<p>When a Vought design team under J. W. Russell Clark designed the A-7 Corsair II in 1964-65, its intent was to use existing technology to produce a carrierborne strike aircraft with superb navigation and weapons delivery potential. It did not have to be supersonic, and it did not have to be pretty. Men were dying in Vietnam, and the A-7, the only warplane to be introduced to that conflict as a result of lessons learned in it, would be able to carry a heavy load, loiter in the target area and cope effectively with MiGs, missiles and anti-aircraft fire. Clark's team produced the aircraft and John W. Konrad made the first flight of the A-7A Corsair II (152580) at Dallas on 27 September 1965. Initial carrier qualification tests were carried out aboard USS America (CVA-66) on 15 November 1966 by Commander Fred Hueber in the seventh A-7A airframe.
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<p>The A-7 did not seem particularly impressive at first, and no one could have predicted that the aircraft would remain a principal weapon in the American arsenal for another 25 years. No one could have predicted, either, that the A-7 would become well-loved, yet the airplane won respect and affection from all who fly it. In regular Air Force service the A-7D was far better liked by pilots and maintenance people than is generally acknowledged.
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<p>Men who had flown the mighty 'Thud' (Republic F-105) or supersonic 'Hun' (North American F-100) were at first appalled at having to transfer into a stubby, blunt-nosed, subsonic warplane, which even Vought's program director, Sol Love, admitted was ugly. Their feelings changed dramatically, though, when they discovered that they could fly a strike mission knowing something no strike pilots had ever known before: their exact latitude and longitude on Earth, precisely to the foot.
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<p>Pinpoint navigation and ordnance delivery is accepted as 'state of the art' today, but the A-7D and its Navy counterpart, the A-7E, were the first to have it. The A-7D's superb NWDS (Navigation and Weapons Delivery System) put its 20,000-lb (9,072-kg) bomb load squarely on target. The A-7D also had the right gun in the General Electric M61AI Vulcan cannon with 1,032 rounds, and the right engine in the 14,250-lb (63.4-kN) thrust Allison TF41-A-1 turbofan, a development of the Rolls-Royce Spey. Virtually the same features were introduced on the naval A-7E.
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<p>By the time Air Force A-7Ds reached Southeast Asia with the 354th TFW at Korat in October 1972, the aircraft was widely understood to be capable of carrying out a precision attack, carrying a formidable load and delivering that load squarely on target. The A-7D was surprisingly troublefree, designed for walkaround maintenance without ladders or stanchions, and could be quickly 'turned around' to fly one mission after another.
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<p>Air Force A-7Ds of the 354th TFW took over the 'Sandy' mission, replacing the Douglas A-1E Skyraider as the strike escort for the Sikorsky HH-53C helicopter in behind-the-lines SAR missions. At the same time, a second A-7D unit, the 3rd TFS under Lieutenant Colonel Edward R. ('Moose') Skowron, also flew SAR missions in Southeast Asia. Navy A-7Es and Air Force A-7Ds served in their more conventional role as bombers during the 'Eleven-Day War' of 18-29 December, called Linebacker II, when a massive air campaign finally forced North Vietnam to agree to a settlement. In May 1975, when Cambodian forces seized the American merchant vessel SS Mayaguez, Air Force A-7Ds flew missions in support of the crew's rescue.
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<p>Other active-duty A-7D units were the 355th TFW at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, and the 23rd TFW at England AFB, Louisiana. In October 1977 the latter wing crossed the Atlantic to snap up all the awards available to it at the Royal Air Force Tactical Bombing Competition at Lossiemouth, Scotland, outperforming the new RAF SEPECAT Jaguars. Also in 1977, the USAF began retrofitting its A-7D fleet with Automated Maneuvering Flaps to improve the aircraft's performance at high angles of attack and to counter its tendency to 'depart' when nose-high. At about the same time, the TISL or 'Pave Penny' system was added to a chin protuberance and slaved to the A-7D's HUD, improving target acquisition and bombing accuracy. Some 383 aircraft were so modified.
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<p>The A-7D was initially delivered to the Air National Guard in October 1975, when the 188th TFS at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, began flying the type. Of 14 ANG squadrons to fly the tough, stubby attack aircraft, only Kirtland's and the Sandston, Virginia-based 149th TFS did not employ the two-letter tailcodes called 'tactical unit identifiers' found on most USAF tactical aircraft. For the Guard's A-7D fleet, a superb safety record with the type kept the scattered Air National Guard squadrons at a low attrition rate, and they were more than able to meet their contingency commitments to NATO, Korea and the Central Command.
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<p>The final variant of the 'SLUF' (Short Little Ugly F***ker), the two-seat A-7K, is the only variant which never served with the USAF, but went directly to the Air National Guard. The first A-7K (731008) was a conversion of an existing A-7D, but another 30 airframes in the A-7K series were built.
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<p>Between 1987 and 1988, 48 surviving A-7Ds and eight A-7Ks were further 'uglified' through the addition of a large pod under the wing. This housed the AN/AAR-49 FLIR for the LANA (low-altitude navigation and attack) system, which also introduced automatic terrain-following capability and a wide-angle HUD. This greatly improved the attack capabilities of the ANG's A-7s in their autumn years. An A-7K LANA was the first conversion to be delivered, and it went to the 150th TFG, New Mexico ANG, in the summer of 1987.
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<p>Vought could see that despite this marked increase in capability the A-7 was coming to the end of its career in its present form, but felt that the trusted design still had some potential. A proposal for a supersonic version of the A-7, known as the Strikefighter or Corsair III and to be made by converting existing airframes, sprang up in answer to a USAF requirement for a CAS/BAI (close air support/ battlefield air ground interdiction) aircraft. Funds were released to convert two A-7Ds to A-7 Plus standard. In addition to a full LANA fit these aircraft had an extended tail fin, spoilers, INS, GPS, HOTAS and, most obvious of all, the fuselage was stretched by a total of 3.9 ft (1.21 m). In performance terms the new F110 engine that was fitted improved the A-7 Plus immensely over the A-7D, as evidenced by the second flight of the first aircraft when a sped of Mach 1.04 was easily reached. Both aircraft later became designated YA-7Fs (the second time the F suffix had been used) and embarked on a flight test program of some 316 hours over 183 sorties between 1989 and 1991. Ultimately, however, the USAF declined to authorize production.
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<p>Further cuts in spending forced the complete retirement of the A-7D/K in 1993, when the final four ANG squadrons converted to the F-16C.
<item><hi format=bold>Performance:</hi> maximum speed, clean 662 mph (1,065 km/h) at 2,000 ft (610 m), and with 6,000 lb (2,722 kg) of stores 647 mph (1,041 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,525 m); radius of action 550 miles (885 km) with eight 227-kg (500-lb) bombs allowing 30 minutes at low level in target area, or 1,095 miles (1,762 km) with 12 227-kg (500-lb) bombs in hi-lo-hi mission; ferry range 2,870 miles (4,619 km) with four 300-US gal (1,137-liter) tanks
<item><hi format=bold>Weights:</hi> empty 19,781 Ib (8,973 kg); maximum take-off 42,000 lb (19,051 kg)
<item><hi format=bold>Dimensions:</hi> span 38 ft 9 in (11.81 m); length 46 ft 1 in (14.06 m); height 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m); wing area 875 sq ft (34.84 m<su>2</su>)
<item><hi format=bold>Armament:</hi> one internal 20-mm M61 Vulcan cannon with 1,000 rounds, plus up to 15,000 lb (6,804 kg) of ordnance on six wing and two fuselage pylons
