Skyhawks Illustrated #12505: A veteran of the controversial attack on HMS “Invincible”

Initially built for operation aboard American aircraft carriers, this particular Skyhawk had a rich operational history as it served in wartime, or near wartime, operations both in the United States Navy (USN) and later in the Argentine Air Force (FAA).

One of its initial squadrons, VA-46 “Clansmen”, was the first to fire AGM-12 “Bullpups” active missiles, becoming the first jet attack squadron in the Jacksonville Air Fleet area to fire air-to-surface guided missiles.

In 1962, it was deployed aboard aircraft carrier, USS “Shangri-La”, on a cruise to the Mediterranean Sea and later that same year participated in the blockade of Cuba during to the so-called “Cuban missile crisis”.

The remainder of its USN career was spent mostly in Mediterranean Sea deployments and Continental United States ground-based units, with no known traces of its involvement in the Vietnam war.

Argentine transition

Retired to Davis Monthan Air Force Base (Arizona) on 03/19/1971, it remained preserved until being purchased in “as is” condition by the FAA in December 1974, then totalling 3,824 flight hours.

The future “Charlie 321” was stripped of sensitive US systems at the Lockheed Aircraft Services facilities in Ontario (California) and shipped to Argentina where it was painstakinlgy returned to operational condition by technicians at the Río Cuarto Material Area (ARMACUAR), flying in Argentina for the first time on 03/29/1978.

Unlike its USN siblings, C-321 and all Argentine A-4C were fitted with British Marconi air-to-air and air-to-ground gun sights, ADF/VOR/ILS avionics, OMEGA navigation systems and IAI first-generation Shafrir air-to-air missiles and lost many of the original improvements in its original configuration (Low Altitude Bombing System, AN/ASN-19 navigation system, APG-53 radar, Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, radar warning receiver and chaff dispensers, etc.).

Released to active duty on 05/19/1978, the aircraft joined the IV Air Brigade (IV Br Aé) in El Plumerillo (Mendoza), participating in several training deployments and was also used for the first tests with Israel Aircraft Industries Shafrir I missiles at Naval Air Station Comandante Espora near Bahía Blanca (Buenos Aires) in October 1978.

Our specimen actively involved in the Beagle Channel crisis, arriving 12/13/1978 at Puerto San Julián (Santa Cruz) and deployed to the same location in April 1982, completing seven combat sorties during the  Malvinas (Falklands) War.

Sink the “Invincible” carrier!

Its most outstanding mission took place on 05/30/1982, integrating “Zonda” flight with three other A-4Cs and flying alongside two Argentine Navy Super Etendards while the joint attack formation refuelled from two Air Force KC-130H Hercules tankers on their wait to attack British aircraft carrier, HMS “Invincible”, which Argentine electronic intelligence situated about 204 km. (110 NM) east of Soledad (East Falkland) Island.

The attack formation took off from NAS Río Grande (Tierra del Fuego) and, guided by their OMEGA navigation systems, approached the British fleet from the southeast and launched an AM-39 Exocet anti-shipping missile and several 250 kg (500 lbs) bombs on their intended target in a daring attack which British sources contend didn’t hit the carrier but frigate HMS “Avenger”.

While two of the Skyhawks were shot down by British surface-to-air missiles, C-321, flown by first lieutenant Ernesto Ureta, and sistership C-318 managed to avoid being shot down by performing violent evasive maneuvers and escaped back to Río Grande, where both landed safely after 03:40 flight hours.

Back into peace time, our aircraft continued to operate from IV Br Aé until 12/20/1983, when all surviving FAA A-4 Skyhawk were consolidated at Villa Reynolds (San Luis) and continued to fly with V Br Aé.

In 1983, through an agreement with the French company MATRA, tests were carried out to homologate weapons within the framework of the “Skyhawk-Matra-Magic” Operation, successfully launching an R550 Magic II “all aspect” missile (the Magic 2 entered in service in France in 1985) in Mar del Plata and Matra-Durandal BLG-66 Belouga bombs were dropped on a cement platform in Mendoza.

In 1987, project “Halcon I” replaced the 20 mm Colt guns with 30 mm DEFA 553A-4s cannons in several V Br Aé Skyhawks (including C-321), increasing their firepower and reliability and giving way to the so-called A-4C Halcón indigenous variant.

Variants:

A4D-2N (1960), A-4C (redesignated 1962), A-4C (initial Argentine configuration, 1978) and A-4C Halcón I (final Argentine configuration, 1987).

Identities:

BuNo 147741 (US Navy, 1960), 147741/3A321 (Military Aircraft Storage & Disposition Center, 03/1971) and C-321 (FAA, circa 12/1974).

Owners and operators:

• USN: VA-44 NAS Jacksonville, Florida (08/18/1960), VA-46 “AK401” and “AK501” Cecil Field, Florida, and 10th Carrier Air Group/USS “Shangri-La”, Mediterranean Sea (08/29/1960 to 04/01/1966), VA-34 and USS “Intrepid” (12/27/1966), VA-172 “AB320” NAS Cecil Field, Florida (04/03/1967 to 07/14/1967), VA-83 “AB304” and USS “Shangri-La” (10/26/1967), VMA-123 NAS Los Alamitos, California (02/19/1970 to 07/01/1970), VA-305 “ND501” NAS Point Mugu, California (07/01/1970), Marine Air Reserve Training Detachment NAS Glenview, Illinois (01/17/1971) and Military Aircraft Storage & Disposition Center Davis Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona (03/19/1971).
• FAA: ARMACUAR (circa 1975), IV Br Aé (05/19/1978) and V Br Aé (12/20/1983).

Fate:

Crashed 03/10/1995 in the outskirts of San Luis City due to engine failure, killing the pilot, first lieutenant Mario Bordagaray. Part of the wreckage remains preserved in the Malvinas War Veterans Museum in Villa Mercedes (San Luis).

Bibliography: Jorge F. Nuñez Padin: “Serie Fuerza Aerea #14 Mc Donnell Douglas A-4C Skyhawk” (Argentina, 2008). Other Internet sources: Forgotten Jets, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk “Heinemann’s Hot Rod”, USMC/USN A-4 Skyhawks (Facebook group), A4AR FIGHTINGHAWK (Facebook group), A4 SKYHAWK ARGENTINA (Facebook group), Wikipedia and Zona Militar.