A-5 Vigilante Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions [Paperback]

North American's A-5 Vigilante served for nearly two decades as an all-weather supersonic strike aircraft and reconnaissance platform. An outgrowth of studies begun in 1953, the prototype first flew in 1958. Originally designed to operate as a nuclear delivery system, the Vigilante was at the time of its introduction the largest and most complex aircraft to operate from a carrier. Carrying a crew of two, the Vigilante was equipped with two General Electric J-79 turbojets, and utilized a single tailfin. It featured a high-mounted swept wing with aluminum-lithium alloy skins and no ailerons. The Vigilante featured cutting-edge technology and was one of the first aircraft to use fly-by-wire systems and a heads-up display, as well as inertial navigation among other advanced systems. The Vigilante's bomb bay was located between the aircraft's engines, giving it a streamlined appearance and making the large aircraft surprisingly agile. As a result of shifts within the Navy's nuclear strategy brought on by the advent of the nuclear ballistic missile submarine, the A-5 never served in a strategic role. Instead most were converted to the RA-5C reconnaissance platform. Beginning in 1964, Vigilantes flew missions in Vietnam. Although extremely fast and maneuverable, the RA-5C's combat record was far from stellar. Difficult and expensive to maintain in the field, the Vigilante also compiled a dubious loss record. Out of 156 built, 18 aircraft were lost in combat and nine more succumbed to accidents during the Vietnam conflict. After 1974, a phase out of the Vigilante began with smaller, less complex fighter aircraft taking on the recon role. The RA-5C was deployed for the last time in 1979. Originally printed by the U.S. Air Force, this A-5A Vigilante flight operating manual taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Originally classified Restricted , this manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form.