little better with airspeeds decelerating by as
much as 20kts (37km/h) immediately after
getting airborne. When the A-7E entered
service the decision was taken to operate
it 4,000lb (1,814kg) below the variant’s
maximum take-off weight.
The USAF’s A-7Ds were widely used
in Vietnam and Cambodia by the 354th
Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) and the
388th FW both stationed at Korat RTAFB
in Thailand, entering combat in October- The A-7Ds were also assigned the
‘Sandy mission’, providing air cover for
helicopter combat search and rescue. The
USAF Corsair IIs stationed at Korat were
engaged in operations over Vietnam until
mid-January 1973; in Laos until February 22,
1973 and in Cambodia until July 15, 1973
when A-7Ds of the deployed 353rd Tactical
Fighter Squadron/354th TFW flew their last
air support mission of the war in support of
Khmer National Armed Forces.
On May 15, 1975 Khmer Rouge gunboats
seized the SS Mayaguez and A-7Es from the
aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea provided air
cover for the recovery operation. At the end of
the battle three USAF CH-53 helicopters had
been destroyed with the loss of two airmen, 11
Marines and two Navy corpsmen and a further
three Marines were reported missing.By the end of the Vietnam War the US
Navy had lost 19 A-7s in combat whereas the
figure for USAF was four.
When US forces pulled out of bases in
Vietnam and neighbouring Thailand in late
1975, the USAF’s A-7Ds previously stationed
at Korat flew to Clark AFB in the Philippines.
They later returned to the USA and were
taken on charge by several ANG squadrons.
The next combat that the Corsair II saw
was supprting Operation Urgent Fury, the
US-led invasion of Grenada in October 1983.
The A-7Es from VA-15 and VA-87 flew from
the USS Independence and carried out their
role with great success.
Following a suicide attack on a US
Marines billet at Beirut airport, Lebanon on
October 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan
ordered retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah
bases in Syria and Lebanon. The strikes
took place on December 4 and involved six
A-7Es from VA-15 and six from VA-87 flying
from the USS Independence as well as six
A-6E Intruders. The USS John F Kennedy
launched a further nine Intruders. The force
was fired upon by SAMs bringing down
two A-7Es, both pilots ejecting and being
recovered. Another A-7E was also hit but
made it back to the carrier.
On March 24, 1986 what became known
as the ‘Gulf of Sidra incident’ occurred
following simmering tension with Libya. Two
F-14 Tomcats had been engaged by a pair of
Libyan MiG-23s which were then shot down.
Part of the response the same day was USS
Saratoga launching A-7s from VA-83 armed
with AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation
Missiles (HARMs) which destroyed SA-5
missile sites near Sirte.
This was the first time the HARM had
been used in combat. The next day, A-7s
repeated the assault on Libyan SAM sites as
Intruders attacked key Libyan Navy warships
and assets. Further strikes against Libya
were launched on the night of April 15 which
included A-7Es from VA-72 and VA-46 aboard
the USS America as part of Operation El
Dorado Canyon. This was a retaliation after
the US blamed Libya for bombing a West
Berlin nightclub where two US serviceman
and a civilian were killed and a further 229
people were injured including 79 Americans.OPERATIONS PRAYING MANTIS
The Iran-Iraq War led to the creation of
Operation Earnest Will led by the US to
ensure freedom of navigation for shipping
in the Persian Gulf. Vessels were being
protected by warships from foreign navies,
but the crippling of the frigate USS Samuel
B Roberts on April 14, 1988 by an Iranian
mine led to a strike by the US Navy. A-7Es
from USS Enterprise alongside Intruders
prosecuted Operation Praying Mantis against
Iranian targets.
Corsair IIs flown by the Ohio Air National
Guard’s 180th Tactical Fighter Group were
deployed to Panama in late December 1989
to take part in Operation Just Cause, the US
invasion of the Central American nationhttp://www.aviation-news.co.uk 53The folded wings of this Puerto Rico ANG A-7D reveal the aircraft’s naval lineage. Key CollectionThe Corsair II was conceived by the Ling-Temco-Vought consortium as a direct replacement for
the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk in US Navy service. This is a A-7E of VA-146. Peter FosterThis A-7D was photographed in 1974 and was assigned to the USAF’s 354th Tactical Fighter
Squadron/355th Tactical Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. Peter Foster48-55_a7DC.mfDC.mfDC.mfDCDC.mf.indd 53 07/01/2016 16:18