Walk Around Photo Feature:       A-7E Corsair II

This is a walk around of an A-7E Corsair II Carrier Based Jet Attack Aircraft, I took these Photos at the Maps Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio in July 2015.

History:

The Ling-Temco_Vought A-7 Corsair II is a carrier-based subsonic light attack aircraft introduced to replace the United States Navy's Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, initially entering service during the Vietnam War.  The Corsair II was later adopted by the United States Air Force, to include the Air National Guard, to replace the Douglas A-1 Skyraider, North American F-100 Super Sabre and Republic F-105 Thunderchief.  The aircraft was exported to Greece in the 1970s, and Portugal and Thailand in the late 1980s.  The A-7 airframe design was based on the successful supersonic Vought F-8 Crusader.  It was one of the first combat aircraft to feature a heads-up display (HUD), an inertial navigation system (INS), and a turbofan engine.   In the 1980s F16's began to replace the A-7's in the Air National Guard units and the last of the A-7E's were retired in 1993.

Career Hightlights:

• 1967-1971 the U.S. Navy equipped 27 squadrons with the A-7A/B/C/D aircraft.
• 98 aircraft were lost during the Vietnam War
• 1965 The United States Air Force ordered a version of the A-7D.
• USAF A-7D's few sorties in Cambodia in support of the Lon Nul government.
• In 1974 the Navy begin to transfer the A-7's to the Air National Guard.
• Navy A-7E squadrons VA-15 & VA-87 flew close air support for the invasion of Grenada in 1983.
• Navy A-7's provided air support for the U.S. mission in Lebanon in 1983.
• Navy A-7's were involved in the dispute with Libya in 1986.
• Two squadrons were deployed off of the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)  for Operation Desert Shield in August 1990.
• The 4450th Tactical Group at Nellis AFB was the last active USAF use of the A-7 Corsair.

 Aircraft Data:

• Role: Attack
• Country of Origin: United States
• Manufacturer: Ling-Temco-Vought
• Produced: 1965 - 1984  1,569 built
• First Flight: September 26, 1965
• Introduction:  February 1, 1967
• Retired: June 1, 1993
• Cruise Speed: 545 mph
• Range: 700 miles
• Crew:1
• Power-plant: 1 Allison TF-41-A-2 non-after-burning turbofan engine with 15,000 lbs thrust
• Armament: 1 M61A1 Vulcan 20mm Rotary Cannon, 6 under-wing and 2 under fuselage hard-points for a total of 15,000 lbs of arms.
• Wingspan: 38 feet 9 inches
• Length: 46 feet 2 inches
• Height: 16 feet 1 inches
• Wing area: 374 square feet
• Weights: Empty 19,127 lbs, Maximum Take-Off 41,998 lbs
• Maximum speed: 690 mph
• Ceiling: 42,000 feet
• Range: 1,231 miles 

 Commonly Equiped Weapons:

Rockets:

• 4x LAU-10 Rocket Pods with 5 inch  MK 32 Zuni Rockets

Missiles:

• 2x AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile
• 2x AGM-45 Shrike Anti-radiation missile
• 2x AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile
• 2x AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile

Bombs:

• Up to 30x 500 lb Mark 82 bombs or Mark 80 series of unguided bombs
• Paveway series of laser-guided bombs
• 2x AGM-62 Walleye TV-guided glide bomb
• 2x GBU-8 HOBOS electro-optically guided glide bomb
• Up to 4x B28, B43, B57, B61, or B83 Nuclear bombs

The Display Aircraft's Service Record.  A-7E #159268

• Mar 1974     Built at LTV Aviation, Dallas, Texas.
•                     Delivered to the US Navy on March 21, 1974
•                     Attack Squadron (VA-66) Deployed aboard U.S.S. Independence (CVA-62)
•                     to the Mediterranean (twice) and to the North Atlantic
•                     Deployed aboard U.S.S. Eisenhower (CVN-69) to the Mediterranean and to the Indian Ocean
• Apr 1981     Naval Air Rework Facility, Jacksonville, Florida
• Aug 1982    VA-174, Deployed to the U.S.S. Eisenhower to the Mediterranean
• Apr 1984     VA-105 Naval Air Station, Cecil Field, Florida
• Jun 1984     VA-15 Deployed aboard U.S.S. Independence to Indian Ocean
• Oct 1984     VA-82 Deployed aboard U.S.S. Nimitz (CVN-68) to the North Atlantic
• Feb 1985    VA-46 Deployed aboard U.S.S. America to the North Atlantic
• Feb 1988    VA-105 Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida
• Jan 1990     Dropped from inventory and moved to Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center
•                    Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona
• Jun 1991    Delivered to the U.S.S. Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum New York, New York.
•                    During this time the A-7E appeared in the movie "National Treasure".
• Nov 2004    Placed on indefinite loan to MAPS from the United States Navy.