In 1961, the A-5 was piloted to an altitude of 91,000 feet—four miles higher than the existing world record.
We recently covered the XF-108 Rapier, a proposed interceptor aircraft that was cancelled before a flyable prototype was ever built. Yet although the Rapier never came to be, portions of its design lived on in a scaled-down aircraft that did reach production, the A-5 Vigilante (aka the A3J).
Granted, only 167 A-5s were ever built, and the aircraft enjoyed only a brief service life. But the A-5 deserves closer examination—given that when it was introduced, it was one of the largest and most complex aircraft ever to operate from an aircraft carrier.
Introducing the A-5 Vigilante
Even now, decades later, pictures of the A-5 on an aircraft carrier look odd. The aircraft seems too big for the setting—despite the winglets that fold upwards to make more parking space. Indeed, the A-5 measured 76 feet long and 19 feet tall, with a 53-foot wingspan and wings that covered over 700 square feet!
The A-5’s max takeoff weight was 63,085 pounds. To put the A-5s size in perspective consider that the F-14 Tomcat, itself one of the larger fighters to ever operate from an aircraft carrier, measured only 62 feet long, 16 feet tall, with wings that could sweep back to a span of just 38 feet.
With two General Electric J79 engines on board, each offering 17,000 pounds of thrust, the A-5 was capable of reaching top speeds of Mach 2. The A-5 had a 0.72 thrust-to-weight ratio, an 8,000-foot per minute rate of climb, and a standard 52,100-foot service ceiling. However, the A-5 did once achieve a significantly higher altitude; remarkably, in 1961, it was once piloted to a record-setting altitude of 91,000 feet. The record was four miles higher than the previous altitude record, and would stand for another 13 years.
To reach such dazzling heights, the A-5 was gunned to its max speed of Mach 2.1 and then pulled nose up into a ballistic trajectory, which took the aircraft well above the altitude at which the wings would continue to generate lift. As the plane ascended, the air became so thin that the engine eventually flamed out. At that point, the pilot released the stick and allowed the A-5 to eventually drift back to altitudes where the wings and engine began working normally again.
The A-5 Was One of America’s First Nuclear Bombers
But the A-5’s speed and service ceiling were just a means to an end—the end being the delivery of nuclear weapons. With an internal weapons bay, the A-5 was configured to haul unique cargo—one free-falling nuclear bomb, or two Mark 83 or Mark 84 conventional bombs, weighing 1,000 pounds and 2,000 pounds respectively. Fortunately, the A-5 was never called upon to drop its deadliest ordnance.
The A-5’s role as a nuclear bomber was short-lived. In the early 1960s, the U.S. Navy’s nuclear strategy shifted its emphasis away from manned bombers and towards submarine-launched ballistic missiles—a strategy that still persists today. So the A-5’s nuclear function was rendered strategically obsolete not long after the aircraft was introduced to the fleet. Thinking resourcefully, the Navy converted their existing A-5 stock from nuclear bombers into high-speed reconnaissance aircraft, a role the aircraft carried through the Vietnam War. After Vietnam, and with the military cutbacks that coincided with the end of hostilities, the A-5’s funding was cut and she was phased out from the fleet.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the U.S. Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
