Grumman A-6E Intruder

Grumman A-6E Intruder. . , The first version of the A-6 Intruder entered fleet service in 1963 as the world's first all-weather attack aircraft. It was capable of operating at night and in all conditions. The Intruder required more sophisticated bomb targeting systems than other attack aircraft, such as the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. A second crew member, the weapons system officer, operated the Intruder's targeting systems. The crew members sat side by side in the large cockpit., The Intruder carried 18,000 pounds (8,165 kg) of ordnance, almost as much as the largest heavy bombers of World War II (1939-1945). The Intruder had no internal armament. All weapons were carried externally on four pylons mounted on the wings and one pylon mounted on the centerline under the fuselage. All external attachments were capable of carrying fuel tanks., Grumman built a total of 687 Intruders. Ninety of them were converted to in-flight refueling tankers. Intruders were used extensively throughout the Vietnam War (1955-1975) and flew from the new larger supercarriers. The Intruder was too large and heavy for use aboard smaller Essex-class carriers like Intrepid., The attack aircraft versions of the A-6 were retired in 1997. A variant used for electronic countermeasurements, the EA-6B Prowler, will remain in service until 2019. The Intruder on display is one of a handful of existing A-6Es. In 1988 it was used to test prototypes of new, more sophisticated radar and avionics.,

Length: 54 feet 7 inches (16.6 m) , Wingspan: 53 feet (16.2 m) , Height: 15 feet 7 inches (4.75 m) , Empty Weight: 25,630 , Max Weight: 60,626 pounds (27,500 kg) , Top Speed: 656 miles per hour (1,040 kph) , Ceiling: 40,600 feet (12,374 m) , Crew: Two, a pilot and a bombardier/navigator , Armament: 18,000 pounds (8,165 kg) of bombs, rockets and missiles

, [Captions:] , In 1966, during the early stages of Operation Rolling Thunder in Vietnam, the U.S. Navy experimented with jungle camouflage on aircraft. The green colors were similar to the U.S. Air Force's practices, but their effectiveness was inconclusive. The paint schemes were short-lived in Navy service., Grumman A-6A Intruders of attack squadron VA-196 from USS Constellation (CVA-64) drop a large load of 500-pound (227-kg) bombs on strategic targets over North Vietnam in late 1968.