The Navy's Mach 2 Giant: The Rise and Fall of the A-5 Vigilante

Описание: the story of the supersonic nuclear bomber North American A-5 Vigilante, the carrier based U.S. reconnaissance aircraft.
The North American A-5 Vigilante was an American carrier-based supersonic bomber designed and built by North American Aviation (NAA) for the United States Navy. Before the 1962 unification of Navy and Air Force designations, it was designated A3J.

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Development of the A-5 had started in 1954 as a private venture by NAA, who sought to produce a capable supersonic long-distance bomber as a successor to the abortive North American XA2J Super Savage. It was a large and complex aircraft that incorporated several innovative features, such as being the first bomber to feature a digital computer, while its ability to attain speeds of up to Mach 2 while carrying a nuclear strike payload was also relatively ambitious for the era. The US Navy saw the value of such a bomber, leading to a contract for its full development and production being issued to the firm on 29 August 1956. The type performed its first flight just over two years later, on 31 August 1958.

The Vigilante was introduced by the US Navy in June 1961; it succeeded the Douglas A-3 Skywarrior as the Navy's primary nuclear strike aircraft, but its service in this capacity was relatively brief due to the deemphasizing of manned bombers in American nuclear strategy. A far larger quantity of the RA-5C tactical strike reconnaissance variant was also procured by the service, which saw extensive service during the Vietnam War. It also established several world records in both long-distance speed and altitude categories. During the mid-1970s, the withdrawal of the type commenced after a relatively short service life, largely due to the aircraft being expensive and complex to operate, as well as being a victim of post-Vietnam military cutbacks.

The late 1940s and early 1950s were marked by a series of fast-paced advancements in the field of aviation. The aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation (NAA) was one of a large number of companies that sought to harness these recent innovations in developing a new generation of aircraft. In early 1954, the company embarked on a private study into a conceptual carrier-based, long-range, all-weather strike bomber, that would be capable of supersonic speeds while carrying a sizable payload. This aircraft was envisioned as a successor to the abortive North American XA2J Super Savage. Much of this early work was undertaken by NAA's recently acquired Columbus division, overseen by chief of preliminary design Frank G Compton.

A-5 Vigilante Specifications:
Orthographically projected diagram of the A-5A Vigilante.

Cockpit instrument panel
Data from North American Rockwell A3J (A-5) Vigilante, Aircraft engines of the World 1966/67, Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1964–65

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 76 ft 6 in (23.32 m)
Wingspan: 53 ft 0 in (16.16 m)
Height: 19 ft 5 in (5.91 m)
Wing area: 701 sq ft (65.1 m2)
Empty weight: 32,783 lb (14,870 kg)
Gross weight: 47,631 lb (21,605 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 63,085 lb (28,615 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × General Electric J79-GE-8 after-burning turbojet engines, 10,900 lbf (48 kN) thrust each dry, 17,000 lbf (76 kN) with afterburner
Performance

Maximum speed: 1,149 kn (1,322 mph, 2,128 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,000 m)
Maximum speed: Mach 2
Combat range: 974 nmi (1,121 mi, 1,804 km) (to target and return)
Ferry range: 1,571 nmi (1,808 mi, 2,909 km)
Service ceiling: 52,100 ft (15,900 m)
Rate of climb: 8,000 ft/min (41 m/s)
Wing loading: 80.4 lb/sq ft (393 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 0.72
Armament
Bombs:
1× B27, B28 or B43 freefall nuclear bomb in internal weapons bay
2× B43, Mark 83, or Mark 84 bombs on two external hardpoints
Avionics
Systems carried by A-5 or RA-5C

AN/ASB-12 Bombing & Navigation Radar (A-5, RA-5C)
Westinghouse AN/APD-7 SLAR (RA-5C)
Sanders AN/ALQ-100 E/F/G/H-Band Radar Jammer (RA-5C)
Sanders AN/ALQ-41 X-Band Radar Jammer (A-5, RA-5C)
AIL AN/ALQ-61 Radio/Radar/IR ECM Receiver (RA-5C)
Litton ALR-45 "COMPASS TIE" 2-18 GHz Radar Warning Receiver (RA-5C)
Magnavox AN/APR-27 SAM Radar Warning Receiver (RA-5C)
Itek AN/APR-25 S/X/C-Band Radar Detection and Homing Set (RA-5C)
Motorola AN/APR-18 Electronic Reconnaissance System (A-5, RA-5C)
AN/AAS-21 IR Reconnaissance Camera (RA-5C)

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