The Vought A-7 Corsair II occupies a unique position in naval aviation history. It was neither sleek nor supersonic, and it decidedly did not turn heads like some of its flashier contemporaries. And yet this “Short Little Ugly Fella,” as its pilots lovingly called it, became one of America’s most dependable and potent strike jets. The question is simple: how did a humble, subsonic jet excel in an age obsessed with speed and sophisticated technology?
It reminds us of the early 1960s, the height of the Cold War period. While the military planners were trying to keep up with ever-quicker aircraft to counter the potential Soviet attack, the Vietnam War called for something else. The United States Navy needed a heavy-haul strike aircraft that would endure prolonged journeying and hostile fire, and yet was cheap. There was less concern about flashy performance or the speed record.
The Navy, in 1963, issued a Request for Proposals that echoed this realistic request. Not another supersonic marvel, but a subsonic attack plane with proven design features, twice the payload and range of the A-4 Skyhawk, and less complex mechanics in general. The goal was simple: an aircraft that would be able to fly under fire regularly.
Vought responded by applying lessons gained on its F-8 Crusader. The ten feet were cut off the airframe, the variable-incidence wing eliminated, and a fuel-conserving turbofan engine without afterburner installed. What resulted was the A-7 Corsair II: simpler, tougher, and cheaper. It made its first flight in September 1965 and was in combat service surprisingly quickly.
The A-7 was built with function over form. It wasn’t built to chase MiGs at supersonic speeds. Instead, it was built to carry out low-level attack sorties, prioritizing range, payload, and sustainability. Its high-powered engine enabled the A-7 to fly over 1,200 miles without replenishment and deliver up to 15,000 pounds of bombs—close to twice the A-4’s capacity.
But the Corsair II was far from primitive. It was an avionics pioneer, the first U.S. warplane to feature a heads-up display projecting flight and targeting information directly into the pilot’s line of sight. Sophisticated nav and weapons systems made precision strikes more accurate than ever. The A-7 could drop conventional bombs, along with early guided ordnance such as the AGM-62 Walleye, one of the earliest TV-guided bombs.
Reliability was a definite plus. The armored cockpit, dual-control systems, and heavy-duty construction of the A-7 made it a reliable companion for pilots. They could count on it to fly them home even in bad weather.
This reliability was proven in Vietnam. Marine and Navy A-7s flew over 97,000 combat sorties, losing only 54 aircraft. The Air Force’s A-7D, equipped with a more powerful engine and better electronics, flew nearly 13,000 sorties and lost only six—a survival rate unmatched by any American strike aircraft in the war. In rain, darkness, or heavy ground fire, the A-7 performed reliably and consistently.
The aircraft’s career went beyond Vietnam. It operated in Lebanon, Grenada, Libya, Panama, and the Gulf War. Upgrades for Air Force A-7Ds came with such weapons as the M61 Vulcan cannon and AGM-65 Maverick missiles, continuing the aircraft’s utility well into the mid-1980s.
Even the YA-7F prototype, which was powered by an F-16 engine and equipped with advanced avionics for supersonic speed, was tried by Vought. Although promising, with the arrival of multi-mission jets like the F-16 following the end of the Cold War, the project was shelved due to changing military priorities.
By the early 1990s, the A-7 had been retired, replaced by fighters like the F-16 and A-10. But its legend lives on. The Corsair II had demonstrated that combat effectiveness does not always require speed or flash. Practicality, reliability, and efficiency are usually preferable. The A-7 remains today a testament to a fighter that did its job consistently whenever it had to.