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Description
| Notes: ALL-WEATHER, LOW-ALTITUDE, CARRIER-BASED attack aircraft for land and sea interdiction and close air support (2 CREW) . | |||
| Manufacturer: | Grumman |
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| Base model: | A-6 | ||
| Designation: | A-6 | ||
| Version: | A | ||
| Nickname: | Intruder | ||
| Equivalent to: | A2F-1 A2F1A2F-1 | ||
| Designation System: | U.S. Tri-Service | ||
| Designation Period: | 1962-Present | ||
| Basic role: | Attack | ||
| Crew: | Pilot & Bombardier-Navigator | ||
| See Also: | |||
Specifications
| Length: | 54' 9" | 16.6 m | |
| Height: | 16' 2" | 4.9 m | |
| Wingspan: | 53' 0" | 16.1 m | |
| Wingarea: | 529.0 sq ft | 49.1 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 25,298 lb | 11,473 kg | |
| Max Weight: | 53,699 lb | 24,353 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 2 | ||
| Powerplant: | Pratt & Whitney J52-P-8A | ||
| Thrust (each): | 9,300 lb | 4,217 kg | |
Performance
| Range: | 1,350 miles | 2,173 km | |
| Cruise Speed: | 481 mph | 774 km/h | 418 kt |
| Max Speed: | 646 mph | 1,040 km/h | 562 kt |
| Climb: | 6,950 ft/min | 2,118 m/min | |
| Ceiling: | 40,250 ft | 12,268 m | |
Known serial numbers
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| Western Aerospace Museum | Oakland | California |
A-6A on display
Western Aerospace Museum |
Recent comments by our visitors
| Adam Hodge Marietta, GA | (Not sure exactly what A-6 Variation Section to put this one in)
Hey Guys, I'm a big Intruder fan (Didn't get to see it fly much as was only seven when VA-75, The Last Intruder Sqn, Flew into the history books) and I'm trying to start up a collection of original VA and VMA Patches (Squadron,Shoulder,Decomm, Anything) and was wondering if anyone had anything they could offer? I have very,very little as far as Intruder Squadron Patches go and anything anyone could help me with, I'd appreciate it tons (Will even shoot a little $$ over if need be). I'm trying to do it as a keepsake along with Sluff squadrons. If anyone can assist me, Please email me at HODGETCA@aol.com Thanks So Much in Advance and Fly Navy Always! 02/03/2008 @ 03:11 [ref: 19534] |
| Hugh Bursey Apache Jct., AZ | Worked for Grumman for 12yrs started in 63. Plant 7 Flight Test. Flew as a GIB (F14), BN (A6A). EA6A (ECMO), EA6B (ECMO), A6A Standard ARM (BN) & many support AC About 4000hrs flt time.
01/26/2008 @ 20:04 [ref: 19433] |
| Larry C. Smith Lufkin, TX | I was stationed at Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA in VA-42 from 1967 throught the end of 1969. I was a AQB and worked on the radars and computer systems in teh A6a. I made rate quickly and became a crew leader. I went to C school there and became a pretty good tech on them. For the last 1.5 years or sdo I was an instructor for people new to the squadron. We taught them simple things like how to open the radom and where things were at, how to hool up power inthe hangar, etc. It was a great life! 01/09/2008 @ 16:27 [ref: 19202] |
| Robert E. Cleaver Bloomsburg, PA | I was stationed at NAS Whidbey Island VA-128 until the return of VA-115 (1971). Went on WestPac cruise on USS Midway (1972). I was an AE2 flight deck troubleshooter ( best job ever) and enjoyed working on the A-6s. WOW where did the time go between then and now 08/21/2007 @ 10:16 [ref: 17703] |
| Steve Carnilla birmingham, AL | I enjoyed reading everyone's comments about the A-6. Like Dan Dominey, I too was a comm/nav/ecm tech that was attached to VMAT-202. I got there in '72. Sorry I missed you, Dan. I loved the comment about hydraulic leaks. We had a MTBM on the radar altimeters of about 2 flight hours. Everytime I pulled the box there was hydraulic fluid all over it. (I ended up attached to a Navy P-3 squadron doing bench repair on the altimeter and it had a MTBM of 200 hours- same box. Talk about twiddling your thumbs)
Anyway, it was always a pleasure to work on and be around. Two years ago I ended up at the Navy base in Pensacola and went to the museum. They had an A-6 cockpit to sit in. I put my bride in the B/Ns seat and asked her if she didn't think this was great. She thinks I'm nuts. 08/03/2007 @ 09:21 [ref: 17434] |
| Dan \"Whimpy\"Kirkendall AO1 Fairdale, KY | I was a Aviation Ordnanceman in Intruder Squadrons from 1965-1979.
I was in the 1st Combat Squadron to deploy to Vietnam where the A6 flew while others sat. We lost alot of crews and planes that 1st cruise and our CO. J.Denton was caputed and spent almost 7yrs in the Hanoia Hilton. The A6 IS BY FAR THE BEST ALL WEATHER BOMBER THE USA EVER HAD. Last I heard it's the onlyplane the USA has never sold to a foreign Country. A01 Dan Whimpy Kirkendall USN Ret. VA-75;128; 115; 145 07/23/2007 @ 08:13 [ref: 17245] |
| bob reuter lake grove,, NY | I went to work for Grumman on July 11, 1962 15 days after graduating H.S. I was made a hydraulic tect. and was assigned to plant #7, which was Flight Development. This was right at the beginning of the A2F program. Yes I said the A2F. Sometime after it was changed to the A6A because the Navy though the "F" would make people think it was a Fighter, which it was not. A2F#1 was just starting the spin program where the Test pilot( Grumman's Chief Test pilot Ralph Darnell) would intentionally put the plain into a stall causing it to spin out of control so he could write the flight manual on how to recover from a spin. said plain was equipped with a drough shout(the only one to be fitted with one)to be used if he was unable to recover from the spin. My first day one the job I witnessed a high speed taxi deployment of it. That was the only time it was necessary as. A2F #s 1,2,&3 were fitted with tilting tail pipes for faster take offs. during flight tests it was determined the benefit did not shorten the take off enough to justify the added expense, so they were deleted from the following aircraft. A2F #s 1,2,&3 were also fitted with a center bomb rack that could be lowered hydraulically to facilitate loading ordnance, it to was deleted from further plains as a unnecessary gadget. After approx. 2 years I was asked to go to patuxant? Naval Test Center to maintain the hyd. systems on the aircrafts the navy test pilots were testing in preparation of acceptance into the fleet. after approx. 6 mos. I returned to plant 7. some 3 weeks later I was asked if I would go to Alberque, N.M. to maintain th hyd. systems on to A6As which were flying out of the Airforce's base there as the A6s were using the White Sands Missile range to prove its weapons systems to the navy. That program finished up 4 mo. later. I returned to Plant #7 and continued to work for Grumman until June of 1968 when I changed my care to law enforcement. I would like to communicate with anyone who I worked with during that time or anyone also interested in the intruder. I also worked on the prototype of the EA6B. 07/03/2007 @ 17:08 [ref: 17005] |
| Dan Dominey Mesa, AZ | I was a Marine com/nav tech on A6A's from 1968 though 1970. I trained with VMAT-202 at Cherry Point, North Carolina, went TDY to Whidbey Island, twice, for systems schools,and spent half of 1970 (until they rotated back to the world) with VMA(AW)-242,the Bats, at Da Nang. Unfortunatly, I didn't have enough time in country to go back with them. The more I've learned about and been around airplanes since then (I'm a pilot), the more I appreciate what a great warbird the Intruder was.
I recently visited the USS Midway museum in San Diego and there among all the fine aircraft displayed on her flight deck was an A6A--first time I had seen one in person since Viet Nam. It was truly like seeing an old friend---the memories just came flooding back. 05/13/2007 @ 17:46 [ref: 16478] |
| Ed Hazlett Cherry Tree, PA | I was station at NAS Whidbey Is Wa. I was with VA-128,
VA-115 aboard USS Midway. I work on the A-6 from 68-73 and found that it was the best atack AC I think there ever was. I then went to VAQ-137 EA-6B's untill middle of 74. 04/19/2007 @ 15:12 [ref: 16234] |
| Sunwolf Charlotte, NC | A-6E info from this site:
http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/specs/grumman/a-6e.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-6_Intruder The definitive attack version of the Intruder, introduced in 1970, with its first deployment 9 December 1971, with vastly upgraded nav/attack systems. The original search and track radars of the A-6A were replaced by a single AN/APQ-148 Norden multi-mode radar, and the onboard computers with a more sophisticated (and generally more reliable) solid-state electronic system. A new AN/ASN-92 inertial navigation system was added, along with the CAINS (Carrier Aircraft Intertial Navigation System), for greater navigation accuracy. Beginning in 1979 all A-6Es were fitted with the AN/AAS-33 DRS (Detecting and Ranging Set), part of the TRAM (Target Recognition and Attack, Multi-Sensor) system, a small, gyroscopically stabilized turret, mounted under the nose of the aircraft, containing FLIR boresighted with a laser spot-tracker/designator. TRAM was matched with a new AN/APQ-156 Norden radar. The BN could use both TRAM imagery and radar data for extremely accurate attacks, or use the TRAM sensors alone to attack without using the Intruder's radar (which might warn the target). TRAM also allowed the Intruder to autonomously designate and drop laser-guided bombs. In addition, the Intruder used AMTI (Airborne Moving Target Indicator) which allowed the plane to track a moving target (such as a tank or truck) and drop ordnance on him even though the target was moving. Also, the computer system allowed the use of OAPs (Offset Aim Points) which gave the crew the ability to drop on a target if it was unseen on radar, simply by noting the coordinates of a known target nearby and entering the offset range and bearing to the unseen target. In the early 1990s some surviving A-6Es were upgraded under SWIP (Systems/Weapons Improvement Program) to enable them to use the latest precision-guided munitions, including AGM-65 Maverick, AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-84E SLAM, AGM-62 Walleye and the AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile. After a series of wing-fatigue problems, about 85% of the fleet was fitted with new graphite/epoxy/titanium/aluminum composite wings. A-6E models totaled 445 aircraft, about 240 of which were converted from earlier A-6A/B/C models A-6A info from this site: http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/specs/grumman/a-6a.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-6_Intruder A-6A The initial version of the Intruder was built around the complex and advanced DIANE (Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment), intended to provide a high degree of bombing accuracy even at night and in poor weather. DIANE consisted of multiple radar systems: the Norden AN/APQ-92 search radar and a separate AN/APQ-112 for tracking, AN/APN-141 radar altimeter, and AN/APN-153 Doppler to provide position updates to the AN/ASN-31 inertial navigation system. An air-data computer and ballistics computer integrated the radar information for the bombardier/navigator (BN) in the right-hand seat. TACAN and ADF were also provided for navigational use. When it worked, DIANE was perhaps the most capable nav/attack system of its era, giving the Intruder the ability to fly and fight in even very poor conditions (particularly important over Vietnam and Thailand during the Vietnam War). It suffered numerous teething problems, though, and it was several years before its reliability was established. Total A-6A production was 488, including six pre-production prototypes. Many of the surviving aircraft were converted to other variants. 03/21/2007 @ 10:25 [ref: 15988] |
Recent photos uploaded by our visitors
