A Hypothetical History
Skyhawk
in Fleet Air Arm Service Part One

by Jennings Heilig

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The ubiquitous Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was one of those aircraft that was just “right” in all the right ways. It came along at just the right time, and with all the attributes which positioned it for a long and productive career with many of the world’s air arms.  Bolstered by early success with the U.S. Navy, Douglas sales representatives scoured the world looking for governments which might be interested in their bantam bomber. 

Having designed the aircraft in as small a package as possible, Ed Heineman’s little hot rod seemed a perfect fit for the smaller sized fleet carriers of the Royal Navy.  Compared to their U.S. Navy brethren, the RN’s carriers were tiny.  Overhead spaces were lower, hangar decks were considerably smaller, and the RN’s catapults were shorter and somewhat less powerful than the American ones.  This had less to do with British engineering prowess than the RN’s lack of brutish, behemoth naval aircraft such as the Douglas A3D Skywarrior, which required immensely strong catapults and huge ships like the new Forrestal class to operate from

The untimely death of Defense Minister Duncan Sandys in an air-to-air missile accident in late 1957 meant that his disastrous policy of putting all of the UK’s eggs into the missile basket was reversed.  Thus, it was at the Farnborough International Airshow in 1958 that the RN announced that it had chosen the littlest Douglas as its new light attack type.  This announcement was only possible because of a very sweet license production deal, that deal only being politically acceptable because of the fact that the A4D (as it was then known in USN parlance) was powered by a U.S.-built version of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire engine.  So there would be a perception of turnabout being fair play by having the Sapphire-powered Skyhawk built in the UK

A license to build the A4D-2 airframe was awarded to Hawker Siddeley Aircraft, Ltd.  Many items of British equipment were substituted for American parts, including a Martin-Baker ejection seat, a British-built Sapphire engine, and many other items such as instrumentation, hydraulic components, etc

While Hawkers were gearing up for Skyhawk production, Douglas shipped three aircraft in knocked-down kit form, minus engines and other equipment.  The initial version produced, known as the Skyhawk FG.1, was equivalent to the USN’s A4D-2, later known as the A-4C.  The three Douglas-supplied aircraft (XJ201/203) were used as patterns, allowing Hawker Siddeley to begin production of the Skyhawk in record time.  The first three aircraft spent their entire lives as test articles, all three eventually (and very tragically for history’s sake) being scrapped in the early 1970s

The first British-built Skyhawk FG.1 was delivered to the Royal Navy in early 1959, going to the newly established 800 Naval Air Squadron at Yeovilton.  Over the next forty-plus years, Yeovilton would become the RN’s Skyhawk haven, with its familiar shape still visible over the Somerset countryside even today.

Nuclear Skyhawk

One of the lesser-known, yet key aspects of the decision to purchase the Skyhawk for the RN was its ability to deliver tactical nuclear weapons.  Since British and American nuclear weapons shared much in common, it was a relatively easy matter to adapt British nukes to the Skyhawk airframe.  In keeping with the fashion of the day, the first aircraft delivered were finished in an overall glossy white color scheme, with pink and light blue markings which were supposed to protect against thermal damage to the aircraft’s skin when exposed to the blinding flash of a nuclear detonation.

Being a small airframe with a British engine and much other British equipment, the Skyhawk quickly found an enthusiastic home in the Royal Navy.  By 1960 several more squadrons had equipped with FG.1s, and carrier operations were underway by the end of that year.

With the introduction of the Polaris missile into the Royal Navy’s submarine force in the mid-1960s, the Skyhawk lost its nuclear tasking.  As a result of this development, both its operational role and its color scheme soon changed. 

Skyhawk pilots were back to training in conventional tactics, and while ground attack and anti-shipping operations were their major focus, air-to-air was also very much a part of the game.  The Skyhawk’s sprightly performance, excellent maneuverability, and powerful 20mm cannons allowed its pilots to mix it up with the best the RAF and NATO had to offer and come out, as often as not, on top.

Skyhawk FG.2

After the production of 48 Skyhawk FG.1s, at the end of 1964 production switched to the FG.2, equivalent to the U.S. Navy’s A-4E.  While the A-4E was up-engined with the Pratt & Whitney J-52 turbojet, Hawker Siddeley wanted to keep things as British as possible with its Skyhawks.  Thus, the new Bristol Siddeley Diamond turbofan was chosen to power the FG.2.  This powerful, lightweight engine actually provided more power for less fuel consumption than the J-52, although initially its time between overhauls was somewhat shorter.  This problem was rectified in later years, with the Diamond becoming one of the truly great British jet engine designs.  Being nearly identical to the J-52 in terms of size and weight, fitting the Diamond into the Skyhawk airframe presented few problems of note.

First deliveries of the FG.2 were made, once again to Yeovilton, in June of 1965.  Somewhat strangely, the Skyhawk training organization was moved in 1966 to Lossiemouth, Scotland.   The typically grey, damp Scottish weather played havoc with training schedules however, and soon the Skyhawk school was back in the somewhat sunnier climes of Somerset.

The FG.2 quickly supplanted the FG.1 in all of the RN’s front line squadrons, with FG.1s either being scrapped or moving into second line squadrons and the Royal Navy’s Air Reserve Squadrons.  The last FG.1 was struck off charge in 1980.  Fortunately, several examples were preserved in various museums around Britain.

The first FG.2s wore the Extra Dark Sea Grey over white colors of the later batches of FG.1s.  By the late 1960s however, this attractive scheme gave way to overall Extra Dark Sea Grey, although colorful markings were still the norm for several more years.

South Atlantic Skyhawks

By the late 1970s, tactical roundels without the white center were used, although a reappearance of white undersides and Type D roundels was seen briefly beginning in 1980.  War clouds were looming however, and in April of 1982 the Argentine military junta invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands.  Believing the UK did not have the political will to try to retake them, the Argentine generals gravely miscalculated the resolve of the “Iron Lady”, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and war was unavoidable.

The RN Skyhawk squadrons were notified that they would be going to war during April of 1982, and preparations were soon underway.  During the 1970s, defense cuts meant that many of the proposed upgrades to the Skyhawk fleet were not undertaken.  Such items as a modern HUD, internal ECM and RHAW gear, and other up to date electronics and weapons were never purchased.  While still a very capable type, the Skyhawk first went to war with the Royal Navy in very much the same form in which it had been built many years before, and still very much a 1950s vintage fighter.

One very noticeable item that changed quickly on the trip to the South Atlantic was the smart color scheme worn by the Skyhawks.  White undersides and all squadron markings were overpainted (often with a 4-inch brush or a roller!) in Extra Dark Sea Grey.  Serials and side numbers were repainted in black, with the first digit of the side number being deleted by some squadrons.  Roundels were hastily changed from the three-color Type D to a sort of oddball variation of the tactical roundel, with the much smaller red center spot of the Type D being retained, and the white ring simply overpainted with Roundel Blue.

During the transit southward, Skyhawk pilots practiced both air-to-ground and air-to-air tactics.  The French Air Force kindly provided realistic training against the Mirage III, as this was one of the primary Argentine Air Force types being deployed against the Falklands.

Skyhawk vs. Skyhawk

Of course, the Argentines also had Skyhawks, and this would be the first (and only) time that Skyhawk vs. Skyhawk combat would occur.  Royal Navy pilots mixed it up with each other, and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps A-4 adversary squadron pilots, plus several from the Royal New Zealand Air Force were ‘loaned’ to the RN for a couple of weeks in order to provide as much dissimilar training as was possible.  The Americans and Kiwis posed as Argentines, putting their Skyhawks through their paces, and helping their British cousins gain valuable experience in air-to-air tactics against their own aircraft type.

The Royal Navy had successfully integrated the magnificent American AIM-9L Sidewinder missile into the Skyhawk FG.2’s suite of weapons in the late 1970s, and it would be this, as much as anything, that tipped the balance in favor of the RN Skyhawk squadrons in the Falklands.

The Argentines fought incredibly bravely, but lacked a modern AAM for their Skyhawks.  In the one instance during the conflict where two RN Skyhawks, having expended their AIM-9Ls, ended up in an old fashioned dogfight with two FAA Skyhawks using only  cannons, the contest ended in a one-all tie. 

Another quickly applied ‘fix’ for combat in the South Atlantic was a chaff/flare launcher.  These had been tested on RN Skyhawks, but not adopted for cost reasons.  Fortunately many appropriate units were available from redundant American A-4s in storage in Arizona, so a deal was quickly struck and a C-5 Galaxy load of launchers was delivered in time to be fitted to those aircraft destined for combat in the Falklands.  These proved their worth several times by successfully defeating both the early model AIM-9 Sidewinders used by the Argentine Air Force, and the Roland missiles fired from ground positions around Stanley and Goose Green.

Click here to go to Part Two

Text and Images Copyright © 2004 by Jennings Heilig
Page Created 17 June, 2004
Last updated 12 August, 2004

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