THE A-4 ALLEY
This is a tribute
to the A-4 Skyhawk, still soldiering in the
service of many air forces around the globe.
These photos are of
Royal New Zealand Air Force A-4s, many of them were taken by me, the exceptions are noted
The articles were kindly submitted by Don Simms.
The site also includes a large group of photos and articles on the A-4G whilst in service with the Royal Australian Navy's Fleet Air Arm
If you have any Kiwi or Aussie A-4 Skyhawk Images, video or other things of interest and you would like them displayed here then e-mail me
These pages are best viewed over a broadband connection at higher than 1024 X 768 dpi and in 16bit high colour or better.
To visit a particular page click on the links below
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Some short videos &
many photographs shots of Kiwi Skyhawks in Flight Updated July 2006 |
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| 2 Sqn RNZAF in Aussie |
RNZAF Skyhawk's based at HMAS Albatross taken from 1991 onwards |
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| Kiwi Skyhawk Operations | Article on the Squadrons and operations of RNZAF Skyhawks | ||
| Kiwi Skyhawk History | Articles on the history of RNZAF Skyhawks | ||
| Kiwi Skyhawk Oddz N Enz | Mishaps and other miscellaneous shots | ||
| End of an Era |
Pictures from the
Final Days of RNZAF Skyhawk operations Updated July 2006 |
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| 2 Squadron in Perth 2001 |
Collection of
photo's taken on No 2 Squadron RNZAF's last deployment to RAAF Pierce,
Perth in 2001. None of these pictures are mine. |
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| Glenn's Skyhawk Images |
A collection of
images from photographer Glenn Alderton. Check out his website for an awesome collection of other aircraft images |
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| Kiwi Skyhawk Walkaround | 72 Close ups of Kiwi A-4K and TA-4K Skyhawk's that may be of use to modellers. | ||
| Aussie A-4G Images | A large collection of Royal Australian Navy A-4G Skyhawk images | ||
| Aussie A-4G Histories | A large collection of Royal Australian Navy A-4G Skyhawk documents and other Stuff | ||
| Aussie A-4G Videos | A large collection of Royal Australian Navy A-4G Skyhawk Videos | ||
| Johns Aussie A-4G Images | Over 100 images of Royal Australian Navy A-4G Skyhawks in flight and one the ground | ||
| Skyhawk Links | Some good A-4 Skyhawk links. |
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Fact Sheet
by Don Simms
| The
Douglas (later McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing) A-4 Skyhawk was designed by Ed
Heinemann in 1952 as a low cost, carrier-borne, light-weight attack aircraft for
the US Navy. The Skyhawk first flew on the 22nd of June 1954 and quickly earned the nicknames “Scooter”, “Heinemann’s Hot Rod” “Bantam Bomber” and “Tinker Toy Bomber” because of its revolutionary small size and record breaking performance. One of its original roles in US Navy service was the delivery of a single nuclear free fall bomb, which had it been used in anger would have been a one way flight to oblivion for the pilot! The Skyhawk was in continuous production for 25 years (1954-1979) and in that time 2960 aircraft, in 22 different variants were built. The Skyhawk has seen active service in Vietnam with the USN and USMC (1964-1975), various Middle East conflicts with the Israeli Air Force (1967-1990), the Falklands War with the Argentinean Air Force and Navy (1982), and most recently in the Gulf War with the Kuwaiti Air Force (1990-1991). In all cases it has proven itself to be a tough and reliable aircraft, able to withstand significant battle damage. The Skyhawk is currently in service with the Armed Forces of Singapore, Indonesia, Israel, Argentina and Brazil. It was withdrawn from USMC front-line and reserve service in 1992. Several other countries are also currently considering purchasing surplus USN/USMC Skyhawk's for use in front line service and training and support roles. It is expected that the Skyhawk will remain in service around the world for at least another ten years. The aircraft is also operated by several companies providing flying training and "Adversary or Aggressor" Services to the USN, USAF and other militaries . Early Skyhawks were fitted with a Curtis-Wright J65-W-4 turbojet engine, producing 7800lbs of thrust. Later variants (including New Zealand’s aircraft) were fitted with the Pratt and Whitney J52-P-8A/B/C turbojet, producing 9300lbs of thrust. An even more powerful variant of this engine, the J-52-P-408 of 11200lbs thrust, was also available and was fitted to most Skyhawks built after 1970. The Republic of Singapore Air Force has fitted a non after-burning General Electric F404 turbofan engine (as used in the F-18) to it’s upgraded A-4S-1 aircraft (modified former USN A-4B’s). In this form the engine produces 10800lbs of thrust, with much better reliability and fuel consumption than the original Curtis-Wright J65 engine. |
New Zealand's Skyhawks may be gone but they will be remembered on the pages of this site.
If
you wish to email me or to add anything to this site then feel free.
The opinions on this site are mine and mine alone.