As the country prepares to honor those who served in the Vietnam War on Friday, one local veteran shared some of his memories from America’s most controversial conflict.
The A-4 Skyhawk, a cost-effective and agile attack jet, holds a significant place in military aviation history, demonstrating that not all influential aircraft need to be exorbitantly priced.
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk has a few distinctive historical claims to fame. Perhaps the most famous example is the fact that a Skyhawk was flown by eventual U.S. Senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain on the day of his shootdown that resulted in his harrowing 5.5-year experience as a POW in the infamous Hanoi Hilton.
Today, nearly seven decades after the aircraft took its first flight in 1954, some A-4 Skyhawks remain in service with the Argentine Air Force and the Brazilian Naval Aviation.
The A-4 was designed as an attack aircraft to replace the Douglas AD Skyraider (A-1). The Navy sought a lightweight platform that was simple and inexpensive, which Douglas Aircraft developed. The A-4 cost roughly $800,000 dollars, less than the Navy’s $1 million budget for the unit