Internal Fuel Capacity: 800 gallons (560 gal in wing, 240 in fuselage)Ĭompressor Stages: 12-stage axial-flow compressor The first A-4Es were delivered in 1962 and the type would see immensely successful service both at home and abroad until the type’s replacement by the LTV A-7 Corsair II, a heavily revised attack platform roughly based on the high-performance Vought F-8 Crusader. As such, an additional pair of hardpoints were installed on the outer wings, bringing the maximum load to ~8200 lbs. While earlier fighter-bombers and attackers such as the F-86H, FJ-4B, and earlier Skyhawks such as the A-4C were designed around nuclear bombing operations, the A-4E’s role was revised to be an attacker with more conventional ordnance. Installing it in the Skyhawk airframe, however, required new fuselage and inlet ducting leading to a minor change in the A-4E’s dimensions. The A-4E was a revision of the Skyhawk, with a significantly more powerful and efficient J52-P-6A engine which yielded greater range and performance. The engine was mounted in the rear to simplify the maintenance and replacement process, which in turn reduced the complexity of the aircraft's design. Leading edge slats were incorporated into the wings to improve handling at low speeds and high AoA. There was no need for folding wings due to the aircraft's overall diminutive size. The A-4E sported the same low-mounted delta wing with a quarter chord sweep of 33 degrees as earlier Skyhawks. With production spanning around 25 years, the Skyhawk represents one of the USN's most successful aerial attack platforms ever produced. The original Skyhawk would go on to be produced in many different variants, continuously upgraded and retrofitted with newer technologies and better engines for increased performance. Description: The Douglas A-4E Skyhawk was a lightweight, high-performance, carrier-based attack aircraft that was simultaneously versatile in flight performance and attack capability.
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