p51 wrote:
Never knew about the skyhawks. What'd they use those for?
I know at one time, there was talk of handing over A-10s to the Army for CAS aviation units organic to maneuver elements.
P51, a pair of A-4 Skyhawks were used for US Army Evaluation, but never used in service. From this site:
http://a4skyhawk.org/2c/productionhistory.htm"In 1961, two A4D-2 Skyhawks (BuNos 148490 and 148483) were borrowed by the U.S. Army and modified by Douglas for evaluation in competition with the Northrop N-156 (predecessor of the F-5) and an Italian Fiat G-91, for operations from unimproved airfields near front lines. Modifications of the Army Skyhawk included large dual wheels on beefed-up main landing gear mounts; a heavier wing to house the larger landing gear; and installation of an A-3 Skywarrior drag chute. Flown by Douglas test pilot Dru Wood, the modified "Army" Skyhawk won the competition, but the project was canceled when Army funds were diverted to helicopter procurement."
A picture here with the beefy main gear, I say it looks quite good in that set up.
http://a4skyhawk.org/sites/a4skyhawk.or ... 148483.jpgSeems the US Air Force has been quite vocal and successful over the years from letting the Army have any fixed wing direct combat types. As I understand it the USAF only took the A-10 with reluctance- they were more interested in the fast movers, but had to give the Army some support.