Lexington's A-7 Corsair II was transported on two flatbed trailers from Naval Air Technical Training Center at Millington, TN to Corpus Christi in July 1995. One trailer carried the fuselage and the other one the wings. The aircraft was reassembled, underwent complete restoration by Museum staff and is now displayed on the flight deck of the carrier.
The Vought A-7 Corsair II was designed during the Vietnam conflict as a replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. The subsonic Corsair was modeled on the supersonic F-8 Crusader to save development time.
Improved models of the aircraft with a more powerful engine and beter electronics were soon being produced. The US Air Force adopted a land based version of the Corsair II for the Tactical Air Command in the fighter/attack role. Export versions of the aircraft were operated by both Greece and Portugal.
In over twenty-five years of Naval service, the A-7 and its pilots flew over four million flight hours and tallied 410,000 carrier landings. Flown on combat missions in Vietnam, Lebanon, Libya and finally Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, the last two Navy light attack squadrons were disestablished in May 1991, bringing to an end the Corsair's long and distinguished Navy career.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Wingspan - 38' 9"
- Length - 46' 1"
- Height - 16' 3"
- Empty Weight - 19,100 lbs
- Maximum Take-off Weight - 38,000 lbs
- Ceiling - 42,500'
- Maximum Speed @ sea level - 685 mph
- Combat Radius of Action - 700 miles
- Armament - 15,000# of externally mounted bombs, rockets or missiles on six underwing pylons, plus two fuselage mounts for missiles or rockets. Two internally mounted 20mm cannons.
- Power Plant - One Pratt & Whitney TF-30-P-8 Turbofan Engine with 12,200# of thrust
- Crew - One pilot
This A-4 is on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola, Florida.
Click on a plane to view it's description.
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