Theatres of Operation

Southeast Asia

In Vietnam, the hot, humid air robbed even upgraded A-7D and A-7E of power. Takeoff rolls were lengthy and fully-armed aircraft struggled to reach 500 mph (800 km/h). Pilots quipped that the Corsair "is not very fast, but it sure is slow" (Higham 1978). For dissimilar air combat training, and the Blue Angels, the Navy would chose the more nimble A-4 Skyhawk as a subsonic maneuvering platform, as some considered the A-7 to be inadequate in air combat. The Marine Corps would also pass on the Corsair, they would opt instead for the V/STOL vertical landing AV-8 Harrier as their light attack aircraft to replace their A-4F/M Skyhawks.

The first US Navy A-7As were deployed to Vietnam in 1967 with VA-147 Argonauts aboard USS Ranger (CVA-61). The aircraft made their first combat sortie on 4 December 1967. In the following months, VA-147 flew around 1,400 sorties losing only one aircraft. In January 1968, USS Ranger participated in the incident surrounding the capture of USS Pueblo (AGER-2) in the Sea of Japan by North Korea. The Navy's improved A-7B model arrived in Vietnam in early 1969, with the definitive A-7E following in 1971. The U.S. Navy's first A-7 loss occurred on 22 December 1967, less than three weeks after entering combat. The Corsair from VA-147, USS Ranger, was piloted by LCDR James M. Hickerson, was attacking a AAA site when a SAM exploded under his aircraft, his engine and hydraulics failed and he ejected. LCDR Hickerson was released as a POW on 14 March 1973. The last U.S. Navy A-7 Corsair lost during the war was 29 January 1973, when CDR T.R. Wilkinson of VA-147, from the carrier USS Constellation, disappeared after being launched on a training flight; he was listed as KWF (killed while flying). From 1967 thru 1973, ten of the twenty U.S. Navy aircraft carriers fighting off of the Vietnam coast lost A-7's, 15 of which were shot down by surface to air missiles (SAMs): USS Ticonderoga lost 3, USS Constellation lost 15, USS Ranger lost 11, USS Coral Sea lost 13, USS Midway lost 2, USS Oriskany lost 8, USS Saratoga lost 8, USS Kitty Hawk lost 13, USS Enterprise lost 3, and the USS America lost l6.[5]

The USAF A-7Ds were also widely used in Vietnam and Cambodia with 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, and the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, flying from Korat RTAFB, Thailand. A-7s from the 354th TFW entered action in October 1972 and attacked targets as far as 500 mi (800 km) from airbases, extensively utilizing mid-air refueling. The A-7Ds were quickly assigned the "Sandy mission" of providing air cover for rescue of downed pilots. Taking over for A-1 Skyraiders (hence the name "Sandy"), the A-7's higher speed was somewhat detrimental for escorting the helicopters but the aircraft's high endurance and durability were an asset and it performed admirably. On 18 November 1972, Major Colin A. Clarke led a successful mission near Thanh Hoa to rescue a downed F-105 Wild Weasel crew. The mission lasted a total of 8.8 hours during which Clarke and his wingman took a number of hits from 13 mm (0.51 cal) anti-aircraft fire. For his actions in coordinating the rescue, Clarke was awarded the Air Force Cross, the USAF's second-highest medal. The USAF A-7D flew a total of 12,928 combat sorties during the war with only 6 losses -- the lowest of any US fighter in the theatre. The aircraft was second only to B-52 Stratofortress in the amount of ordnance dropped on Hanoi and dropped more bombs per sortie with greater accuracy than any other US attack aircraft. The first USAF A-7 Corsair to be lost was piloted by Capt. Anthony C. Shine of the 353rd Tactical Fighter Squadron. On 02 December 1972 Capt. Shine was flying a Search and Rescue mission (SAR) when he disappeared through a low cloud to identify a target. A three day search failed to locate Capt. Shine nor his Corsair. One of Capt. Shine's brothers, 1LT J.C. Shine had been killed in action in Vietnam on l5 October 1970. In 1993, Capt. Anthony Shine's daughter was determined to find her father's remains and went to Vietnam, searching the crash site herself. Capt. Anthony Shine's remains were returned to the United States in June 1995, formally identified in 1996, and buried with full military honours in Arlington National Cemetery in 1996. On 24 December 1972 an A-7 from the 353rd TFS was diving into the attack on an enemy gun position, when the 0-1 Bird Dog that was directing the attack pulled up into the Corsair's path; the Corsair cut thru the 0-1, sending it twisting to the ground, killing it's pilot. Capt. Riess had to eject from his badly crippled aircraft, and was captured by the NVA (North Vietnames Army). He was released as a POW on 28 March 1973. On 11 January 1973 an A-7 from the 355th TFS was on an escort mission, when it's engine failed. The pilot ejected and survived. On 17 February 1973 MAJ Gallagher from the 354 TFS was flying his A-7 during a close air support mission when he was hit by AAA fire at 15,000 feet, he ejected and survived. On 04 May 1973, 1LT T.L. Dickens, from the 3rd TFS, was piloting his Corsair during an attack on an enemy river craft, when he was hit by enemy ground fire. He ejected safely and survived. On 25 May 1973, Capt. Jeremiah Costello of the 354th TFS was flying a close air support mission when he was hit by enemy AAA fire. His body was recovered by an H-53 helicopter; Capt. Costello's Corsair was the last A-7 lost in the Vietnam War.[5]

A-7Ds from Korat flew combat operations over Vietnam until mid-Jan 1973, in Laos until 22 February 1973, and in Cambodia until 15 August 1973. The last shot fired in anger by United States military forces in Southeast Asia was fired by an A-7D of the deployed 345th TFW / 353 TFS assigned to Korat RTAFB on 15 August 1973. During the war in Southeast Asia, U.S. Navy A-7 Intruders were gray/white in color; USAF A-7's were normally painted in full camoflage paint schemes. The U.S. Navy did experiment with camouflage paint schemes for some of their aircraft during the war, but during landing operations, the flight deck crews found their duties complicated, due to the inherent changing of the weather conditions aboard a moving ship and the color coded uniforms of the flight deck crew; with the added dangers involved to an already cluttered flight deck, it was determined to keep naval aircraft readily visible for the sake of safety.

On 15 May 1975, A-7D aircraft assigned to the 388th TFW / 3d TFS at Korat RTAFB provided air cover in what is considered the last battle of the Vietnam war, the recovery of the SS Mayagüez after it was highjacked by Cambodian communists.

Grenada

Navy A-7E squadrons VA-15 and VA-87, from the USS Independence, provided close air support over Grenada in October 1983

Lebanon

Navy A-7s also provided air support during the U.S. mission in Lebanon in 1983. One A-7, along with an A-6 Intruder, were shot down by Syrian surface-to-air missiles (SAM) on December 4, 1983.

Libya

On March 24, 1986, during the Gulf of Sidra dispute with Libya, Libyan air defense operators fired SA-5 missiles at two VF-102 F-14s from USS America orbiting on a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) station. The next day, a Navy A-7E aircraft accompanied the fighters and responded to the SA-5 radar emissions by firing the first AGM-88A HARM missiles used in combat and destroying it.

In April 1986, Navy Sixth Fleet A-7Es from VA-72 and VA-46 aboard USS America also participated in Operation El Dorado Canyon, the retaliatory attack on Libya using HARM and Shrike anti-radar missiles.

Panama

The Ohio Air National Guard 180th Tactical Fighter Group was in Panama when hostilities began in late December 1989 and participated in Operation Just Cause. They were among the ANG units that rotated to Howard Air Force Base to provide a presence in Panama Cornet Cove deployment exercises

Operation Desert Shield/Storm

While USAF A-7s stayed home in favor of A-10s, the Navy deployed two of their last A-7E squadrons to Operation Desert Shield in August 1990 aboard USS John F Kennedy, the only carrier of six deployed to Desert Storm to operate the A-7 except for USS Saratoga that hosted one VA-72 A-7 which mistakenly landed aboard her when the Kennedy and Saratoga swapped station during the pilot's mission. VA-46 and VA-72 made the last combat sorties of the A-7 in Operation Desert Storm flying from the Red Sea to targets throughout Iraq. The A-7 was used both day and night to attack a wide range of heavily-defended deep interdiction targets in Iraq as well as "kill boxes" (geographically defined kill zones) in Kuwait, employing a variety of weapons including precision-guided munitions (PGM's), such as the TV-guided Walleye glide bomb, unguided general purpose bombs, and High Speed Anti-Radiation missiles (HARM). The A-7 was also used as a tanker in numerous in-flight refueling missions.