LTV A-7 Corsair II

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTV_A-7_Corsair_II

The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack
aircraft manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) to replace the Douglas A-4
Skyhawk. Its airframe design is somewhat a smaller version of the supersonic
Vought F-8 Crusader. The Corsair II initially entered service with the United
States Navy (USN) during the Vietnam War. It was later adopted by the United
States Air Force (USAF), 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 to Portugal in the late 1980s.

In 1962, the United States Navy (USN) began preliminary work on the VAX
(Heavier-than-air, Attack, Experimental), a replacement for the A-4 Skyhawk with
greater range and payload. Particular emphasis was placed on accurate delivery
of weapons to reduce the cost per target. The requirements were finalized in
1963, announcing the VAL (Heavier-than-air, Attack, Light) competition.

To minimize costs, all proposals had to be based on existing designs. Vought,
Douglas Aircraft, Grumman and North American Aviation responded. The Vought
proposal was based on the successful Vought F-8 Crusader fighter, having a
similar configuration, but shorter and more stubby, with a rounded nose. It was
selected as the winner on 11 February 1964, and on 19 March the company received
a contract for the initial batch of aircraft, designated A-7. In 1965, the
aircraft received the popular name Corsair II, after Vought's highly successful
F4U Corsair of World War II. (There was also a Vought O2U Corsair biplane scout
and observation aircraft in the 1920s.)

Compared to the F-8 fighter, the A-7 had a shorter, broader fuselage. The wing
had a longer span, and the unique, variable incidence feature of the F-8 wing
was omitted. To achieve the required range, the A-7 was powered by a Pratt &
Whitney TF30-P-6 turbofan producing 11,345 lbf (50.5 kN) of thrust, the same
innovative combat turbofan produced for the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark and
early Grumman F-14 Tomcats, but without the afterburner needed for supersonic
speeds.

Role
Attack aircraft

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Ling-Temco-Vought

First flight
26 September 1965

Introduction
February 1967

Retired
1991 (USAF, USN); 1993 (ANG)
1999 (Portuguese Air Force)
2014 (Hellenic Air Force)

Status
Retired

Primary users
United States Navy (historical)
United States Air Force (historical)
Portuguese Air Force (historical)
Hellenic Air Force (historical)

Produced
1965–1984

Number built
1,569

Unit cost

US$2.86 million

Developed from
Vought F-8 Crusader

Variants
LTV A-7P Corsair II
Vought YA-7F

Initial operational basing/homeporting for USN A-7 squadrons was at NAS Cecil
Field, Florida for Atlantic Fleet units and NAS Lemoore, California for Pacific
Fleet units. This was in keeping with the role of these bases in already hosting
the A-4 Skyhawk attack squadrons that would eventually transition to the A-7.

Pilots of the early A-7s lauded the aircraft for general ease of flying (with
the exceptions of poor stability on crosswind landings and miserable stopping
performance on wet runways with an inoperative anti-skid braking system) and
excellent forward visibility but noted a lack of engine thrust. This was
addressed with A-7B and more thoroughly with A-7D/E. The turbofan engine
provided a dramatic increase in fuel efficiency compared with earlier turbojets
– the A-7D was said to have specific fuel consumption one sixth that of an F-100
Super Sabre at equivalent thrust. An A-7D carrying 12 x 500 lb (230 kg) bombs at
480 mph (770 km/h) at 33,000 ft (10,000 m) used only 3,350 lb (1,520 kg) of fuel
per hour. Typical fuel consumption at mission retrograde during aircraft carrier
recovery was approximately 30 pounds per minute (14 kg/min) compared to over 100
pounds per minute (45 kg/min) for the Phantom F-4J/N series. The A-7 Corsair II
was tagged with the nickname "SLUF" ("Short Little Ugly ****er") by pilots.

In Vietnam, the hot, humid air robbed even the upgraded A-7D and A-7E of power.
Takeoff rolls were lengthy, and fully armed aircraft struggled to reach 500 mph
(800 km/h). For A-7A aircraft, high density altitude and maximum weight runway
takeoffs often necessitated a "low transition", where the aircraft was
intentionally held in "ground effect" a few feet off the runway during gear
retraction, and as much as a 10 mi (16 km) departure at treetop altitude before
reaching a safe flap retraction speed. (A-7A wing flap systems were either fully
extended or fully retracted. The A-7A flap handle did not have the microswitch
feature of later models that permitted the flaps to be slowly raised by several
degrees per tap of the flap handle as airspeed slowly increased during
max-weight takeoffs.)

A total of 98 USN A-7 Corsairs were lost during the war.

Specifications (A-7E)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 46 ft 2 in (14.06 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 9 in (11.8 m)
Width: 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) wings folded
Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.9 m)
Wing area: 374.9 sq ft (34.83 m2)
Airfoil: NACA 65A007 root and tip
Empty weight: 19,127 lb (8,676 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 41,998 lb (19,050 kg) overload condition.
Fuel capacity: 1,338 US gal (5,060 l; 1,114 imp gal) (10,200 lb (4,600 kg))
internal
Powerplant: 1 × Allison TF41-A-2 non-afterburning turbofan engine, 15,000 lbf
(66.7 kN) thrust

Performance
Maximum speed: 600 kn (690 mph; 1,111 km/h) at Sea level

562 kn (1,041 km/h; 647 mph) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) with 12x Mk82 bombs595 kn
(1,102 km/h; 685 mph) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) after dropping bombsRange: 1,070
nmi; 1,231 mi (1,981 km) maximum internal fuel
Ferry range: 1,342 nmi; 1,544 mi (2,485 km) with maximum internal and external
fuel
Service ceiling: 42,000 ft (13,000 m)
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/attack/a7/
Wing loading: 77.4 lb/sq ft (378 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 0.50

Sustained maneuvering performance: 5,300 ft (1,600 m) turning radius at 4.3g and
500 kn (930 km/h; 580 mph) at an All Up Weight (AUW) of 28,765 lb (13,048 kg)
Take-off run: 1,705 ft (520 m) at 42,000 lb (19,000 kg)

Armament

Guns: 1× M61A1 Vulcan 20 mm (0.79 in) rotary cannon with 1,030 rounds
Hardpoints: 6× under-wing and 2× fuselage pylon stations (for mounting AIM-9
Sidewinder AAMs only) with a capacity of 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) total
capacity,with provisions to carry combinations of: Rockets: 4× LAU-10 rocket
pods (each with 4× 127 mm (5.00 in) Mk 32 Zuni rockets)
Missiles:
2× AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile
2× AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile
2× AGM-62 Walleye TV-guided glide bomb
2× AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile
2× AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile
2× GBU-8 HOBOS electro-optically guided glide bomb

Bombs:
Up to 30× 500 lb (230 kg) Mark 82 bombs or Mark 80 series of unguided bombs
(including 6.6 lb (3 kg) and 31 lb (14 kg) practice bombs)
Paveway series of laser-guided bombs

Up to 4× B28 nuclear bomb/B43 nuclear bomb/B57 nuclear bomb/B61 nuclear bomb/B83
nuclear bombs
Other: up to 4 × 300 US gal (1,100 l; 250 imp gal), 330 US gal (1,200 l; 270 imp
gal), or 370 US gal (1,400 l; 310 imp gal) drop tanks





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