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The A-7 Corsair II was tagged with the nickname "SLUF" ("Short Little Ugly Feller" was the polite version) by pilots.
Pilots of the early A-7s lauded the aircraft for general ease of flying (with the exception of poor stability on cross-wind landings) and excellent forward visibility but noted a lack of engine thrust. This was addressed with A-7B and more thoroughly with A-7D/E. The turbofan engine provided a dramatic increase in fuel efficiency compared with earlier turbojets � the A-7D was said to have specific fuel consumption one sixth that of an F-100 Super Sabre at equivalent thrust. An A-7D carrying 12 x 500 lb (227 kg) bombs at 480 mph (775 km/h) at 33,000 ft (10,000 m) used only 3,350 lb (1,500 kg) of fuel per hour. The integrated weapons computer provided highly accurate bombing with CEP of 60 ft (20 m) regardless of pilot experience. The doppler navigation system required a mere 2.5 minutes on the ground for partial alignment, a big improvement over 13 minutes required in F-4 Phantom II. In addition, the A-7 required only 11.5 man hours of maintenance per mission resulting in quick turnaro und and high number of combat-ready aircraft.
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 800 km/h. Pilots quipped that the Corsair "is not very fast, but it sure is slow." For dissimilar air combat training, and the Blue Angels, the Navy would choose 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 U.S. Navy A-7As were deployed to Vietnam in 1967 with VA-147 Argonauts aboard USS Ranger. 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 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 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 800 km from airbases, extensively utilizing mid-air refueling. The A-7Ds were quickly assigned the "Sandy mission" of providing air cover for Combat Search and Rescue missions of downed pilots. Taking over for A-1 Skyraiders (and adopting their call sign of "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 CSAR 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 0.51 cal (12.7 mm) anti-aircraft fire. For his actions in coordinating the rescue, Clarke was awarded the Air Force Cross, the USAF's second-highest medal, and his A-7D (S/N 70-0970) was placed on display on 31 January 1992 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
The USAF A-7D flew a total of 12,928 combat sorties during the war with only six losses � the lowest of any U.S. 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 U.S. attack aircraft.
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 Corsairs were gray/white in color; USAF A-7s were normally painted in full camouflage 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 Mayag�ez after it was hijacked by Cambodian communists.
Sources:
Wikipedia: A-7 Corsair II
WARBIRDS RESOURCE GROUP > VIETNAM > CORSAIR II > PREVIOUS PAGE