Texas
Read More
Vought A-7D "Corsair II"
Texas, San Antonio - Lackland AFB - Vought A-7D "Corsair II"
The Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II was a carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft introduced to replace the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. The A-7 airframe design was based on the successful supersonic Vought F-8 Crusader, although it was somewhat smaller and rounded off. The Corsair II initially entered service with the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. It was later adopted by the United States Air Force, including the Air National Guard, to replace the Douglas A-1 Skyraider, and North American F-100 Super Sabre. The aircraft was also exported to Greece in the 1970s, and Portugal in the late 1980s.
Pilots quipped that the Corsair "is not very fast, but it sure is slow." For dissimilar air combat training (DACT), and aerial demonstrations by the Blue Angels, the Navy would choose the more nimble Douglas A-4 Skyhawk as a subsonic maneuvering platform, as some considered the A-7 to be inadequate in air combat, even though it was highly maneuverable. While some questioned its air combat capability it was widely regarded as a highly successful attack aircraft, partly by virtue of being a stable bombing platform. Despite this, the Marine Corps also rejected the Corsair, opting instead for the V/STOL (Vertical/Short Take Off or Landing) AV-8 Harrier as their light attack aircraft to replace their A-4F/M Skyhawks.
The Hellenic Air Force ordered 60 new A-7H aircraft in 1974 and three TA-7Hs in 1980 and received 62 surplus A-7E/TA-7C from the USN after the Gulf War. The last squadron that used the aircraft is the 336th.
The sale of A-7s to Pakistan was not approved due to U.S. opposition to its nuclear program.
F-16s began replacing the Air National Guard Corsairs beginning in the late 1980s and the last were retired in 1993 by the ANG units at Rickenbacker ANGB, Ohio; Des Moines International Airport/Des Moines ANGB, Iowa; Tulsa International Airport/Tulsa ANGB, Oklahoma; and Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport/Springfield ANGB, Ohio.
U.S. Navy A-7 Corsairs began being phased out of the fleet during the mid-1980s with the arrival of the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Naval Reserve A-7 squadrons transitioned concurrent with (but prior to the completion of) all Regular Navy squadrons. The last Navy A-7s were retired by the last fleet operational squadrons (VA-46 and VA-72) in May 1991 shortly after their return from Operation Desert Storm. By the end of 1998, with the exception of some airframes used as static displays, all U.S. A-7s were disposed of by the AMARC at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.
Some of these surplus aircraft were passed to Greece, Thailand and Portugal. The last Portuguese A-7Ps were retired in 2007 after 26 years. Greece retired its A-7s in 2014. The Corsair II served for 49 years. [Wiki]
