Has.07013/P13

L.T.V. A-7D CORSAIR II

The Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) A-7 Corsair II was developed under a US Navy requirement for an improved strike aircraft to replace the A-4 Skyhawk. The engineers at LTV adapted the design of their very successful F-8 Crusader family to meet this requirement by shortening the fuselage (no afterburner required), eliminating the variable incidence wing, adding additional weapons stations, and installing new avionics. The resulting design still bore a striking resemblance to the Crusader, but the shorter fuselage length was the heart of the A-7’s unofficial nickname – SLUF (Short Little Ugly ‘Fella’).

The A-7 was such a successful attack aircraft that the USAF acquired the A-7D to fulfill its own strike and close air support requirements. The A-7E, like the A-7D, was armed with the 20mm M61 Vulcan gatling gun, replacing the two 20mm cannons arming the earlier SLUFs. The visible difference between the A-7D and the A-7E (besides the paint job) was the air refueling system. The A-7D had a hump added to the fuselage aft of the cockpit housing the air refueling receiver, whereas the A-7E (and all other USN SLUFs) had a retractable air refueling probe mounted on the right side of the nose, just under the canopy.

The A-7D saw its first combat action in 1972 as the type was pressed into close air support and interdiction missions while operating from Korat RTAFB, Thailand. The SLUF also replaced the A-1 Skyraiders in the 'Sandy' mission - escorting rescue helicopters into hostile territory and suppressing enemy fire while downed aircrew were located, rescued, and taken out of harm's way. The A-7D dropped more bombs on Hanoi than any other aircraft type, save the B-52, yet out of the nearly 13,000 sorties flown in theater, only six were lost in combat, the lowest loss rate of any fighter during the war.

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