Back in 1958 North American came out with their brilliant A3J Vigilante. The NA engineers seemed to be ahead of their time in supersonic aircraft design. Just look at all the forth gen fiighters that were an absolute copy the the A3J. Both the F14 and the F15 were almost exact copies with the wing laying on top, and the overhanging shark mouth air inlets. There there was several of the Russian jets that had the same design like the Mig 29 and 31.
There is probably a little know fact that the A3j actually origionally had twin rudders, so it was almost exactly like a large F15. The Navy for some stupid reason had NA change the design to a single large verticle stab.
To show just how great the A3j was that after it was converted to a recon plane–it was to be a bomber–look at its performance compared to the Phantom. The Vigilante was biggrer and heavier than the Phantom and had the same GE J-79 engines. On recon runs in Nam after a stike, a A3j was sent in to assess damage with Phantoms for protection. After pictures were taken the Vigilante hit the throttle to get the hell out of the area. The Phantom pilots were left yelling to slow down so they could keep up. Granted the Vigilante was flying clean, and Phantom were dirtied up with external stores.
The bottom line here was the North American aero engineers came up with a fantastic design. Btw IMHO it is in the list of most beartiful aircraft of all time.
By: Bager1968 - 30th April 2013 at 19:00
Lots in museums and as “gate guards”, none flying.
Wiki lists the following:
Aircraft on display
A-5A
146697 – Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. It is the oldest Vigilante on display and the only one still in its original A3J/A-5A nuclear attack bomber configuration.[14]
RA-5C
149289 – Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. It was transferred from long-term storage at nearby Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and it carries the markings of RVAH-3.[15]
151629 – Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum (formerly the Fred E. Weisbrod Museum/International B-24 Museum) in Pueblo, Colorado. It has been restored and currently displays the markings of RVAH-7 while assigned to Carrier Air Wing 9 aboard USS Enterprise.[16]
156608 – Naval Support Activity Mid-South, formerly Naval Air Station Memphis, Tennessee. It was the last operational RA-5C aircraft and it carries the markings of its last squadron, RVAH-7, during its final deployment with Carrier Air Wing 2 aboard the USS Ranger in 1979.[17]
156612 – Naval Air Station Key West, Florida and it stands as a gate marker just inside the main gate. It carries the markings of RVAH-3.[18]
156615 – Castle Air Museum at the former Castle Air Force Base, California in 2012. This aircraft was formerly located on the Mojave Test Range. This particular RA-5C was the last Vigilante to land aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger while assigned to RVAH-7 in August 1979 during the last Vigilante deployment.[19]
156621 – New York State Aerosciences Museum (ESAM) in Glenville, New York. It was initially on display at the former US Naval Photographic School at NAS Pensacola, Florida. In 1986, it was shipped up the East Coast by barge and placed on display aboard the USS Intrepid Museum in New York City. In 2005, this RA-5C was acquired by ESAM. The aircraft suffered minor damage to its fuselage aft of the wing root while being moved from the aircraft carrier Intrepid to a barge while supported by slings. It is currently (as of 2010) undergoing restoration for display. It carries the markings of the RA-5C Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), RVAH-3.[20]
156624 – National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola, Florida. It is displayed in the markings of RVAH-6 per that squadron’s final cruise with Carrier Air Wing 8 aboard the USS Nimitz in 1978.[21]
156632 – Orlando Sanford International Airport (formerly Naval Air Station Sanford) in Sanford, Florida. It was placed there on 30 May 2003 as a memorial to A-5 and RA-5C aircrewmen and support personnel who served at NAS Sanford. On loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation, the aircraft was transferred from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Weapons Division at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California and is marked as an RVAH-3 aircraft.[22]
156638 – Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada. It was transferred from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California and was previously marked as an RVAH-6 aircraft in a Vietnam-era jungle camouflage paint scheme, as an RVAH-12 aircraft in traditional Cold War gray/white paint scheme, and currently as an RVAH-7 aircraft in traditional gray/white paint scheme.[23]
156641 – USS Midway Museum in San Diego, California. It carries the markings of RVAH-12.[24]
156643 – Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. It was transferred from NAS Key West, Florida, and is displayed as a test aircraft operated by the Patuxent River Flight Test Division in the 1970s. It was the last RA-5C built.[25]
As of 2004, all RA-5C airframes previously stored with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, have either been scrapped or relocated, with some of these aircraft expended as ground targets in aerial bomb and guided missile tests. A small number of RA-5C airframes in various states of condition are currently stored at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California.
By: Arabella-Cox - 30th April 2013 at 03:32
Any Vigilantes left???
By: Riaino - 27th April 2013 at 04:43
It is a cool unit no doubt, and massive, they take up acres of flight deck space.
By: logical1 - 27th April 2013 at 03:33
The tunnel was used for extra fuel. The tunnel was designed to be used for nuclear weapons, but the Air Force and rockets took over the delivery of nuclear weapons. Most ended up as really fast recon planes with a really long range. If nothing else it showed the rest of the plane manuf how to build a really fast efficient plane.
BTW I saw the first Vigilante at an airshow at Moffett Field, and thot it was one of the most beautiful airplanes I had ever seen. And it still is.
By: Voodoo - 27th April 2013 at 00:16
Could the Vigilante have been the navy’s equivalent to the air force’s F-111? If memmory serves me it had four underwing pylons, and decent range. Could they not have removed the bomb tunnel and put two tandom weapons racks in it’s place?
By: Riaino - 26th April 2013 at 23:19
For me the only thing ‘wrong’ with the Vigilante was that rearward ejecting weapons tunnel, it made the plane a one trick pony just at the time when that trick was being taken over by Polaris missiles and the USN needed planes for other tricks over Vietnam. I wonder how the Vigilante would have been developed if it had a more conventional bomb bay that could carry regular dumb bombs.
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April 26, 2013 at 2:22 pm