February 1991. Under the burning Iraqi sun, dark shadows streak across the vast, golden expanse of desert dunes. In a sky crowded with sleek stealth fighters and state-of-the-art supersonic jets, the US Navy’s Attack Squadron 46’s weapon of choice is perhaps a surprising one: the LTV A-7 Corsair II.
Nicknamed the “Short Little Ugly Fella,” it was labeled as too slow and too awkward to be a war hero even in its 1960s heyday – yet here it is three decades on, hurtling towards Saddam Hussein’s forces on the frontlines of Operation Desert Storm.
Speed has never been their strongest suit, but this won’t be a battle won by velocity. As pilots give the command, the A-7s’ mighty payloads come raining down, reaching their targets with unforgiving precision, each explosion confirming their status as “the ultimate bomb truck.”
As their throttles push forward, the Corsairs’ engines are pushed to their limit, echoing across the desert as the pilots get ready to take on their next target. They may be flying an unlikely warrior against one of the largest armies in the world, but they are determined to prove these rugged underdogs still have some fight left in them…
The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV).
The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was derived from the Vought F-8 Crusader; in comparison with the F-8, the A-7 is both smaller and restricted to subsonic speeds, its airframe being simpler and cheaper to produce. Following a competitive bid by Vought in response to the United States Navy’s (USN) VAL (Heavier-than-air, Attack, Light) requirement, an initial contract for the type was issued on 8 February 1964. Development was rapid, first flying on 26 September 1965 and entering squadron service with the USN on 1 February 1967; by the end of that year, A-7s were being deployed overseas for the Vietnam War.
Initially adopted by USN, the A-7 proved attractive to other services, soon being adopted by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Air National Guard (ANG) to replace their aging Douglas A-1 Skyraider and North American F-100 Super Sabre fleets. Improved models of the A-7 would be developed, typically adopting more powerful engines and increasingly capable avionics. American A-7s would be used in various major conflicts, including the Invasion of Grenada, Operation El Dorado Canyon, and the Gulf War. The type was also used to support the development of the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk.
The A-7 was also exported to Greece in the 1970s and to Portugal in the late 1980s. The USAF and USN opted to retire their remaining examples of the type in 1991, followed by the ANG in 1993 and the Portuguese Air Force in 1999. The A-7 was largely replaced by newer generation fighters such as the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The final operator, the Hellenic Air Force, withdrew the last A-7s during 2014.
Photo: A U.S. Navy Ling-Temco-Vought A-7E-5-CV Corsair II (BuNo 156863) of Attack Squadron 146 (VA-146) “Blue Diamonds” in flight on 16 November 1974. VA-146 assigned to Attack Carrier Air Wing 9 (CVW-9) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Constellation (CVA-64) for a deployment to the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean from 21 June to 23 December 1974. – Robert L. Lawson, U.S. Navy – U.S. Navy National Naval Aviation Museum photo NNAM.1996.253.7100.039
Sources: YouTube; Wikipedia