Though the A-4 Skyhawk was by no means outdated by 1962, the US Navy began work on a replacement with better range and heavier payload. The designs submitted would be necessarily heavier than the A-4, but this was not seen as much of a problem, nor was a lack of speed: the Navy was willing to trade subsonic performance for increased range and more bombs. Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) submitted a design based loosely on its successful F-8 Crusader fighter, which was enough to beat out three other designs, and it was ordered into production as the A-7A Corsair II, named for the successful Chance-Vought fighter of World War II.
Though the A-7 was based on the F-8, the two shared very little other than basic configuration: the A-7 was stubby and wide, and definitely subsonic as intended, though it initially used the same powerplant as the F-111 Aardvark. Turn performance was excellent, if acceleration was indifferent, but the centerpiece of the Corsair II was its integrated bomb delivery system. This included the APQ-116 radar, a heads-up display, traveling map display below the radarscope, and a digital computer. Ease of maintenance was also emphasized. With no problems encountered in flight testing, the A-7A entered fleet service in 1967.
It was immediately committed to fighting in Vietnam. Though A-7s would only see action in the tail end of Operation Rolling Thunder, they were to be used extensively in South Vietnam, due to their accuracy: A-7s were capable of putting ordnance within sixty feet of friendly troops, making it well-liked. The Navy liked the USAF's A-7D variant, and subsequently adopted it, with changes for naval operations, as the A-7E. This was to be the definitive model of the Corsair II, and surviving A-7As and A-7Bs were converted to E standard.
It was a mixed batch of A-7 models that finished the war in Vietnam: A-7Bs were mostly used in the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) Wild Weasel role, and increasingly Corsair IIs were armed with precision weapons such as the AGM-62 Walleye, which proved capable enough to destroy the infamous Thanh Hoa Bridge—albeit temporarily—in 1972. The workhorse A-7 also struck targets in the Hanoi area extensively, making it second only to the B-52 in amount of ordnance dropped on the North Vietnamese capital. Navy A-7s from USS Coral Sea participated in the last combat missions of the Vietnam War, the Mayaguez rescue mission in May 1975. 98 Navy A-7s were shot down during the conflict.
Following the end of the Vietnam War, the A-7 replaced the A-4 in Navy light attack squadrons, standardizing on the A-7E. Aside from minor upgrades, this would remain the type used by Navy units for the duration of the Corsair II’s career. A-7s would go on to participate in every military operation undertaken by the United States in the 1980s—attacks on Lebanon and the invasion of Grenada in 1983, operations against Libya in 1985, during the “Tanker War” in the Persian Gulf in 1987, and finally in the First Gulf War in 1991. In these operations, the A-7 was able to use its pinpoint bombing ability to good use; in Libya and the Persian Gulf, Corsair IIs attacked and sank numerous Libyan and Iranian patrol boats with unguided bombs. It also was the Navy’s Wild Weasel of choice during the 1980s, using the Vietnam-era Shrike before upgrading to the far superior HARM.
In Operation Desert Storm, two A-7 squadrons from John F. Kennedy were used both to attack fixed targets with “iron” bombs and Walleyes in “tank plinking”—knocking out Iraqi tanks with precision weapons. Despite there being less than 30 A-7s in theater, these aircraft were able supplements to the USAF’s A-10s and F-111s.
The First Gulf War was the A-7’s swan song. The last squadrons gave up their Corsair IIs for F/A-18 Hornets by May 1991, ending nearly thirty years of operations. Some ex-Navy A-7s were passed on to Greece, Portugal, and Thailand, and some still remain in service with Thailand and Greece. Of the 1569 A-7s built, about half were Navy types, and today 20 former US Navy A-7s are on display as gate guards and museum pieces.
A-7E Bureau Number 158819 joined the Navy in 1975, first with VA-86 ("Sidewinders") aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN-68); there's a good chance this aircraft appears briefly in the science-fiction movie "The Final Countdown." In 1983, it was transferred to VA-15 ("Valions") aboard USS Independence (CV-62), where it took part in airstrikes against Syrian forces in Lebanon in 1983 and in supporting Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. 158819 went to VA-72 ("Blue Hawks") aboard the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), and would see action yet again, this time during the First Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm. 158819 would fly 39 combat missions. This would be 158819's last dance, just as it was for the A-7 in general, and after the Kennedy returned from the Gulf, the aircraft was retired. It was placed on display at NAS North Island, California, but by 2012, it had been donated to the Tillamook Air Museum.
These days, 158819 could use a fresh coat of paint: though it has been inside for the past decade, the paint job it has worn since returning home from Desert Storm has faded considerably, though it's still very much legible. Under the cockpit are 39 camel mission markers, along with a description of what ordnance was dropped: 84 general purpose bombs, 105 Rockeye cluster bombs, 15 AGM-88 HARM antiradar missiles, and three AGM-62 Walleye guided missiles. This is its appearance when we visited in May 2024; hopefully it will get some TLC soon.
