A-4 Skyhawk Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions

Designed by Douglas Aircraft Co.'s brilliant

engineer Ed Heinemann, the turbojet

powered, delta-wing A-4 Skyhawk played a

key role in conflicts from Vietnam to the

Falklands and Yom Kippur Wars. The

Skyhawk was intended to replace the

venerable Skyraider as a carrier-based,

ground attack aircraft, yet Heinemann's

design looked nothing like its predecessor.

Its small, lightweight airframe was so

compact that its wings did not even have to

be folded for carrier stowage, and it

surpassed the Navy's design specification

for weight by nearly 100%. No wonder the

nimble jet was dubbed "Heinemann's Hot

Rod".

The A-4 entered service in 1956, and first

saw combat during the early days of the

Vietnam War where it flew as a light

attack aircraft. Its service in S.E. Asia

was prolific, as it flew literally thousands

of strike and escort missions and even

scored an air-to-air victory over a North

Vietnamese MiG. A Marine A-4 is believed

to be the last American aircraft to drop

bombs on Vietnam. During the conflict 362

Skyhawks were lost.

The Navy retired the Skyhawk in 1975,

although it continued flying as a trainer

and adversary aircraft as late as 2003.

Nearly 3,000 Skyhawks were built before

production ceased in 1979, including a two-

seat trainer model TA-4. The Skyhawk was

widely exported and saw combat with the

air forces of Kuwait, Israel and Argentina.

This pilot's manual was originally

classified "restricted" but has now been

declassified and is here reprinted in

book form