The ’60s were a decade that was all about speed and design. The designers of different aircraft competed to get new records, and their attempts were even made in the air with the presence of a crowd that could be seen at any airshow. However, among this craze for supersonic flight, a small and simple plane hardly made any noise but went on to be recognized as one of the most dependable fighting machines of the U.S. armed forces. The A-7 Corsair II was not spectacular, but it did not leave without its 3 “S” – strength, accuracy, and endurance. For more than 20 years, it was the isolation of the U.S. strike forces.
A single war plane possessing the capabilities to replace the aging sky was needed as the A-4 Skyhawk, the US Navy’s most trusted, began to lose its potential. Although the Skyhawk had been very helpful, the growing complexity of modern battlefields forced the US Navy to require a new replacement—a fighter capable of carrying more and traveling farther, as well as being simple and cheap to maintain. The US Navy made up its mind regarding accomplishing this assignment and defined in 1963 the specifications for a new aircraft that should be a modification of an existing airframe to save both time and money.
Vought took on the task. The company that made the famous WWII F4U Corsair was now going to rely on its F-8 Crusader to come up with a new idea. The design team, headed by engineer John Russell “Russ” Clark, practically shortened the length of the fuselage, got rid of the complicated variable-incidence wing, and replaced the hot afterburner engine with a fuel-efficient turbofan. They created something that looked like a fat Crusader but, in fact, was much more powerful than anyone expected.
One of the major differences between the A-7 and other aircraft was its use of technology in an innovative way. It was recognized as the first American aeroplane to disclose a heads-up display, thereby permitting the pilots to see the primary targeting and flight data without getting out of line of sight. Its radar, and more so, avionics, made it nearly flawless even in bad weather, and the pairing of the computerized bombing system made the Corsair II a perfect hitter against its rivals of the same period.
The Air Force, not to be outdone, soon placed an order for its own model, the A-7D. The modifications in this variant were the installation of the powerful Allison TF41-A-1 engine, a Rolls-Royce-designed licensed product, and a slightly larger wingspan than the original, so as to get better lift and more range. The plane was thus converted into a strike platform of high stripping and long reach by these improvements working alongside each other.
On paper, the suit of the A-7 was very impressive. The Corsair II was capable of carrying over 15,000 lbs of different types of weapons on its eight hardpoints and could fly over a 1200-mile combat radius with just one tank. It could be equipped with anything that ranged from iron bombs to cluster munitions, and further, to advanced guided weapons like the AGM-65 Maverick and Walleye. Besides the technical data, the experience of pilots was that it was easy to fly and take full control of the system in the case of an emergency. Although it did not have an afterburner, it was extremely useful in low-level, close-support, and the like missions in Vietnam, where being tough was more important than fast.
The time factor only made its reputation stronger and stronger. Designed with an armored cockpit, redundant systems, and the use of sturdy building material, the A-7 was able to take hits and still manage to return safely. The war record was excellent: in all of Vietnam, the combined total of Navy crashes and Marine one-hundred and twenty-five flights was only 54 losses, with the Air Force journal of A-7Ds almost 13,000 flights, and six losses only.
The end of the Vietnam War did not stop the A-7’s airplane story. It was still a frontline workhorse in almost every major U.S. operation that succeeded—Lebanon, Libya, Grenada, Panama, and the Gulf War, even. Its flexibility, being equally efficient in ground support or interdiction, kept it in use long after it had been retired.
The A-7 lost weight very gradually over the years. After the debut of the very first A-7A, the B- and C-models followed with improved engines and updated avionic systems. The changes of the Air Force A-7D brought the most modern navigation systems and the M61 Vulcan cannon, while the A-7E of the Navy was the height of the design, able to deliver the high-tech precision bombs, the latest were delivered with great accuracy.
The plane had an equally strong appeal to the U.S. military’s partners. Corsair IIs were flown by Thailand, Greece, and Portugal, all allies, and a few of them kept these aircraft in service for a very long time, even into the 21st century. Its lower price was one of the biggest advantages of the aircraft—less than one million dollars a copy in the 1960s, it was a lot cheaper than that of heavyweights such as the F-4 Phantom. With its efficient turbofan cutting down fuel consumption and ground crews liking its simple design, quick engine change, and ease of upkeep.
Reflecting on the A-7 Corsair II was beyond doubt that speed and glamor are not the only yardsticks of a fine aircraft. Precision, toughness, and cost-effectiveness are the trumps most of the time when the fight becomes real. Retired from U.S. service in 1991 and with its last combat flight being in Greece (2014), the Corsair II is still one of those aircraft that hold a special place in aviation history. It was never built to break records, really, but when the time came, it was able to do so and quite consistently, too.