Severnoameriški A-5 Vigilante – Fotografije & Video

V Severnoameriški A-5 Vigilante je ameriški nadzvočni bombnik, ki ga je zasnoval in izdelal North American Aviation za ameriško mornarico. Njegova služba v vlogi jedrskega napada, ki je nadomestila Douglas A-3 Skywarrior, je bila zelo kratka; vendar pa je kot RA-5C med vietnamsko vojno doživel obsežno službo v taktični izvidniški vlogi. Pred poenotitvijo zaporedja označevanja mornarice z zaporedjem letalskih sil leta 1962 je bila imenovana A3J Vigilante.

V Severnoameriški A-5 Vigilante was a carrier-based supersonic bomber that was designed and built by North American Aviation for the United States Navy. It was originally designated as the A3J Vigilante before 1962, when the Navy and Air Force unified their designation systems. The A-5 Vigilante was intended to be a long-range, all-weather nuclear strike aircraft, but it was mostly used as a tactical reconnaissance plane during its service.
The A-5 Vigilante had a sleek and high-winged design, with two General Electric J79-GE-8 turbojet engines with afterburners mounted in the rear fuselage. It had a crew of two: a pilot and a navigator. The most distinctive feature of the A-5 Vigilante was its internal bomb bay, which could carry one nuclear weapon that was ejected backwards through a tunnel between the engine exhausts. This system was designed to avoid the aerodynamic drag and instability caused by opening conventional bomb bay doors at supersonic speeds. However, this system proved to be unreliable and problematic, and was often replaced by external fuel tanks.
The first prototype of the A-5 Vigilante flew on August 31, 1958, and broke the sound barrier five days later. On December 13, 1960, an A-5 set a world altitude record of 27,874 meters (91,450 feet). The A-5 Vigilante entered service with the US Navy in June 1961, but its role as a nuclear bomber was soon abandoned due to the emergence of submarine-launched ballistic missiles and the unreliability of its weapon delivery system. Instead, the A-5 Vigilante was converted into a reconnaissance aircraft, designated as RA-5C. The RA-5C had more powerful engines, larger wings, increased fuel capacity, four underwing pylons, and a sensor pod under the fuselage that carried cameras and electronic equipment.
V RA-5C Vigilante Med vietnamsko vojno je videl obsežne akcije, leteče hitre in nizke misije nad sovražnikovim ozemljem. Lahko je zagotovil dragocene obveščevalne podatke in informacije o ciljih za druga udarna letala. Vendar pa je utrpel tudi velike izgube zaradi sovražnikovega ognja in nesreč. Od 156 RA-5C, zgrajenih ali predelanih iz A-5A in Bs, jih je bilo 43 izgubljenih v boju, 18 pa v nesrečah. RA-5C Vigilante je bil upokojen septembra 1979 po razmeroma kratki, a razgibani karieri.