Douglas A-4 Skyhawk : 1955-2015

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Planes and pilots

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk (1955-2015)

Originally designed to replace another Douglas aircraft, the famous Skyraider, the A-4 Skyhawk had a remarkable career during almost half a century. The US Navy and the US Marine Corps were its first users, the numerous squadrons equipped with « Scooters », its almost official nickname, operating them in particular during the Vietnam War before transforming them into « aggressors » within training units, including the famous « Top Gun », role the A-4 held until the beginning of the present century.

About 3 000 Skyhawks were produced until 1979, date of the closure of production lines. The success of this delta aircraft of reduced dimensions exceeded the only borders of the USA, seven nations using it throughout the world. Among them Israel, whose A-4s made their debuts during the Yom Kippur War, in 1973, and which withdrew them from service only in 2008 and, more recently, Argentina whose Skyhawks gained victories against the British forces during the Falklands War, in 1982.