‘I will say this—and I know a lot of other Navy guys that would say the same thing—my fun meter was probably most pegged flying the A-4 Skyhawk,’ Jim Danhakl, former US Navy F/A-18 Hornet pilot
Between 1954 and 1979, Douglas produced 2,960 A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft.
The lightweight, fast bombers, dubbed “Heinemann’s Hot Rod” (after Douglas designer Ed Heinemann), were built small to be cost-effective and fit more of them on a carrier. They were also known as the Bantam Bomber, Mighty Mite, and Scooter. The US Navy, Marines, and allies were able to use maneuverable, powerful attack bombers with exceptional altitude, range capabilities, and a remarkable degree of armament capacity thanks to Skyhawks.
What was it like to fly the A-4 Skyhawk, considering its unique capabilities?
Jim Danhakl, former US Navy F/A-18 Hornet pilot, recalls on Quora;
‘During my era, the F/A-18 was the king of the hill. It was by far the best airplane on the carrier. We used to eat Tomcats for lunch in a dogfight, and the missions, both air-to-air and air-to-ground were more diverse and challenging. I also loved being single seat and the pride that comes with “doing it all”.
‘But I will say this—and I know a lot of other Navy guys that would say the same thing—my fun meter was probably most pegged flying the A-4 Skyhawk.
‘Maybe it was first love; maybe it’s the way you slid in the jet and wore it vice larger cockpits that felt more rub-a-dub-dub. But the A-4 was a performer, especially the big engine A-4F.
‘We fought against adversaries who flew those all the time and I’ve been embarrassed by those guys in guns only 1 vs. 1 dogfighting.’
Danhakl concludes;
‘I would not want to go to war in one; today that choice would be the F-35, but for the flat-out fun factor, I would have to say the A-4F Skyhawk was my fav. I don’t think anyone who flew carrier-fighter-based aviation in the last 30 years would disagree too much!’
Photo by U.S. Navy