Service History of 154475
- Delivered:
- Jan 1971 – VA-46 NAS Cecil Field, with deployments aboard USS John F Kennedy
- Sept 1977 – VA-203 NAS Jacksonville
- July 1983 – VA-205 Atlanta
- June 1984 – MASDC/Davis Monthan AFB, Tuscon, AZ
In 1963, the US Navy began to look into replacing the A-4 Skyhawk. The speed of production was a major concern, so Chance Vought’s offered a derivative of their very successful F-8 Crusader.
Simpler and more sturdy than the F-8, the A-7 proved to be a major leap in capability and payload. It was one of the few aircraft to be adopted by the US Air Force as well as the Navy. The A-7 was fondly called the “Short Little Ugly Fella,” and was well liked by its crews.
The A-7 was designed to carry almost every piece of offensive weapon in the Navy’s inventory, and it quickly showed itself to be a capable bombing platform. Joining the US Navy at the height of the Vietnam war, the A-7 proved itself in combat, being able to carry a substantial load over long distances and deliver it accurately.
