A-7D

A-7D

A-10A Late

A-7E

A-7D

A-10A Late

A-7E

USA

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.0	10.3	10.0

Class:

Strike aircraft

Research:300 000

Purchase:830 000

Show in game

Description

The A-7D Corsair II is a rank VII American strike aircraft with a battle rating of 11.0 (AB), 10.3 (RB), and 10.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update "Hot Tracks".

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear

Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Max speed

at 0 m1 123 km/h

Turn time35 s

Max altitude12 497 m

EngineAllison TF-41-A-1

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight19 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	1,115	1,110	12497	35.4	37.1	42.6	42.3	1,000
Upgraded	1,132	1,123		34.6	35.0	68.4	55.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1254	407	484	457	406	~10	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 700	< 690	< 500	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic Mass			Wing loading (full fuel)
Allison TF-41-A-1		1	9,101 kg			382 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)					Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		15m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	45m fuel	50m fuel
1,592 kg	Low-bypass turbofan		10,361 kg	10,781 kg	11,902 kg	12,882 kg	13,302 kg	19,051 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB / SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (102%)
Condition	100%	WEP	15m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	45m fuel	50m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	6,073 kgf	N/A	0.59	0.56	0.51	0.47	0.46	0.32
Optimal	6,134 kgf (200 km/h)	N/A	0.59	0.57	0.52	0.48	0.46	0.32

Survivability and armour

Flares/Chaff

Aircraft countermeasures to distract IR and radar-guided missiles and also AA radar

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural1 254 km/h

Gear407 km/h

Design characteristics of the A-7D put its survivability in a mixed bag. While it has all the necessary traits to survive in a missile-frequent battle-rating, the plane design leaves survival beyond a hit minimal.

The radar warning receiver comes default with the plane, meaning it will be able to sense when an enemy plane has pinged it during its radar search, or is locking on for a SARH missile. This can give enough heads-up to an A-7D pilot to react appropriately to the situation.

Once upgrading the A-7D through Tier I modifications, the A-7D can acquire flares to use in the event when an aircraft gets on the A-7D tail (which will be frequent given the A-7D's poor turn rate) and fires an infrared missile. This can be really useful to thwart off a missile-run by an enemy diving onto the A-7D. The A-7D receives a large amount of flares too, with 120 units able to be expended, meaning that the A-7D can keep infrared missiles off for quite some time.

These flares can help out when using the A-7D to penetrate enemy lines and to reach distant ground target such as bases or the such. Such an attack will inevitably be discovered by the enemy high-performance jets at this battle-rating. One way to use the flares in this situation is to activate "Periodic Flares Release" control so that the flare automatically come out of the aircraft when the enemy begins closing in. While it may illuminate the A-7D to other enemy's visuals, it will deter easy infrared missile shots so that an enemy 3-5 kilometers behind the A-7D can't just carelessly pop off a missile and know it is a certain hit. This should allow enough time for the A-7D to successfully drop its payload onto its target and fly off hoping to either make it back to the airfield safety or make it into a friendly airspace envelope safely. However, without much external aid, it will be hard to shake off tailing enemy that follows through from the beginning of the attack run to its aftermath.

The large, not self-sealing, wing fuel tank in the A-7D.

However, the overall A-7D design leaves no space for error when it comes to getting hit. There are no empty spaces in the aircraft that can be hit and the plane is left out without too much trouble. Firstly, all but one of the four fuel tanks on the A-7D is not self-sealing, which is bad for the fuel storage on the plane. Secondly, one of the fuel tanks is huge and makes up a good portion of the wingspan (and it's a not self-sealing one at that). If this tank is hit, it will leak a good portion of the plane fuel. That is, if the tank does not catch fire from the hit, and it will burn continuously as it is representing a large fuel reserve and is not self-sealing. Having this or other fuel tanks get hit is a crippling blow to the A-7D.

These traits mean the A-7D deals with the aftermath of a hit terribly, but it does have enough design feature so that missiles are not an instant doom for the A-7D.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 556 → 4 907

RB9 176 → 12 662

SB10 540 → 14 545

Total cost of modifications262 200

408 000

Talisman cost2 900

Crew training240 000

Experts830 000

Aces3 000

Research Aces1 140 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

80 / 320 / 600 %

238 / 238 / 238 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Compressor Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 New boosters Research: 9 900 Cost: 15 000 420 Wings repair Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 470 Engine Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 600	Fuselage repair Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 Airframe Research: 9 900 Cost: 15 000 420 G-suit Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 470 Cover Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 600	Gun pod SUU-23/A. Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 Flares/Chaff Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 Mk82 Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 LAU-3/A Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 380 M60_belt_pack Research: 9 900 Cost: 15 000 420 Gun pod GPU-5/A. Research: 9 900 Cost: 15 000 420 M117 Research: 9 900 Cost: 15 000 420 BLU-27/B Research: 9 900 Cost: 15 000 420 M60_new_gun Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 470 GAU_13A_belt_pack Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 470 Mk83 Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 470 AIM-9J Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 470 GAU_13A_new_gun Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 600 Mk84 Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 600 GBU-8 Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 600 AGM-65A Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 600

Armaments

Ballistic Computer
CCIP (Guns)	CCIP (Rockets)	CCIP (Bombs)	CCRP (Bombs)

Offensive armament

The A-7D is armed with:

• 1 x 20 mm M61 cannon, chin-mounted (1,000 rpg)

The 20 mm M61 Vulcan is an excellent multi-purpose weapon that can fit into the A-7D's role. With the high rate of fire of 6,000 RPM, the M61 can lay down massive amount of fire that can ensure hits onto the target.

Due to the rate of fire, the A-7D only needs to fire into the enemy's path only for a moment that the enemy aircraft would be pelted with multiple 20 mm shells. If this does not instantly destroy the aircraft, more than likely a critical control component has been damaged that a follow-up shot is made easier against them.

The 20 mm shells are powerful for the ground-attack roles, with 53 mm of point-blank penetration with any belts loaded. A quick burst can destroy light pill-boxes in Air Realistic Battles, as well as penetrate some medium tanks via the weaker armour areas. Though the ground vehicles that the A-7D can encounter in Ground Realistic Battles are often more well armoured against the 20 mm power, modules can very easily be damaged with the Vulcan's rate of fire, let alone any shots towards the tank's roof armour.

Suspended armament

The A-7D can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 20 mm M61 cannons (1,200 rpg = 2,400 total)
• 2 x 20 mm M61 cannons + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
• 2 x 20 mm M61 cannons + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles
• 2 x 30 mm GAU-13/A cannons (353 rpg = 706 total)
• 2 x 30 mm GAU-13/A cannons + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
• 2 x 30 mm GAU-13/A cannons + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles
• 24 x 250 lb LDGP Mk 81 bombs (6,000 lb total)
• 24 x 250 lb LDGP Mk 81 bombs + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles (6,000 lb total)
• 24 x 250 lb LDGP Mk 81 bombs + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles (6,000 lb total)
• 24 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (12,000 lb total)
• 24 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles (12,000 lb total)
• 24 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles (12,000 lb total)
• 14 x 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs (10,500 lb total)
• 14 x 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles (10,500 lb total)
• 14 x 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles (10,500 lb total)
• 12 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs (12,000 lb total)
• 12 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles (12,000 lb total)
• 12 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles (12,000 lb total)
• 6 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs (12,000 lb total)
• 6 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles (12,000 lb total)
• 6 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles (12,000 lb total)
• 114 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
• 114 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
• 114 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles
• 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
• 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles
• 4 x AGM-65A missiles
• 4 x AGM-65A missiles + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles
• 4 x AGM-65A missiles + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles
• 4 x AGM-65A missiles + 2 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles (4,000 lb total)
• 4 x AGM-65A missiles + 2 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles (4,000 lb total)
• 4 x AGM-65A missiles + 2 x 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs + 2 x AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles (1,500 lb total)
• 4 x AGM-65A missiles + 2 x 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs + 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles (1,500 lb total)

The A-7D can carry an assortment of bombs and unguided/guided rockets that are familiar to players of the American attacker line, with the primary differences to preceding attackers being that the A-7D have a staggering 6 hardpoints on its wing which can mount suspended weaponry, including the ability to carry dual 20 mm M61 gunpods or dual 30 mm GAU-13/A gunpods, a scaled down yet still equally deadly variant of the GAU-8/A belonging to the infamous Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt 2, that can shred anything staring down its barrel. Finally the inclusion of CCIP that assists in the usage of the aforementioned weaponry completes the A-7D as a deadly CAS package. AGM-65A Maverick missiles are great for taking helicopters down in mixed ground battles.

Usage in battles

Air battles

When flying the A-7D in air realistic battles, the main challenge can be getting to bases or ground targets as most of the fight revolves around the centre of the map. To counter this, take some time to fly and possibly climb away from the map center where radar-equipped planes may be searching. Once you've made it to the side, look at your surroundings and determine which group of targets/bombing base will net you the most rewards with as little risk of being shot down as possible. The moment you've expended your ordnance, you have two options - stay and fight other jet fighters or go back to the airfield to rearm and repair. These two options have their risks and benefits:

• By staying, you open the chance to shoot down an enemy aircraft and grab yourself a large reward, but you also put yourself up as an easy target as the A-7D isn't designed to fight air targets primarily.
• By returning to the base, you get the chance to repair any damage to your plane and get more ordnance to go back and attack more ground targets. One disadvantage is that your teammates may be stuck along in an unfair fight without your assistance.

Ground battles

In ground realistic battles, the A-7D is simultaneously a flying whale and a flying tank killer.

This aspect comes from that your attacker isn't very manoeuvrable. Still, the huge ordnance options allow you to take full advantage of the long flying periods that result from the large payloads and a large number of countermeasures.

You want to be aware of your surroundings and of any dangerous SPAA that may be an active mid-battle. Listen to your RWR, and visually check if any tracers or missiles may be headed your way. If you receive a lock warning take evasive manoeuvres and wait till the SPAA is taken out or that you get another chance to sneak up on the target to take them out.

AGM-65 / Rockets

Your AGMs and rockets can be your best luck at speedy attacks that require less time on attack slope that leave you as a sitting duck compared to bomb dropping. With the missiles, you can attain lock and quickly fire, then pull away to make sure you are in a safe position to reset and go in for another missile attack.

You can saturate an area with a huge number of rockets with rockets quickly from just about any altitude. If you have the weapon selection tool active, you can change the number of rockets fired at once, which can be very useful when you have to take out a single target with as little time in the combat area.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Possesses a deadly 20 mm Vulcan gun, with the ability to add two more 20 mm or 30 mm gun pods to the wings
  • 20 mm Vulcan is deadly enough to destroy a majority of ground targets in an air match
  • 30 mm gun pods produce one of the highest one-second burst mass in the game
• Can hold a wide variety of suspended armaments for ground-attack, air-attack, or both
• CCIP for guns, rockets, and bombs means the plane can use its payload with great accuracy and effectiveness
• Air-attack payload can consist of two AIM-9J, which are very competitive against the A-7D's opponents
• Has attacker spawn, which gives the A-7D an advantage in speed and climbing in the match start
• Has radar warning receiver available by default to notify the pilot of enemy radar pings or lock-ons
• Unlocked flares give a substantial 120 flares to deter infrared missiles
• Cockpit interior has a mini-map available and can be easily interpreted
• Fire and forget AGM-65 Mavericks with an effective range of 5+ km

Cons:

• Flaps have weak structural integrity and requires a rather low airspeed even for landing flaps
• Airbrakes cannot be extended when the gear is deployed, hindering airbrake flexibility when slowing down for a landing
• Plane is sluggish, can only travel subsonic speed, and is not manoeuvrable to be as effective in an air combat role
  • These traits make it difficult to lose a tailing enemy fighter
• Is a large target and is filled with critical modules
  • Fuel tanks make up a good majority of the plane's interior

History

The A-7D Corsair II was the US Air Force version of the Navy's A-7 Corsair II. It was procured by the USAF due to the urging of the US Army, which wanted a subsonic aircraft to carry out close air support (CAS) missions for its ground forces.

The A-7D had a number of differences from the earlier Navy Corsairs, due to different requirements by the Air Force. The TF-30 engine was replaced by a version of the Rolls-Royce Spey, called the TF-41. The TF-41-A1 version was used in the A-7D, producing 14,250 pounds of thrust. The two 20 mm cannons of the earlier Corsair IIs were replaced by the M61A1 rotary cannon. The avionics suite of the A-7D was also different from that of the earlier models; the AN/ASN-91 Central Computer was the centerpiece of the navigation and weaponry delivery system, which also featured the AN/APQ-126 radar, AN/AVQ-7 heads-up display, projected map display system, doppler radar, inertial navigation system, and a weapons control system.

Some aspects of the A-7D made it unique from all Navy variants of the Corsair II. It had a boom and receptacle in-flight refueling system, improved wheels, tires, and brakes, an ESCAPAC IC ejection system, and a new oxygen system. The US Navy A-7E shared many characteristics with the A-7, but these changes listed never made it to USN Corsair IIs.

A total of 459 A-7Ds were built, with deliveries starting to the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing in 1970. Starting in 1972, the Air Force's 354th Tactical Fighter Wing operated A-7Ds from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand during the late stages of the Vietnam War. Four USAF A-7Ds were lost in combat and two more were lost to other causes during that conflict, with a total of 12,928 combat sorties. Towards the end of the Vietnam War, A-7Ds from Korat Royal Thai AIr Force Base saw combat over Cambodia against the Khmer Rouge in support of the Lon Nol government. The last combat mission in Cambodia by an A-7D occurred on 15 August 1973.

Starting in 1973, A-7Ds began to be allocated to the Air National Guard (ANG). ANG A-7Ds flew 34 combat sorties during the 1989 Operation Just Cause in Panama. The A-7D was fully retired in the early 1990's, having been replaced by the A-10 Thunderbolt, which first entered service in 1977.

Devblog

In the early 1960s, the US Navy sought to procure a new naval strike aircraft in order to replace the A-4 Skyhawk. However, to ensure a fast development and reduce costs, the new machine was supposed to be based on aircraft already in service with the USN at the time. One of the aircraft manufacturers taking part in the competition - Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) - quickly developed an aircraft on the basis of their F-8 Crusader by shrinking the dimensions of the new aircraft and taking away its supersonic abilities in an effort to further save on costs.

The decision to do this was met with success as LTV's design was quickly declared the winner of the competition and given the official designation A-7 and named 'Corsair II', signaling the lineage from the older WWII-era fighter bomber F4U Corsair (also built by Vought). The aircraft undertook its maiden flight in September 1965, with serial production starting in 1966. In the first production batch, close to 200 A-7A Corsair IIs were built with many seeing action in the ongoing Vietnam War.

Driven by the need to acquire a new strike aircraft themselves, and encouraged by the successes achieved by the A-7 in Vietnam, the USAF ordered the development of a separate Army variant in 1968, which would become the A-7D. Apart from vastly improved avionics, the A-7D also featured a more powerful engine and an M61 Vulcan cannon instead of two single-barreled 20 mm cannons.

The A-7D entered production in 1968 and continued rolling off the assembly line until 1975 with over 450 units being produced. It served until the early 1990s before being retired from active service.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the A-7D from live.warthunder.com.

Images

• A-7D Corsair II Devblog Images
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Videos

The Shooting Range #235 - Metal Beasts section at 00:28 discusses the A-7D.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] A-7D Corsair II: Bulk Delivery
• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

Bibliography

• A-7D Corsair II. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.mdairmuseum.org/a-7d-corsair-ii

• LTV A-7D Corsair II. (2015, July 21). Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196072/ltv-a-7d-corsair-ii/
• Standard Aircraft Characteristics A-7D Corsair II. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2020, from http://www.alternatewars.com/SAC/A-7D_Corsair_II_SAC_-_December_1986.pdf
• Stites, R. (n.d.). A-7D. Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.vought.org/products/html/a-7d.html