A-5 Vigilante (Wallpaper 1)
Sunday, June 19, 2011
image dimensions : 1092 x 682
A-5 Vigilante (Wallpaper 1)
Photo wallpaper gallery of North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft - 1. North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft pictures and images collection - 1.
The North American A-5 Vigilante was a carrier-based supersonic bomber designed for the United States Navy. Its service in the nuclear strike role to replace the A-3 Skywarrior was very short; however, as the RA-5C, it saw extensive service during the Vietnam War in the tactical strike reconnaissance role. Prior to the unification of the Navy designation sequence with the Air Force sequence in 1962, it was designated the A3J Vigilante. In 1953, North American Aviation began a private study for a carrier-based, long-range, all-weather strike bomber, capable of delivering nuclear weapons at supersonic speeds. This proposal, the NAGPAW (North American General Purpose Attack Weapon) concept, was accepted by the United States Navy, with some revisions, in 1955. A contract was awarded on 29 August 1956. Its first flight occurred two years later on 31 August 1958 in Columbus, Ohio. At the time of its introduction, the Vigilante was one of the largest and by far the most complex aircraft to operate from a United States Navy aircraft carrier. A-5 Vigilante (Wallpaper 1). Photo wallpaper gallery of North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft - 1. North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft pictures and images collection - 1. It had a high-mounted swept wing with a boundary-layer control system (blown flaps) to improve low-speed lift.[4] There were no ailerons. Roll control was provided by spoilers in conjunction with differential deflection of the all-moving tail surfaces. Use of aluminum-lithium alloy for wing skins and titanium for critical structures were also unusual. The A-5 had two widely-spaced General Electric J79 turbojet engines (the same as used on the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter), and a single large all-moving vertical stabilizer. Preliminary design studies had employed twin vertical fin/rudders. The wings, vertical stabilizer and the nose radome folded for carrier stowage. The Vigilante had a crew of two seated in tandem, a pilot and a bombardier-navigator (BN)—reconnaissance/attack navigator (RAN) on later recon versions— in individual ejection seats. Despite being designated by the US Navy as a "heavy", the A-5 was surprisingly agile for such a large aircraft, without the drag of bombs or missiles, even escorting fighters found that the clean airframe and powerful engines made the Vigilante very fast at high and low altitudes. However, its high approach speed and high angle of attack in the landing configuration made returning to the aircraft carrier a challenge for inexperienced or unwary pilots. A-5 Vigilante (Wallpaper 1). Photo wallpaper gallery of North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft - 1. North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft pictures and images collection - 1.
Photo wallpaper gallery of North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft - 1. North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft pictures and images collection - 1.
The North American A-5 Vigilante was a carrier-based supersonic bomber designed for the United States Navy. Its service in the nuclear strike role to replace the A-3 Skywarrior was very short; however, as the RA-5C, it saw extensive service during the Vietnam War in the tactical strike reconnaissance role. Prior to the unification of the Navy designation sequence with the Air Force sequence in 1962, it was designated the A3J Vigilante. In 1953, North American Aviation began a private study for a carrier-based, long-range, all-weather strike bomber, capable of delivering nuclear weapons at supersonic speeds. This proposal, the NAGPAW (North American General Purpose Attack Weapon) concept, was accepted by the United States Navy, with some revisions, in 1955. A contract was awarded on 29 August 1956. Its first flight occurred two years later on 31 August 1958 in Columbus, Ohio. At the time of its introduction, the Vigilante was one of the largest and by far the most complex aircraft to operate from a United States Navy aircraft carrier. A-5 Vigilante (Wallpaper 1). Photo wallpaper gallery of North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft - 1. North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft pictures and images collection - 1. It had a high-mounted swept wing with a boundary-layer control system (blown flaps) to improve low-speed lift.[4] There were no ailerons. Roll control was provided by spoilers in conjunction with differential deflection of the all-moving tail surfaces. Use of aluminum-lithium alloy for wing skins and titanium for critical structures were also unusual. The A-5 had two widely-spaced General Electric J79 turbojet engines (the same as used on the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter), and a single large all-moving vertical stabilizer. Preliminary design studies had employed twin vertical fin/rudders. The wings, vertical stabilizer and the nose radome folded for carrier stowage. The Vigilante had a crew of two seated in tandem, a pilot and a bombardier-navigator (BN)—reconnaissance/attack navigator (RAN) on later recon versions— in individual ejection seats. Despite being designated by the US Navy as a "heavy", the A-5 was surprisingly agile for such a large aircraft, without the drag of bombs or missiles, even escorting fighters found that the clean airframe and powerful engines made the Vigilante very fast at high and low altitudes. However, its high approach speed and high angle of attack in the landing configuration made returning to the aircraft carrier a challenge for inexperienced or unwary pilots. A-5 Vigilante (Wallpaper 1). Photo wallpaper gallery of North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft - 1. North American A-5 Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft pictures and images collection - 1.
Labels: A-5 Vigilante, Fighter/Attack
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