A new era in naval aviation began with the introduction of the A-6 Intruder to the fleet in February 1963. The world's first all-weather attack aircraft, the aircraft provided the capability to launch low-level strikes against targets at extended ranges without regard to darkness or weather conditions. From the beginning Intruders featured Digital Integrated Attack Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which provided an electronic display of targets and geographical features even in low visibility conditions. Introduced on the A-6E version of the aircraft, the Target Recognition Attack Multisensors (TRAM) system combined Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR)/laser sensors with an onboard computer. Located in a ball turret beneath the nose of the aircraft, TRAM enabled a higher degree of bombing accuracy by locating targets and ascertaining their ranges and allowed the A-6 crew to detect ground undulations as small as a plowed field.

Despite initial difficulties in Vietnam, including premature detonation of bombs, the A-6 proved itself in the murky weather conditions over Southeast Asia, oftentimes carrying out single-plane or two-plane nocturnal raids with devastating accuracy that produced disproportionate results, This was dramatically illustrated when two A-6s made a night strike dropping twenty-six 500 lb. bombs against a North Vietnamese power plant. The damage was such that the enemy high command was convinced that B-52 heavy bombers had been at work! The aircraft also represented the aircraft carrier's "big stick" in combat over Lebanon, Libya, and Iraq. During Operation Desert Storm, Navy and Marine Corps A-6s logged more than 4,700 combat sorties, providing close air support, destroying enemy air defenses, attacking Iraqi naval units, and hitting strategic targets. All told, 687 A-6s were delivered to the Navy, the last being retired from front-line service in 1997.

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SPECIFICATIONS:

Manufacturer: Grumman Aerospace Corporation

Dimensions: Length: 54 ft., 9 in.; Height: 16 ft., 2 in., wing span: 53 ft.

Weights: Empty: 26,746 lb., Gross: 60,400 lb.

Power Plant: Two 9,300 lb. static thrust Pratt & Whitney 352-P-8A or ?8B turbojets

Performance: Maximum Speed: 644 M.P.H. at sea level; Service Ceiling: 42,400 ft.; Range (with maximum bomb load): 1,110 miles

Armament: 18,000 lb. of ordnance, including laser guided bombs, Harpoon anti-ship missile,

High-speed anti-radiation missile (HARM), Stand-off Land Attack Missile (SLAM), and air-dropped mines.

Crew: Pilot and Bombardier-Navigator