The Mission: “On
23 May 1972, VA-55's Lt Dennis J Sapp launched with his wingman, Lt Ken Bray,
from USS Hancock (CVA-19) on an Iron Hand mission to cover an Alpha strike
against targets northeast of Haiphong, in North Vietnam. Sapp's section had two
missions: to destroy a SAM site adjacent to the target and to silence a lethal
cluster of SAM sites ringing Haiphong near the target area.
Sapp flew A-4F BuNo
154996, which was armed with two AGM-45 Shrike anti-SAM missiles and four
Rockeye bomblet canisters. The A-4Fs had recently been equipped with the Target
Identification Acquisition System [the APS-107], which allowed the pilot to
centre the radar from the SAM site or flak battery on the cockpit radar, then
look through the gunsight for tracking purposes to decide where and when to drop
weapons. Iron Hand A-4s orbited over a known site, or between sites, at 10,000
ft, fired their Shrikes and then rolled in to drop ordnance. This arrangement
permitted a much more direct attack instead of having to fire a Shrike from a
greater distance as was the case for A-6 and A-7 crews.
Sapp detached his
section from the main strike group to go on ahead, and it was soon the target of
two SAMs fired from the Haiphong area. He and his wingman immediately began
evasive maneuvers, narrowly evading the missiles. Sapp then continued on toward
his assigned area. Although the site was well hidden, he pinpointed it and
delivered two Rockeye canisters, all the while under defensive fire from 37 mm
flak sites. Sapp destroyed all five radar vans in the centre of the site and his
wingman dispatched three SAMs on their launchers. Fires and explosions followed
the two aviators as they left the area. Sapp took a photo from 20 miles away
that showed smoke billowing above 20,000 ft. The target had turned out to be a
SAM storage area hidden in a mountainside.
Sapp took his
section to their designated station and continued the mission, using their
Shrikes and remaining Rockeyes to suppress defenses around Haiphong and allow
the strikers to hit their targets. Sapp received the Distinguished Flying Cross
for this mission.”(1p4)
Click on
images below to see larger images
The Airframe:
The A-4F was the last Skyhawk version built for the Navy, and had it not been
for the Viet Nam war the A-4E most likely would have the last Skyhawk
version. The A-4F improvements over the A-4E were: the dorsal hump for more
growth space, nose wheel steering, a more powerful engine, wing spoilers, a
zero-zero ejection seat and more armor plating around the cockpit. (2p18)
Several A-4Fs were modified with the APS-107 Radar Homing and Warning (RHAW)
gear. This modification introduced the “bent” refueling probe to the Skyhawk.
(3p46)This addition allowed A-4F to employ the AGM-45 Shrike missile much more
effectively than the standard A-4s. VA-55 was assigned the A-4Fs with the
APS-107 sets in USS Hancock Airwing (CVW-21). Hence, LT Sapp found himself
slaying SAMs on 23 May 1972.
The Model:
This model is the Fujimi 1/72 scale A-4E/F Skyhawk kit. I added plastic card to
the main wing slat area to eliminate the small step down. The distinctive
APS-107 antenna fairing under nose is an ECM blister part from a kit long
forgotton, salvaged from the spares box and sanded to shape. The shrike missiles
and rockeyes are from the Hasegawa weapons sets. The decals are from SSI sheet
72-828 and my decal spares. The BuNo “154996” I printed on decal paper
with a laser printer. I replaced the 20mm gun barrels with steel tubing and
added details to the ejection seat.
RJ
Bibliography:
1. US NAVY AND
MARINE CORP A-4 SKYHAWK UNITS OF THE VIETNAM WAR, Osprey Combat Aircraft 69,
Peter Merssky, Osprey Publishing Limited, Oxford, UK, 2007
2. A-4 Skyhawk Detail 7 Scale Vol 32, Bert Kinzey, Detail & Scale,Inc,
Blue Ridge Summit, PA, USA, 1988..
3. WILD WEASEL, The SAM Suppression Story, by Larry Davis, Squadron /
Signal publications, Carrollton, Texas, USA, 1986
4. A-4 Skyhawk in Action, Aircraft No. Eleven $4.95(WOW! HOW ‘BOUT
THAT!), by Lou Drendel, Squadron / Signal publications, Carrollton, Texas, USA,
1973
5. The SKYHAWK ASSOCIATION at: http://www.skyhawk.org/
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