Here at Avgeekery.com we know how much our people enjoy Skyhawks. This gem of a film was produced by McDonnell Douglas in the early 1970s to familiarize potential customers with their model A-4 model light attack jet- specifically the A-4M Skyhawk II, although they show but don’t mention the Mike model until about halfway through the picture. The A-4E, A-4F, TA-4F, and TA-4J are also shown. A Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake A-4C sneaks in to videobomb the film late. And as the film points out, Skyhawks had been flying combat missions over Vietnam for several years before the film was produced. When the last A-4 rolled off the production line in 1979, 2,960 of them had been built (all variants). Many Skyhawk fans would agree that wasn’t enough of them!
[youtube id=”1mfdRvzUVtM” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]
Skyhawks from VMA-311 Tomcats, VA-125 Rough Raiders, VA-127 Batmen, VA-164 Ghost Riders, VMT-103 Sky Chickens, VA-55 Warhorses, VMA-211 Wake Island Avengers, VT-22 Golden Eagles, and VA-56 Champions appear in the film. Some really nice quality air-to-air footage is included. Naturally the superior characteristics of the A-4M are listed, from the uprated Pratt & Whitney J52-P408 engine to the increased ammunition capacity for the internal twin 20 millimeter cannons, improved angle-rate bombing system, and larger cockpit enclosure.
There’s more, but the film does a better job listing the deltas between the Foxtrot and the Mike than I can. Enjoy this rare look at the A-4 Skyhawk!
Video posted on YouTube by Periscope Film.
My father flew these in Vietnam with VA 55. He crashed one on the deck of the USS Ticonderoga CV-14. I have the stick from that plane. He also worked with McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach, Ca selling them as a Test Pilot. I have a bunch of photos and booklets from that time.
I was a member of VMA-121 in 1966 when we TRANS-PACD in A-4Es to Iwakuni Japan on our way to Chu-Lai RVN.there I flew 113 combat missions in the A-4E before being assigned to FAC duty. I have also flown the C and C/L models. ( the E is far superior)