Changes

[[Image:A-4_over_Vietnam.jpg|right]]

[[Image:A-4_over_Vietnam.jpg|right]]

===US Navy and Marine Corps===

===US Navy and Marine Corps===

The Skyhawk first flew on June 22, 1954, and entered operational service in October 1956.  The Scooter served prominently during the [[Vietnam War]].  An A-4 was the first plane shot down over [[North Vietnam]], in a raid on a torpedo boat base and oil installations in retaliation for the Gulf of Tonkin incident.<ref name="MyFirstRef">''Rolling Thunder: A History of Jet Combat From World War II to the Gulf War'', by Ivan Rendall, Dell Publishing, 1997</ref>  Among the Skyhawk pilots who flew in the war were [[Medal of Honor]] recipient [[Michael Estocin]] and future Senator and presidential candidate [[John McCain]].

The Skyhawk first flew on June 22, 1954, and entered operational service in October 1956.  The Scooter served prominently during the [[Vietnam War]].  An A-4 was the first plane shot down over [[North Vietnam]], in a raid on a torpedo boat base and oil installations in retaliation for the [[Gulf of Tonkin incident]].<ref name="MyFirstRef">''Rolling Thunder: A History of Jet Combat From World War II to the Gulf War'', by Ivan Rendall, Dell Publishing, 1997</ref>  Among the Skyhawk pilots who flew in the war were [[Medal of Honor]] recipient [[Michael Estocin]] and future Senator and presidential candidate [[John McCain]].

Although several A-4s were lost to SAMs and AAA, only one fell in air combat, to a MiG-17 in April 1967.<ref>''MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War'', by Istvan Toperczer, Osprey Publishing, 2001</ref>  About a week afterward, a Skyhawk pilot from VA-76 scored the A-4’s only kill in American service (and one of the more unusual kills of the war) when he downed a MiG-17 with a Zuni unguided rocket.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_243.shtml  U.S. Air-to-Air Victories in the Vietnam War, Part 1]</ref>

Although several A-4s were lost to SAMs and AAA, only one fell in air combat, to a [[MiG-17]] in April 1967.<ref>''MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War'', by Istvan Toperczer, Osprey Publishing, 2001</ref>  About a week afterward, a Skyhawk pilot from VA-76 scored the A-4’s only kill in American service (and one of the more unusual kills of the war) when he downed a MiG-17 with an unguided [[Zuni rocket]].<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_243.shtml  U.S. Air-to-Air Victories in the Vietnam War, Part 1]</ref>

===Israel===

===Israel===

When [[France]] stopped supplying [[Israel]] after the [[Six Day War]], Israel turned to the United States, and the Israeli Air Force took an immediate liking to the [[F-4|F-4 Phantom II]] and the A-4 Skyhawk.  First delivery of the little bomber was in late 1967, and the Skyhawk became the workhorse of the bombing campaigns in the [[War of Attrition]] and the [[Yom Kippur War]].  Losses in the latter were heavy (30 Skyhawks were downed in the first day of fighting), due to Egyptian anti-aircraft defences, but losses went down as Israeli tactics improved.  Within a week, Israeli bombers were on the offensive again, and the destroyed planes were replaced by emergency shipments from the United States.  A-4s also participated in strikes on PLO bases in [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]]n SAM sites during Operation Peace for Galilee in 1982.<ref name="MyFirstRef"/>  The Skyhawk has been replaced in front-line service by the home-built [[IAI Kfir|Kfir]] and the American [[F-16]], but it’s still used for advanced pilot training.

When [[France]] stopped supplying [[Israel]] after the [[Six Day War]], Israel turned to the United States, and the Israeli Air Force took an immediate liking to the [[F-4 Phantom]] and the A-4 Skyhawk.  First delivery of the little bomber was in late 1967, and the Skyhawk became the workhorse of the bombing campaigns in the [[War of Attrition]] and the [[Yom Kippur War]].  Losses in the latter were heavy (30 Skyhawks were downed in the first day of fighting), due to Egyptian anti-aircraft defences, but losses went down as Israeli tactics improved.  Within a week, Israeli bombers were on the offensive again, and the destroyed planes were replaced by emergency shipments from the United States.  A-4s also participated in strikes on PLO bases in [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]]n [[Surface-to-air missile|SAM]] sites during Operation Peace for Galilee in 1982.<ref name="MyFirstRef"/>  One Skyhawk was lost during these strikes, to a hand-held SAM.<ref>[http://www.skyhawk.org/2e/israel/israeli-skyhawk-combat.htm Israeli Skyhawks in Combat]</ref>  The Skyhawk has been replaced in front-line service by the home-built [[IAI Kfir|Kfir]] and the American [[F-16]], but it’s still used for advanced pilot training.

===Argentina===

===Argentina===

The A-4 operated in the [[Falkland Islands]] War for [[Argentina]] against the British fleet.  Bombing attacks by Skyhawks sank the destroyer HMS ''Coventry'' and the frigates ''Antelope'' and ''Ardent'', and damaged a number of other ships.  A total of 23 A-4s were lost in the conflict:  three to accidents, one to friendly fire, eight to Sea Harriers, and eleven to anti-aircraft guns and SAMs.<ref>''Air War in the Falklands 1982'', by Christopher Chant, Osprey Publishing, 2001</ref>

The A-4 operated in the [[Falkland Islands]] War for [[Argentina]] against the British fleet.  Bombing attacks by Skyhawks sank the destroyer HMS ''Coventry'' and the frigates ''Antelope'' and ''Ardent'', and damaged a number of other ships.  A total of 23 A-4s were lost in the conflict:  three to accidents, one to friendly fire, eight to [[BAE Sea Harrier|Sea Harriers]], and eleven to anti-aircraft guns and SAMs.<ref>''Air War in the Falklands 1982'', by Christopher Chant, Osprey Publishing, 2001</ref>

===Kuwait===

===Kuwait===