Scooter! The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Story Revised Edition

Few modern military aircraft can claim the longevity and success of the legendary Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. First flown in the 1950s, the A-4 Skyhawk achieved combat fame in the Falklands and Vietnam wars and saw service with the air arms of seven foreign countries including Israel and New Zealand. It is still in use today in South America. The A-4, also known as the Bantam Bomber and Scooter, was a small, subsonic aircraft. The A-4 dramatically bucked the trend toward ever bigger, faster, and more complicated tactical jet airplanes in favour of simplicity and low cost. Although originally optimised for the delivery of a nuclear bomb, it proved to be far more versatile in service and as a consequence the A-4 enjoyed a 25-year production run and operation for many more years This is a fully revised and updated edition of the definitive history of the A-4 written by one of the leading authorities on US naval aviation.