Best 50s/60s fighter?

[twoeagles]

Originally Posted by renrich

every time he got in gun range the A4's nose was pointing at him with the 20 mms. he could not even claim a decent Sidewinder shot.

This pretty well sums up many first encounters with the A-4 as an adversary.
Although I never flew the P-408 engined 'Super Fox', the A-4F with the P-8 was no slouch. It had a prodigeous roll rate that would damn near snatch your helmet off, and that delta planform wing would let you pull so hard your g-suit would squeeze your nuts up under your chin. In a mid-level gunfight with the F-4 or the F-14, the Scooter was exceptionally difficult to target, and those pilots learned quickly that their best bet was early radar detection and missiles. If only the A-4 had been supersonic, too. Add a couple of SUU-23, and she was decidedly fearsome, but flying clean was her element. Flying with VF-126 as a Bandit was doggone close to the most fun I have ever had. And I have trouble believing it has been 30+ years now...

[Matt308]

Most excellent twoeagles! Understanding mission specifics play into my question, what was a typical loadout for an interdiction mission and how much range could you get out of her?

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by twoeagles

This pretty well sums up many first encounters with the A-4 as an adversary.
Although I never flew the P-408 engined 'Super Fox', the A-4F with the P-8 was no slouch. It had a prodigeous roll rate that would damn near snatch your helmet off, and that delta planform wing would let you pull so hard your g-suit would squeeze your nuts up under your chin. In a mid-level gunfight with the F-4 or the F-14, the Scooter was exceptionally difficult to target, and those pilots learned quickly that their best bet was early radar detection and missiles. If only the A-4 had been supersonic, too. Add a couple of SUU-23, and she was decidedly fearsome, but flying clean was her element. Flying with VF-126 as a Bandit was doggone close to the most fun I have ever had. And I have trouble believing it has been 30+ years now...

Sounded like it was a blast - reading your description is a carbon copy of what one of my flight instructors said about the Scooter. He flew her in Vietnam and later at Pax River chasing drones.

[renrich]

Very good, Herr Adler. Linnekin's book is outstanding. If youall run across it somewhere it is worth a read. He started flying in Stearmans and the most high performance plane he flew was the F4.