Hi mates!
Speaking about F-14 and related stuffs make me desire also a great A-6 Intruder to fill the carrier gap in our sim!
Infact as we have all strike planes available for carrier operation , we still miss the great Grumman!
To make things shorter:
Here the great Intruder in the first days of it's fife with all his school tools!
And here is it's wiki history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-6_intruderA few of data:
HISTORY:
First Flight
(YA2F-1) 19 April 1960
(EA-6A) 1963
(EA-6B) 25 May 1968
(KA-6D) 23 May 1966
(A-6E) 27 February 1970
(A-6E/TRAM) 22 March 1974
(A-6F) 26 August 1987
Service Entry
(A-6A) 1 February 1963
(EA-6B) July 1971
Retirement
(A-6E) 1997
CREW: two: pilot, weapons officer
ESTIMATED COST:
(A-6E) $43 million [1998$]
AIRFOIL SECTIONS:
Wing Root NACA 64A009 mod
Wing Tip NACA 64A005.9 mod
DIMENSIONS:
Length 54.75 ft (16.69 m)
Wingspan 53.00 ft (16.15 m)
25.33 ft (7.72 m) folded
Height 16.17 ft (4.93 m)
Wing Area 528.9 ft² (49.13 m²)
Canard Area not applicable
WEIGHTS:
Empty 27,615 lb (12,525 kg)
Normal Takeoff unknown
Max Takeoff 58,600 lb (26,580 kg) catapult launch
60,400 lb (27,395 kg) land-based
Fuel Capacity internal: 15,940 lb (7,230 kg)
external: 10,050 lb (4,560 kg) in five 400 gal (1,515 L) drop tanks
Max Payload 18,000 lb (8,165 kg)
PROPULSION:
Powerplant
(A-6A) two Pratt & Whitney J52-6 turbojets
(A-6E) two Pratt & Whitney J52-8B turbojets
Thrust
(A-6A) 17,000 lb (75.62 kN)
(A-6E) 18,600 lb (82.74 kN)
PERFORMANCE:
Max Level Speed at altitude: 625 mph (1,005 km/h), Mach 0.94
at sea level: 645 mph (1,035 km/h), Mach 0.85
cruise speed: 475 mph (765 km/h)
Initial Climb Rate 7,620 ft (2,325 m) / min
2,120 ft (645 m) / min [with one engine]
Service Ceiling 42,400 ft (12,925 m)
21,000 ft (6,400 m) [with one engine]
Range
typical: 880 nm (1,630 km) [with max payload]
ferry: 2,820 nm (5,220 km)
Endurance unknown
g-Limits +6.5
ARMAMENT:
Gun none
Stations five external hardpoints
Air-to-Air Missile AIM-9 Sidewinder (rarely carried)
Air-to-Surface Missile AGM-12 Bullpup, AGM-45 Shrike, up to two AGM-62 Walleye, up to four AGM-65 Maverick, AGM-78 Standard ARM, up to two AGM-84 Harpoon, up to two AGM-84 SLAM, up to four AGM-88 HARM, up to two AGM-123 Skipper II
Bomb up to four GBU-10/12/16 Paveway laser-guided, up to three B57/61 nuclear, up to 22 Mk 81/82 GP or ten Mk 83 GP or three Mk 84 GP, up to 22 Mk 7/20 Rockeye, up to 28 CBU-78, up to 20 Mk 117, up to 22 Mk 77 Napalm
Other ECM pods, up to 10 2.75-in rocket pods, up to 10 5-in Zuni rocket pods, up to 26 ADM-141 decoy drones, D-704 buddy-buddy refueling pod, mines
KNOWN VARIANTS:
YA2F-1 or YA-6A Development prototype ordered in March 1959, the first four were fitted with swiveling engine nozzles to provide additional lift at takeoff; 8 built
A-6A Production attack plane first delivered to the US Navy in February 1963; 482 built
EA-6A Electronic countermeasures and intelligence gathering platform based on the A-6A airframe; 6 converted (3 YA-6A, 3 A-6A) and 21 built
NA-6A YA-6A and A-6A airframes devoted to special test duties; 6 converted
A-6B A-6A airframes modified to carry the AGM-78 Standard ARM (anti-radiation missile) in place of the AGM-12 Bullpup; 19 converted
A-6C A-6A airframes modified with improved night-attack capability by the addition of FLIR (forward-looking infrared) and low-light TV equipment in a turret under the fuselage; 12 converted
KA-6D Originally ordered as a new production model but instead former A-6A airframes modified for use as in-flight refueling aircraft equipped with a hose and drogue unit in the rear fuselage and TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation) instrumentation, also retained day attack capability and could be operated as an air/sea rescue control platform; 78 converted
A-6E Advanced new-build attack bomber with an improved multi-mode nav/attack radar, and an automated attack and weapons-delivery system; about 120 built and 240 A-6As converted
A-6E/TRAM Target Recognition Attack, Multisensor (TRAM) upgrade applied to the A-6E fleet that saw the installation of a chin turret containing a FLIR and laser-designator, CAINS (carrier airborne inertial navigation system), an automated carrier-landing system, and the ability to carry precision guided bombs
A-6E/SWIP A-6E upgrade introducing the ability to carry stand-off precision attack weapons such as Maverick, Harpoon, SLAM, and HARM; later upgrades added a HUD for the pilot, revised wing fillets, and additional fuel
A-6F Proposed improved attack bomber with new engines, new radar, updated cockpit displays, and ability to carry air-to-air missiles; cancelled when the Navy decided to develop the General Dynamics A-12 Avenger II stealth attack aircraft; 5 prototypes built
A-6G Proposed cheaper alternative to the A-6F; not built
EA-6B Prowler Improved electronic countermeasures aircraft equipped with up to 5 underwing and underfuselage jammer pods, also retrofitted to carry AGM-88 HARM missiles
KNOWN COMBAT RECORD:
Vietnam War (USN, USMC 1965-1972)
Lebanon - US Multinational Force (USN, 1982-1983)
Libya - Operation Attain Document (USN, 1986)
Libya - Operation El Dorado Canyon (USN, 1986)
Persian Gulf - Operation Praying Mantis (USN, 1988)
Iraq - Operation Desert Storm (USN, USMC, 1991)
Iraq - Operation Southern Watch (USAF, 1991-1994)
KNOWN OPERATORS:
United States (US Marine Corps)
United States (US Navy)
....and now a few of it's portrait:
-225_over_Vietnam_1969.JPG)
It's movie: 'Flight of the Intruder' (I have read the book and see the movie: I'm loving it!!)
And the sad shot of it's last launch the 12 december 1996:
Author
Topic: We miss the A-6 Intruder for our 1966 era! (Read 42868 times)
