A-4E Skyhawk VMA-211 Vietnam

An armed A-4E Skyhawk from VMA-211 in Vietnam.

The A-4E was armed with two internal 20mm cannons and could carry additional guns in external pods. With three stores stations available in the A-4C and five in the A-4E ‘Echo, Marine pilots could deliver approximately 8,500 pounds of ordnance–iron bombs weighing up to 1,000 pounds, napalm, Zuni semi-guided rockets, cluster bombs, and unguided rockets. The A-4 was fast, maneuverable and rugged, well able to survive combat in Vietnam, where anti-aircraft artillery and small arms were the enemy’s principal weapons.

The Marine landings in March 1965 coincided with a need for a new air base on the coast in order to reduce flight time to targets in Quang Tin province and adjacent districts. Da Nang was the first Marine air base in South Vietnam. A second airfield was sorely needed, and Chu Lai, located about 50 miles south, was chosen. Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) would direct most operations assigned to the A-4 force in South Vietnam, plus bring in new squadrons as required. Navy Seabees sweated in 100-degree-plus temperatures to prepare the Chu Lai site for an AM-2 aluminum plank runway, dubbed the tinfoil airstrip. Designated SATS, for short airfield for tactical support, the facility had been designed for areas where no airfield existed. The one at Chu Lai initially had a 4,000-foot runway, taxiways, a parking ramp and, later, a catapult and arrester gear. As one individual put it, Chu Lai eventually had everything a Navy carrier had except the water. The first challenge for new-guy A-4 pilots was mastering the art of launching from Chu Lai’s too-short 4,000-foot airstrip. When fully loaded with ordnance, getting a Scooter airborne required an extra kick from a Jet Assisted Takeoff system. Two JATO bottles were attached, one on each side of the aircraft’s fuselage, just aft of the wing root. When torched off, these rockets produced 7,000 pounds of thrust for about four seconds, smartly accelerating a jet to liftoff speed. We immediately headed for the South China Sea, where the empty JATO bottles were jettisoned to reduce drag.