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Reverted edits by CharlieSchlee (talk) to last revision by DuncanB
[[Image:A-7e-dnst9206556 jpg-s.jpg|right|thumb|350 px|Two A-7E jets in flight.]]
The '''A-7 Corsair II''' was a light bomber and attack aircraft used primarily by the Navy. It was intended as a complement and eventually a replacement for the [[A-4 Skyhawk]], going into service in 1966.
==Design==
The [[United States Navy|Navy]] wanted an aircraft with increased range and payload to replace the A-4. Several companies, including [[Grumman]], [[Douglas]], and North American tried for the contract, but eventually it was Vought who received the contract.
Vought built the aircraft in a remarkably short time, mostly because it was basically the same design as the [[F-8 Crusader]]. The first test aircraft (named after the World War II fighter) were delivered in 1964.
After a period of onshore testing, the A-7 was delivered to VA-147 on the ''[[USS Ranger]]'' in 1966. The [[United States Air Force| Air Force]] also bought a more highly powered version for light ground support.
==Versions==
===A-7B===
The A-7Bs had the more powerful Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-8 engine, which provided 12,200 pounds of thrust. These airplanes were the primary A-7 version in [[Vietnam]].
===A-7C===
The A-7Cs were modified to carry the 13,400 pounds of thrust [[Pratt & Whitney]] TF30-P-408 engine.
===A-7D===
The A-7Ds were the first to carry the M61A-1 Vulcan cannon in the fuselage. They also were equipped with laser-guided bombs.
===A-7E===
The A-7Es had an Allison/Rolls-Royce engine which provided 15,000 pounds of thrust. It also was equipped with [[forward looking infrared (FLIR)]] equipment which enabled it to fly at night.
==Service==
===Vietnam===
The A-7's combat debut came in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]], where it was effective in attacks on North Vietnamese MiG bases and on the [[Ho Chi Minh Trail]] in [[Laos]]. The first A-7 squadron to be deployed to Vietnam was VA-147, based aboard the USS ''Ranger''; they flew over 1400 sorties, losing only one aircraft.
A-7's were effective in search and rescue missions, where they escorted [[helicopter]]s to the location of the downed aircraft; they replaced the [[A-1 Skyraider]] in this role. Air Force A-7D's flew nearly 13,000 missions in Vietnam, and the aircraft was second for the record for the most ordnance dropped on [[Hanoi]], after the [[B-52 Stratofortress]].
One shining star on the career of the airplane came when six Navy A-7s with Mark 55 [[mine]]s, supported only by several [[F-4]]s and two [[EA-6 Prowler]]s, mined [[Haiphong]] [[Harbor]] in 1972.
Despite doubts by some military leaders, the aircraft held its own against [[supersonic]] jets. Only one Corsair was lost in air-to-air combat, to a [[MiG-21]] in May 1972.<ref>''MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War'', by Istvan Toperczer, Osprey Publishing, 2001</ref>
[[Image:A-7 wing.jpg|left|thumb|250 px|A flight of A-7s.]]
===Lebanon===
Corsairs saw combat again ten years later, in strikes on [[Syria]]n positions in [[Lebanon]] in December 1983.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_278.shtml Disaster in Lebanon]</ref>
===Libya===
A-7's also saw action against [[Libya]] in 1986; after Libyan air defense operators fired SA-5 [[surface-to-air missile]]s at a pair of [[F-14 Tomcat]]s, two A-7Es from the USS ''Saratoga'' attacked and destroyed the Libyan radar with [[AGM-88 HARM]]s. Later, Corsairs from the ''America'' participated in [[Operation El Dorado Canyon]], supporting the main strikes against [[Tripoli]] and [[Benghazi]] by suppressing SAM sites with [[AGM-45 Shrike]] and AGM-88 HARM missiles.<ref>''El Dorado Canyon: Reagan's Undeclared War with Qaddafi'', by Joseph T. Stanik, Naval Institute Press, 2003</ref>
===Iran===
The aircraft saw action against [[Iran]]ian targets in the [[Persian Gulf]] during [[Operation Praying Mantis]] in April 1988. A-7E's sank the Iranian frigate ''Sahand'' after the destroyer ''Samuel B. Roberts'' hit an Iranian mine.
[[Image:Sahandburning.jpg|300 px|thumb|right|The ''Sahand'' burning after being hit by A-7's with [[Harpoon missile]]s and bombs.]]
===First Gulf War===
Navy A-7s were still effective in the first [[Gulf War]], using Walleye TV guided bombs, HARMs, and [[laser]] bombs to attack Iraqi targets. Tanker A-7s also performed well.
===Retirement===
By the second Gulf War, the A-7s had been retired. The last mission of A-7s in active duty was the testing of anti-radar equipment for the [[F-117]]. The plane has been replaced in the Navy by the [[F-18 Hornet]] and in the Air Force, by the [[A-10]].
==Operators==
===Greece===
[[Greece]] operates two A-7 squadrons, which have been much upgraded with superior [[avionics]] and arms capability, under the name of A-7H and A-7E. They are used for ground attack missions, although they also use some variants as training aircraft.
===Portugal===
[[Portugal]] ordered 20 A-7 airframes in 1980, and later purchased six training aircraft and 24 other A-7's. Corsair II's logged over 64,000 flight hours in the Portugese Navy before being retired in 1999.
===Thailand===
[[Thailand]] purchased fourteen A-7E's and four TA-7C's in 1995. They are currently operative but not operational.
==Specifications==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| '''Type'''
| Light attack aircraft
|-
| '''Contractor'''
| Vought
|-
| '''Power plant'''
| (A-7E) One Allison/Rolls-Royce TF41-A-2 with 15,000 pounds of thrust
|-
| '''Length'''
| 46 feet
|-
| '''Height'''
| 16 feet, 1 inches
|-
| '''Speed'''
| 690 miles per hour without stores
|-
| '''Wingspan'''
| 38 feet, 9 inches
|-
| '''Weight'''
| 19,111 pounds empty
|-
| '''Crew'''
| One
|-
|'''Range'''
|Unrefueled 2,861 miles
|-
|'''Maximum Weight'''
|42,000 pounds
|-
|'''Armament'''
|Assorted stores up to 15,000 pounds, including Mark 55 mines, anti-radiation missiles, unguided bombs, TV guided bombs, and laser-guided bombs. One Vulcan M61A-1 cannon in the fuselage.
|}
[[Image:A 7E Corsair II.JPG]]
==External links==
*[http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/a-7.htm A-7 at FAS]
*[http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=116 A-7 at Militaryfactory.com]
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:United States Navy aircraft]]
[[Category:Military Aircraft]]