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The '''A-4 Skyhawk''' is a light attack bomber, built by McDonnell-Douglas and flown by the [[U.S. Navy]] and [[Marines]].  Powered by a Pratt & Whitney turbojet, it was nicknamed the “Scooter” for its small size and tremendous maneuverability.  The Skyhawk was also called "Heineman's Hot Rod", after its designer. The A-4 had a maximum speed of 670 mph, was armed with 2 20-mm cannons, and could carry 4000 lb of bombs.<ref>''Fast Movers'', by John Darrell Sherwood, St. Martin’s Press, 1999</ref>  

 

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

 

==History==

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

===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]].

 

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===

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 [[Palestine Liberation Organization|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===

The A-4 operated in the [[Falkland Islands]] War for [[Argentina]] against the [[Royal Navy|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]]i Skyhawks flew against [[Iraq]]i forces when Iraq [[Invasion of Kuwait|invaded Kuwait]] in 1990.  Two A-4s attacked an Iraqi armored column in the first hours (with little effect), and other Scooter pilots claimed to have shot down three Iraqi helicopters.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_213.shtml Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait, 1990]</ref> Many Kuwaiti pilots managed to escape to [[Saudi Arabia]] when their airfields were overrun.  The planes were integrated into the Royal Saudi Air Force for the duration of the [[Gulf War]], and came to be known as the Free Kuwaiti Air Force.  The FKAF flew over 1300 combat sorties, losing one aircraft to enemy fire.<ref>[http://home.att.net/~jbaugher4/newa4_15.html Skyhawk for Kuwait]</ref> After the war, Kuwait replaced its Skyhawks with [[F/A-18 Hornet]]s.  The Skyhawks were sold to [[Brazil]] for use on their aircraft carrier, ''Sao Paulo''.

 

==A-4 in Popular Culture==

The Scooter will be familiar to all fans of the movie ''[[Top Gun (film)|Top Gun]]'', as A-4s are flown by aggressor pilots Viper and Jester to train the Tomcat pilots.  An A-4 also plays a small but pivotal role in the [[Tom Clancy]] novel and film ''The Sum of All Fears''.  In the anime ''[[Area 88]]'', Skyhawks are common, and one is flown by [[mercenary]] and air-to-ground specialist Greg Gates.

 

==References==

<references/>

 

==External Links==

*[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/a-4.htm A-4 Skyhawk at GlobalSecurity.org]

*[http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/skyhawk.htm The A-4 Skyhawk at Boeing.com]

*[http://www.skyhawk.org/ The Skyhawk Association]

*[http://www.historynet.com/douglas-a-4-skyhawks-provided-support-for-vietnam-war.htm  Douglas A-4 Skyhawks: Provided Support for Vietnam War]

 

==Further Reading==

*''Douglas A-4 Skyhawk: Attack and Close-support Fighter Bomber'', by Jim Winchester, Pen & Sword Books, 2005

*''US Navy and Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk Units in the Vietnam War: 1963-1973'', by Peter Mersky, Osprey Publishing, 2007

 

[[Category:Aircraft]]

[[Category:United States Navy]]

[[Category:Vietnam War]]