Going in Hot

Making its combat debut in Vietnam in 1965, the A-6 Grumman Intruder provided the U.S. Naval Aviation with the capability to operate in some of the worst weather Southeast Asia could muster. Guided by digital integrated attack and navigation equipment, the aircraft ushered in a new era of aviation technology that all but eliminated visibility problems. An A-6 crew could take off, fly to its target at any altitude, drop its ordinance and return to base without the crew ever seeing the outside of the cockpit. The A-6's performances soon made it the standard carrier-based medium attack craft of the Navy and its uncanny accuracy earned the nickname the "mini B-52." This A-6 of VA-196th is dropping through scattered clouds as it prepares to strike a target in the Vietnam hills. Mission completed, the aircraft will return to the "Enterprise" in the Gulf of Tonkin. Countersigner: Stephen Coonts, author.