Rate of climb: 5,750 ft/min (29.2 m/s)
Wing loading: 62.4 lb/sq ft (305 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 0.526
Armament
Guns: 2× 20 mm (0.79 in) Colt Mk 12 cannon, 100 rounds/gun
Hardpoints: 4× under-wing & 1× under-fuselage pylon stations with a capacity of 8,500 lb (3,900 kg), with provisions to carry combinations of:
Rockets: 4× LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4× 127 mm Mk 32 Zuni rockets)
Bombs:
6× Rockeye-II Mark 20 Cluster Bomb Unit (CBU)
6× Rockeye Mark 7/APAM-59 CBU
Mark 80 series of unguided bombs (including 3 kg and 14 kg practice bombs)
B43 nuclear bomb
B57 nuclear bomb
B61 nuclear bomb
Other: up to 3× 370 US gallons (1,400 L) Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for ferry flight/extended range/loitering time
Missiles:
Air-to-air missiles:
4× AIM-9 Sidewinder
Air-to-surface missiles:
2× AGM-12 Bullpup
2× AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile
2× AGM-62 Walleye TV-guided glide bomb
2× AGM-65 Maverick
Avionics
Typical avionics fitted to A-4s
#skyhawk #fighteraircraft #aircraft

[@Dronescapes]

Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes and their stories, missions: kzbin.info/aero/PLBI4gRjPKfnNx3Mp4xzYTtVARDWEr6nrT

[@MichaelCasanovaMusic]

Love the Skyhawk. One of the greatest jet aircraft of all time. It's so crazy that only 12 years after WW2 you had a single seater aircraft that could carry as much ordinance as a B-17, but was small enough that it didn't even need folded wings for Carrier Duty

[@user-qs4ti1bh6e]

The A4 Skyhawk remained on active duty somewhere in the world until the year 2020. Not bad for an aircraft built less than 10 years after the end of WW2. Amazing that it was capable of evolving for that length of time.

[@skyulf6163]

O A4 Skyhawk ainda está ativo na força aérea da marinha do Brasil.

[@richmcintyre1178]

I can tell you that the Marines on the ground loved that "little" plane.

[@lawrencehockett8179]

Plane Captain. TA-4F, A4-M. 1979-1983. H&MS-31, MCAS Beaufort, SC H&MS-12, MCAS Iwakuni, Japan VMAT-102, MCAS, Yuma, AZ. The A4 Skyhawk was a masterpiece of simple engineering design. Semper Fi Flight Line Marines.

[@donalddowning4108]

My first Navy squadron was A-4’s. Beautiful little aircraft. Could carry an impressive amount of ordnance and was easy to maintain. Loved the Scooter.

[@Dronescapes]

👍♥️🇺🇸

[@captainobvious5200]

The Australian navy use to fly the A4 Skyhawk off the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, until she was retired in 1982, but continued to fly the A4 from land bases until 1985, when the planes were sold to New Zealand.

[@TomPrickVixen]

And its not the only plane from that era that served 50+ years...

[@jettechdonatkins]

The A-4 is one of my all time favorite military jets,the other being the F-4.The A-4 has some interesting history behind it.I really like the A-4 M the best.

[@kwiturbitchin5277]

I did a HVAC service call at a retired navy pilots house years ago. He was a A-4 pilot in Vietnam. If I remember correctly he said there was a rivalry between A-4 and A-6 pilots. He told me that they used to rib the intruder pilots about sitting side by side. Something about giving each other “special attention”😂. He loved flying them and said they were so nimble and responsive.

[@daleferber2096]

Yes, the line was"real pilots don't sit next to each other"

[@nonnobissolum]

@@daleferber2096 Apparently commercial passenger and cargo pilots are frauds, then. I get it...hassling/ribbing not taken seriously, but sometimes it's a bit over the top and becomes a parody of itself.

[@daleferber2096]

@@nonnobissolum Relax already. It was a common line among aviators, F-4 and later F-14 guys vs A-6 guys nothing more than that

[@edl617]

One of three carrier based subs sonic strike jet aircraft along with the A-6, and A-7.

[@DaveSCameron]

Wasn't aware that this aircraft was in use during the Falklands Campaign of 1982. 🇬🇧👍🇺🇸📚

[@toomanyhobbies2011]

Thank you for this video. Nothing quite like the British taking credit for everything, including the Skyhawk. LOL

[@alexandrec9372]

Sim, o Skyhawk continua em serviço aqui no Brasil, após terem sido modernizados pela Embraer. Excelente vídeo 👌 Obrigado por compartilhar!

[@kdrapertrucker]

Also in Argentina where they were modernized with after burning engines, and the radar and avionics fit of the block 52 F-16. They are now known as "Fighting Hawks" been ng basically half fighting falcon and half Skyhawk.

[@Idahoguy10157]

A4’s still equip the Argentine air force

[@zabercrombie24]

I'm a scale model builder and I have a lot in my stash; but the one I've been waiting for is the A-4M I just purchased . Can't wait for this build, love the Scooter ..

[@Dronescapes]

👍👍😎

[@theHentySkeptic]

They are beautiful little planes!

[@Dronescapes]

👍

[@eldorado1830]

Excellent video

[@coreydarr8464]

Another great aircraft!🤗

[@Garyganeu]

What a remarkable aircraft that was designed a long time ago and cost 1/10 of its replacement some 20 years latter.

[@Cannibal666Corpse]

Always had a softspot for the A4 since I've build one, years ago.

[@scottmurphy650]

I never flew the A-4 but had lots of time in the TA-4J two seater in the training command. When I got winged in 1982 I would have chosen the Scooter in a heartbeat had it not already been retired. It was far and away my favorite aircraft, so much more fun to fly than the T-2C "Rockwell Safety Jet".

[@Dronescapes]

👍👍

[@lafayette4381]

Thank you

[@Dronescapes]

🙏♥️

[@Idahoguy10157]

Circa 1971-72 had a Scout leader who was an A4 pilot off USS Ranger. Helluva guy! Didn’t say a lot about combat tour.

[@worldtraveler8613]

Macs 1 cherry point... Thats where i was stationed, at macs 2...... About 30 years too late to see the Skyhawk lol. But it's a beautiful plane

[@MrGaby543]

One of my fav aircrafts.

[@Dronescapes]

👍

[@donscheid97]

Funny fact; I was told by VN vets that the VN pilots were too short for the A-1 cockpit so would raise the seats fully and strap wood blocks to the rudder pedals to fly. A little-known application for the A-4 was as a nuclear delivery platform.

[@floopyc1428]

Hard to believe those guys didn't have to wear life vests during flight ops.

[@prowlus]

Top gun at the end

[@mochabear88]

ty

[@davidatrakchi2707]

As a gi at the 1973 Yom Kipur war, I saw too many Israeli Skyhawks that didn’t make it back home... they were like the working horses, flying and attacking at low altitudes in an environment full of anti aircraft guns and Strela heat seeking missiles. The Skyhawk was simply outdated for that war, the F4 was much more rigid and suitable for that very tough job

[@Dronescapes]

Thank you for your service David

[@Idahoguy10157]

I’m wondering, David. Were the Israeli A4’s in 1973 equipped with chaff, flares, and jammers?

[@davidatrakchi2707]

@@Idahoguy10157 we were looking at all jets from the ground but I'm pretty sure the A4 didn't have any of these means. After the war they received an extention at the rear to probably lower their heat stamp (this is as far as my English gets😜)

[@davidatrakchi2707]

@@Idahoguy10157 the 73 war was before the days of intensive electronics

[@prjndigo]

You completely forgot to put "purpose built nuclear capable" in the title

[@Idahoguy10157]

A new Skyhawk based on the A4 should be welcomed by air forces. The biggest complaint I’ve heard was their 20mm Colt cannons.

[@edsutherland8266]

Hence a few operators installed either DEFA (Israel) or ADEN (Singapore) 30mm cannon in place of the 20mm. The problem with a new build Skyhawk-type jet is that it would need many of the same systems as a fancier design (engine, radar, ESM/ECM etc). The closest you’d get would be something like the Boeing Saab T-7 or Korean TA-50.

[@usdefensemilitary4848]

super

[@Dronescapes]

Thank you

[@rodrigodiaz5698]

Argentina used them at Falklands War against Uk in 1982.

[@noriokd9628]

🇺🇸マーキングが派手な頃の艦載機 いいよなぁ👍

[@ridermak4111]

I’m a bit embarrassed and surprised that I knew so little about this plane’s long service and impressive capabilities.

[@Dronescapes]

🙂

[@killingfields1424]

Skyhawk, Corsair II, Huey, three platform to replace one....the A-1 Skyraider

[@Jon.......]

3:12 | "The Sky Raider flew with all branches of the service throughout the conflict." ... What does that mean? Are you saying that it flew with all CAG's in the US Navy? Or it flew with the US Navy, Air Force, Marines, Army & Coast Guard?

[@pizzatopia]

plural nouns require an "s" at the end. "POUNDS", mate, it's POUNDS.

[@k.h.1587]

J65 j52 not 565 552

[@daleferber2096]

John McCain flew A-4's, Al Shephard flew A-4's

[@dangarrison3503]

My father in law told me" If John had been a better aviator, he wouldn't have been a POW"

[@daleferber2096]

@@dangarrison3503 That is standard fighter pilot line. IE "IOf ---- was any good he would not have got shot down" but in reality Plenty of fighter pilots who had mig kills ended up getting shot down by SAM's or AAA ground fire, Jim Stockdale was one of the best F-8 drivers the Navy ever had and he got shot down

[@MrDino1953]

Nothing said about the win/loss ratio of the Skyhawk against other fighters.

[@MichaelCasanovaMusic]

Because the skyhawk isn’t a fighter, it’s a ground attack aircraft.

[@TJ-USMC]

"Semper-Fi"

[@Dronescapes]

👍❤🇺🇸

[@gerardoozerio3298]

Ask the royal navy about them.

[@cristianherrera1690]

The aircraft A-4 of Argentina made England defecate on themselves in the 1982 war. I'm love this plane.

[@sixtop59]

Argentina kick the british navy ass with those A4 in the Malvinas war 1982

[@nec4608]

Sir Galahad; Tristam, Antelope and Coventry all of them sunk by the A4 I think nor the Americans or other force were so efficient regarding sinking vessels utilising the A4 in different versions

[@nec4608]

Y creo la Ardent también

[@sixtop59]

@@neiloflongbeck5705 half of the ships were hit including the aircraft carrier the Invencible,that the Brits never reconized...Argentina lost the war but in numbers Argentina won,thanxs to the air force.

[@sixtop59]

@@neiloflongbeck5705 the mision of may 25 was very well recorded by 6 pilots with A4 and 2 super ettendar,the Invincible was hit and pictures after the war of the aircraft carrier was show with all the repairs done.One day in the future the truth will prevail.The russians are loosing the war becose the low moral of the troops and the Ukrainian are highly motivated,thanx to Nato too.Dont get me wrong i m argentinian- american and i beliave the invasion of the islands were wrong move.But i still beleave the Malvinas are argentina soil.

[@rogerfilerable]

Small, nimble and nasty

[@eyalschnider]

in israel this figther was legeand.

[@Dronescapes]

🇺🇸👍🇮🇱

[@stevehammond9156]

WAY too much time wasted talking about other aircraft. It was not even mentioned for the first 7 minutes.

[@brianjones8751]

Poor snowflake 😂

[@duartesimoes508]

So it is American without any doubt. When Americans make a documentary about, say, the F-105 they always start with the Wright Brothers... 😀