A-6 Intruder: A Mini B-52 Bomber? Let Us Explain
ByChristian OrrPublished
40 seconds ago
“Fighter pukes make movies. Bomber pilots make history!” Ironically, the first time I heard this saying was actually in a movie, that being 1991’s Flight of the Intruder, starring Willem Dafoe, Danny Glover, and the late Brad Johnson (not to be confused with the QB who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title during the 2002 season). The film was based upon a bestselling novel by Stephen Coonts, himself a former real-life pilot of the eponymous plane, the Grumman A-6 Intruder. Let’s now take a closer look at the life of the intrepid Intruder.
The Intruder Takes Flight
The A-6 made her maiden flight on 19 April 1960 and was officially introduced into USN/USMC service in 1963, making history (bad pun intended vis-a-vis the movie quote in my opening paragraph) as the first all-weather attack aircraft ever. The cockpit configuration was unusual in that it used a side-by-side seating arrangement, wherein the pilot sat to the left of the bombardier/navigator. By contrast, in most two-seater jets, like the F-14 Tomcat or the F-15E Strike Eagle, the navigator sits directly behind the pilot.
As noted by my 19FortyFive colleague Harrison Kass, “(T)he Bureau of Aeronautics called for an all-weather attack aircraft with short takeoff and landing capabilities – something the Navy could use for long-range interdiction missions, something the Marine Corps could use for close air support. The A-6 was intended to replace the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. The A-1, designed during World War II, was the last piston-engine fighter/attack aircraft still in service with the U.S. An anachronism by the 1960s, the A-1 managed to stay in service until 1973 when, amidst emerging fourth-generation jet fighters, the A-1 was positively archaic.”
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/12/a-6-intruder-a-mini-b-52-bomber-let-us-explain/
