The Ugliest Yet Utterly Lethal Bomber Ever Launched into Combat
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- čas přidán 2. 05. 2024
- Launching into combat just 27 months after its maiden flight, the LTV A-7 Corsair II set a record for the fastest deployment of an aircraft into battle. Entering the fray in the mid-1960s as a rambunctious, state-of-the-art attack aircraft for the US Navy, it quickly proved its mettle in the skies of Vietnam, becoming the war's most successful tactical jet bomber.
With a smaller size and less glamorous appearance than some of its flashier contemporaries, the A-7 would become affectionately known as the Short Little Ugly Fella or SLUF. Yet, its unassuming visual profile belied its extraordinary capabilities, its pioneering use of a heads-up display, sophisticated digital navigation/combat system, and computerized weapon-aiming allowing for pinpoint accuracy in bomb delivery, fundamentally altering the landscape of ground-attack missions and setting a precedent for future generations of military aircraft.
The A-7 Corsair II, renowned for its impressive range and endurance, mastered the skies with a payload capacity that seemed limitless. Equipped to deliver destruction with surgical precision, it handled a broad spectrum of missions-from laying sea mines and launching anti-ship strikes to executing armed interdictions and providing close air support. Celebrated as the "ultimate bomb truck," the Corsair II was a powerhouse of versatility, capable of adapting to any combat scenario thrust upon it. In an era dominated by the quest for speed, the Corsair simply did what supersonics couldn’t. - Věda a technologie
The one thousand nine hundred sixty S? Look, we all know you have an application reading a script, but that's ridiculous. Listen through the video once, would you please?
LOL! Right. Wright Patterson A F B.....I heard that and started laughing.
Hear hear!
This! 👆
How about the😂 Sell Off...instead of SLUF. 😂
ain't nobody got time for that
Not the ugliest plane, but one of the ugliest robovoices. "one thousand nine hundred sixtie ess ess" for 1960s.
😆
Also pronounces Short Little Ugly Fella instead of Short Little Ugly F well I suppose that was a purposeful edit. Amazing that when in the business of Killing people and breaking things we get mad when soldiers might use profanity.
@@williamcrane8236 most likely because youtoob deletes and restricts many videos containing swear words and violence
I'm a retired USAF Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC), which in earlier days was referred to as FAC (Forward Air Controller). During the early part of my career the A-7s were still flown by some Air National Guard units, before they transitioned to F-16s. I had the pleasure of controlling a few training missions with these aircraft. While it's a subsonic aircraft, compared to the A-10s, we still considered the A-7s "fast movers." But they were the best fast movers to conduct Close Air Support (CAS) missions. The planes and the pilots were great to work with. I couldn't understand why the Air Force didn't continue upgrading them. Now the Air Force is trying to get rid of our beloved A-10s. History is indeed repeating itself.
I never heard the A-7s referred to as "SLUFs."
I've noticed that the USAF is like a bunch of Valley Girls. Always wanting to change things in a few months. Sometimes new fighters are not always the best for what's needed.
When I was growing up in Sioux City, IA, in the '70s, the Iowa ANG was flying the A7 & loved watching them fly & I still love the look of the A7. Thank you for your service.
That is exactly the point. "They" want stallions before workhorses. The impact of The A7 and A10 is not to calculate in a cold mannor... The "grunts" on the ground LOVED/LOVE these planes .... AND their pilots for the unwavering support their do. I have seen so many videos of soldiers cheering when they hear the distinctive sound of the A10 overhead.. Help is here.. Regards from Denmark. Alex
@@stevevalley2784 Thank you for the compliment.
@@leo2a7dk Thank you for your comment and support, Alex. I had the pleasure of working with a Danish TACP (Tactical Air Control Party), while deployed to Bosnia in the spring of '00.
While on the CVA-67, a Corsair (A-7) pilot manually pulled straight up at high speed and launched a 1,000lb. bomb that landed 26 miles downrange spot on target. Outstanding aircraft & the men that flew them. Not ugly in any way, shape, form, or fashion in my opinion. Damn cool & so glad we had them.
When they say " warheads on foreheads". The SLUF probably delivered it.
I was on the JFK for the last 3 months of her '80-'81 Med cruise after spending a year and a half ship's company on the Saratoga. My primary job was as the A-7 HUD Bench tech in AIMD. I talked to a few pilots about how they used the HUD and how much it helped them deliver ordnance exactly where they wanted it to go.
"Lobbing" was actually an old delivery tactic used to fly under radar primarily.. later for the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons
USS Nimitz. 1988 to 1993. I loved this plane…. And it is not ugly….
I was one of the few Marines that worked on A7’s before receiving F18’s at NAS Lemoore. 1st job was replacing the aft fuel cell. The intake was long enough and shaped correctly to take a nap in it.
Yep and don't get close will it's running. A guy got sucked in one day aboard ship. An ugly outcome.
Spent 5 years with VA-146 on the USS Constellation 75-80. Great aircraft and built like a tank.
I was an AD from VA-146 that was TAD to AIMD from 74-77. I worked AIMD on the Connie during the 77 cruise.
@@privatepilot4064 Nice to hear from a fellow Blue Diamond ! I worked in the engine shop after being a plane captain. I hope I did not smoke too many engines for you !
@@joemoore4027 When I got to the squadron “Smokey” Sanders was the CO and when I left Howson was running the show. When I was a Plane Captain Chief Kosina (Special K) was running the Line Division. I sure miss those days! Lemoore was the kind of place where if you didn’t have a car you were in the middle of nowhere, but if you did have a car you were in the middle of everywhere. My daughter married a sailor in 2002 and he was an AD and had orders to Lemoore so I was able to go back after 25 years and check the base out. Many things have changed there, but many things are the same. Two of my grandkids were born on the base. Fair winds and calm seas Brother!
@@privatepilot4064 Yes, you were right LeMoore was in the middle of nowhere, nothing but a sea of cotton fields and that lovely fog ! I was lucky to have a car to cruise downtown Fresno or Visalia. I always wondered what the base looked like after 44 years ! Be safe brother.
Drove past a few years ago. The pomegranate bushes were removed and replaced with modern housing.
I was fortunate to work on both the F-8 Crusader, Guantanamo Bay, and the A-7E, USS America, VA-87.
Not ugly
Not even close to the ugliest bomber.
exactly the british have made far uglier bombers
Navy had the ugliest Navy bomber sitting on deck next to the A7 corsair11 that was the A6 Intruder. And the F4U was not just a ground attack aircraft like this guy made it sound it was a damn good fighter also.
@@nethanelmasters5170 The nose of the Intruder always looks like the head of a penis to me. 😂The S-2 Tracker, although not a bomber, is pretty darned ugly too.
A6 is much uglier
@@nethanelmasters5170 The Intruder was cool.
A US Navy aircraft that was so good the US Air Force bought it. No higher praise...
The USAF looked at getting a new version of the A-7. Instead they bought the new F-16 for the role
USAF also hooked up with the F-4 Phantom II
McNamara's "brain trust" may have been at least partially behind that. I agree that the A-7s were very good, reliable, & rugged. I worked at NADEP (NAVAIR Depot) JAX for ~38-years and the main hangar was full of A-7s undergoing the (usually) planned SDLM (Standard Depot Level Maintenance). I think the worst damage to an A-7's airframe that we repaired was when the Pilot "goofed" (or so I was told) and landed on the end of runway, hook down, and immediately ran off into the grass at the end, hooked the chain link fence at the boundary of the Base(?), and dragged it into an 18-wheeler that was (I think) passing by before finally coming to a stop. I think the aircraft may have come to a rest in/on the 18-wheeler. I assume that the Pilot (& the Trucker too!) had to change his shorts after that, whether or not he ejected (I don't recall that info) before the airframe started hitting things. The airframe was "slightly" bent/twisted, etc., and if the damage had been any worse, the aircraft would have been stricken and sent to scrap.
Interesting to see so many of the system concepts first used in the A-7 that ultimately went on to mature in the F-117.
Those first Nighthawk pilots were training under the cover of being A-7 pilots.
Listening to your Commodore 64 narrator makes me automatically hit thumbs down…hire a human.
AGREED!
Thumbs up for knowing what a Commodore 64 is.
Fella...hahahahahahaha! Yeah, right. Also called the mini-Buff.
Right out of the gate wrong info and mispronuciations
I was in an A7 squadron in the 80's: VA-97. I was an AT, and worked on the plane for a cruise before going TAD to AIMD, and eventually being transferred to SEAOPDET. Alas, VA-97 is no more, but if you ever visit the USS Midway carrier museum, you'll see one of those planes.
Damn, I remember changing those PMDS map films out. I'd turn the system on to see where our ship was.
Lol, this video watches more like a sales pitch than a docu piece.
Fun fact, an Active Duty AF wing was flying the SKUF during the 1980s. In the middle of nowhere, they flew the A-7 during daylight because it had similar flight characteristics as the aircraft they flew at night. The F-117.
VA-81 (USS Forrestal) A7-E's & VA-174 TA7-E's. Yes, on the ground it was homely but once it was cleaned up and in the air I thought it was beautiful.
I went through FRAMP with VA-174 in late '78 & early '79. I went through the HUD Bench school across the street at NAMTD. Then, I was ship's company on the Sara until she went to dry dock, and then I got orders to VA-72. I worked with some AQs from VA-81 in AIMD at Cecil.
hey Sunliner. I was an ame in va-81 71 to75. made a couple of Med cruises on the Forrestal.
It is an attack aircraft, not a bomber. That is why its military designation starts with an upper case letter A. By contrast, the designation of a bomber, e.g., the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress USAF Strategic Bomber, starts with an upper case letter B. An upper case letter F means “fighter”, and an upper case letter C indicates “cargo”.
I was in USAF “TAC” in the early 1970s. We were T-33 & F111. I was a Power Lineman. I maintained air field power & lighting as well as all base power and hanger lighting. Last base was Cannon AFB, Clovis NM.
One of the most bad ass aircraft ever built.
I was in VA-113 NAS Lemoore 79-83. We got the first fleet FA-18's just as I was getting out. As a AD I liked the A-7E.
Roger that the Stingers did get the first f18"s , I was with VFA-131 Wildcats at Nas Cecil Field fla. and we were the first to get the hornets on the east coast an seen some combat in Libya 1986 , Thanks for your service !
I was on the USS America (CVA-66) 1969 - 1971 where we deployed the first A-7 squadron to Vietnam (1970).
I was there at that same time on USS SHANGRI LA (CVS-38). We had A-7s too. We were in Subic while you all were on line and visaverse
In several scenes they are showing footage of F8 CRUSADERS, not A-7's. That is a pretty big faux pas.
When I was going through flight school and we made out our "dream sheets", A-6's were my first choice but A-7's were my second. A-7 pilots I knew always referred to it as a two seat aircraft with only one seat. They were very busy pilots. The had to aviate, navigate, communicate, designate and evaporate. Its Achillies heel was the Allison turbofan. It took a long time to spool up which is a bad thing when you are on the ball especially at night or in bad weather. If you got in trouble on the ball things could go to worms very quickly. You _never_ wanted to get low and slow in an A-7, I was also an LSO and watched two of them go into an approach turn stall when they overshot centerline and overbanked, forcing the pilots to ride the bang seat. The P&W's on the A-6 were very responsive and quick and could get you out of trouble a lot more easily.
The big reason why the A-7, capable as it was, was finally replaced was that both the F-16 and F-18 fighters were designed to carry a lot of air-to-ground munitions from the start.
Great machine prematurely retired perhaps?
More than likely.
I built a model of this plane when I was a kid. I was so happy when I was 12, staying at my uncles place on Wright-Patterson AFB, I saw one fly over.
I was in the Navy when the A-7 was still in service. It wasn’t ugly at all. USN 85-91.
They keep calling it ugly... I always loved the look. A neighbor flew those during the '70s. he said they were a little twitchy at speed but an absolute joy to fly in green speeds.
"UGLY" is not a word I would apply to an A7. Got to see hundreds of them in the 70's, along with other types. USN, 68-74, ETR-2, NAS Miramar, 70-74, I was a GCA RADAR maintenance tech, along with TACAN. One jock actually got an A-7 to launch for a mile or two with the wings folded while I was there.
The A-7 Corsair was a beautiful machine. I never saw one crash on the deck, and they didn't dip toward the ocean like the F-4 Phantom.
The A-7 is NOT ugly, just a smaller version of the F-8.
I learned to love the Corsair in the old US Navy Fighters game. So, now I feel old. We are only a few months away from the 30th anniversary of its release.
Always one of my favorite planes. Beautiful & Cool to look at. One of the Great Planes.
The squadron I was in while serving in the Navy transitioned from the A-4 to the A-7. The A-4 reminded me of a secretary bird. The A-7 was an easy plane with the comm excess low on the body. Yes it carried a lot of bombs, but the A-6 Prowler carried the most.
A7 was an amazing platform. The payload was relentless.
A friend of mine was on the Oriskany during the vietnam fiasco... He told me the pilots loved these planes....
It is NOT a ugly plane! Just because you call it ugly, does not mean that it is!! Your opinion is pure conjecture
I think SLUF was an Air Force term, I never heard it called that in the Navy. We thought it was a pretty cool bird.
Why bother, you're arguing with a machine. They call me every day with all kinds of "free" stuff.
Plane’s look good flying, not taxiing around on the ground.
Our guard unit flew the A7 for years and I always thought I’d was a handsome beast.
A-7 Corsair: Ugly, but well-hung.
I thought the A-7 and F-8's were pretty sharp back when they were in service.
Remember seeing them in combat, for the time were as good as gets
There was a Super Corsair that was being proposed for production but the fall of the Warsaw Pact.
The A7 is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL compared to the A6. I worked on both
"LEEEEAN INTO IT! LET'S GO DOWN TOWN!"
I was in an apartment building in Alameda, CA that an A-7 crashed into. Loudest thing I've ever experienced.
Ugly?!?!? That aircraft was a work of art!! Just like today's A-10 Warthog!
More of a strike fighter than a pure bomber.
I never thought of the A7 as ugly…unique but loved that huge inlet
What this aircraft could do and how it did it was beautiful! It was also very easy to maintain!
There is NOTHING ugly about this awesome plane.
Some human would have narrated this script for about 20 bucks.
23 TFW 1974-1977 England AFB Avionics Test systems technician. I calibrated the test systems that made it accurate. Was a fine airplane.
The HUD test bench I had to keep working on the USS Saratoga had the serial number CCL-0001. It was a beast, but I learned a lot keeping it going.
49 years as a combat aircraft - wow!
And although retired, they could still be viable.
Avião que serviu a força aérea portuguesa. Grande máquina.
Corsair looks badass.
LTVs Corsair...Air Force had em besides the USN...I was disappointed they got rid of the original Sandy's..
Should have covered the final variant FA-7. It had a F-15 strike eagle engine, fuselage extension and dogtooth leading edge on the wings. It was very supersonic and could dogfight.
It's not ugly! It looks purposeful and ''no nonsense'' one of my favourite aircraft. I wish they'd updated and kept it rather than that P.O.S. F-35. How many totally upgraded A-7 II's could the Navy buy for one F-35?
AT-2 with VA-97 on the Carl Vinson, then shore tour with VA-122 at Lemoore. Sent off the last West Coast SLUFs to Davis-Monthan. Not the gyaru of aircraft design, perhaps, but capable and dependable, and in capable hands, quite graceful. IMO, they were gone too soon.
Gotta agree with the numerous comments about Mr. Roboreader - kind of reminds me of an instructor we had in Millington for electronics training - the guy was so monotone that the entire class (about 15 of us) were searching for *any* legal means of staying awake - to the point of crushing No-Doz and snorting 'em! (worked well for about 5 minutes, but ripped up our sinuses pretty good - not recommended 😛)
I always liked this plane a lot having built a couple of models of it in US Air Force livery in the early 70s. Nothing ugly about it!
Man I remember these screaming over at nearly tree-top altitude in Jackson Co. Indiana in the late 80's.
I actually love the corsair 2 . Yea it was the first aircraft with HUD and packed a wallop.
F-4 Cosair??? That was an F-8 Cosair, it was a pure gun/dog fighter. Ground attacking F-8???
Invasion?
Thank you for flying SLUF.
Ugly? I built the Revell model kit of this plane when I was a kid, and I've always thought it was one of the most beautiful military jets ever. Looks like the compact "sports car" version of the Crusader, to me.
“It’s not very fast, but is sure is slow!”
5/16/2024. Corsair was the planes CV34. Three squadrons. 153-154-155. And they did tons of damage. Power.
I've always thought the A7 attractive, if in a slightly stumpy sort of way, while likewise the F8, in a slightly too lean sort of way.
Now, if there was an A7.5, that would be drop-dead gorgeous!
What a fantastic aircraft, engineering excellence and versatile capabilities. It served our nation well.
A-7 had a child with SR-71 and gave birth to F-16. True story.
At 9:26, that is an F-16 being shown when talking about the A-7s state of the art systems. I'm not going to finish watching this because I can't trust anything in this video!
I remeber seeing some of these flying around in Portugal back in the 90s. Cool looking jet
I worked on many components of the A-7E at "AIMD" level maintenance on CVN-65 (Shout out to VA-22 & VA-94) during the early 80's... Great aircraft..."Nuff said".
In the 1960's I was privilengened to witness the opening of the Space Fair at Point Nugu NAS near Oxnard, CA. The Space Fair was inaugurated by a Flash Photo-baum of the A-7 Corsair.
Diverse array of weapons. Yes! Good diversity.
Ugliest? Nah, that would be the A-6 Invader. Looks like a housefly with its side-by-side seating in the cockpit.
In my view she´s not ugly. Her form follows function as with the A 10 (that´s a true ugly one).
Btw: what is the difference between two-zero-zero-zero and 2000 pounds?
Five pounds.
I always loved this plane. Looks like an absolute beast. From the same school as the A-10 Warthog and the C-17 Globemaster.
The over-wing design is clever, because then the plane doesn't need bizarrely long landing gear in order to reach past the bombs on the wings and fuselage in order to reach the ground.
14.49 Tractor Vevey, Swiss!
Used to watch these taking off when my family would vacation at Myrtle Beach.
My understanding was the unofficial nickname for the A-7 was the Man Eater.
This was because of the position of the air intake for the jet engine.
Yeah. One of my coworkers at NADEP JAX told me about when he had to remove pieces of a deceased Sailor from the damaged engine before it could be overhauled (assuming that we actually overhauled that one). RIP.
"Boy, you're ugly." *WHAM! POW! BLAM!* "Ugly is as ugly does."
Curiously the A11/AMX project brought heavily on this plane, and demonstrated the same Long range and resilience capabilities in Afghanistan as the A7 have done over Vietnam.
Same single Enigne, high wing, good weapon load, a Vulcan cannon, good view forward and 2 sidewinders for self defence.
I wonder why today such planes have been abandoned, relying instead on expensive supersonic Fighters turned into fighter bombers.
The Crusaders are GORGEOUS. The heading is BS.
Basically the frogfoot's counterpart, but single engine and less armor.
Its beautiful!
I've never found this aircraft series ugly...kind of form follows function, and the shoulder mounted wing seems ideal for carrier duty.
Subscribed.
She's a beauty!!
This was always m favorite military plane. I always thought it was a good looking plane.
God I wish I could watch these videos with a human narrating them.
I like the Corsair 2. It's like a Small Crusader !!!
It was an extremely reliable airplane.
Never heard SLUF as a nick name. But being on the maintenance side for the Navy I do know the nick name "man eater".
Built these in Texas. LTV in Dallas.
I don't know why Vought would design a new jet when they could've just sent in Homelander.
I always like the A-7 and F-8. I'm sure all the Navy and Marines here remember the safety video in "A" School of the Navy Chief getting sucked into the intake of the "Man Eater" ? Well us old salts anyway. I'm sure they don't show that anymore.
I think it looks great, one of my fav’s ! Maybe not a tomcat, but she looked the part!
SLUF Jocky.
VA-56
VA-147
VA-94
Midway .. Conni .. Enterprise
I saw them up at Fort McCoy and Camp Ripley while training as a 19D4H scout they would fly over us as we did road movements between training areas. Many times they were below the tree tops. They were ANG units I also a Marine Harrier up at Ripley.
I see nothing ugly about this aircraft!!