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About the Italeri model: As is typical for Italeri, the kit is very well detailed, easy to assemble, has straightforward, clear instructions, and excellent decals. Also, as typical with Italeri kits, the pieces don't alsays fit well. The most serious problem is with the wings. The kit is designed to allow the wings to be displayed in the folded position, with the complete hinge mechanism exposed. However, this hinders building the model with the wings extended. The individual locking lugs barely fit together, and break easily. The kit includes only the stores shown, with no options for different loadouts. A good, middle of the road kit. It's interesting to note that the horizontal stabilizers are too far forward. When the A-6 was being tested, it was discovered that the posistion of the horizontal tails caused control problems at certain speeds. The solution was to move them back sixteen inches, a change that never made it to most model A-6s. About the Grumman A-6 Intruder: In its day the most advanced all-weather strike aircraft in the world, the Grumman A-6 Intruder quickly became the backbone of naval air attack. At the center of the aircraft's success was its great load-carrying ability and advanced navigation/attack system. The Intruder saw its combat debut in Vietnam, where its avionics enabled it to carry out pinpoint attacks in weather that prevented other aircraft from flying at all. It is capable of carrying up to 18,000 lbs of ordnance (more than twice the payload of a B-17 on its way to Berlin), including Mk 82 500 lb, Mk 83 1000 lb, and Mk 84 2000 lb free-fall or laser-guided "iron" bombs; mines; AGM-88 HARM (high-speed anti-radiation missile) missiles; AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile; AGM-78 STARM (Standard Anti-Radiation Missile) missiles; cluster bombs; or nuclear weapons. The most recent version is the A-6E/TRAM (Target Recognition and Attack, Multisensor) which equiped the heavy attack squadrons of the fleet. There is also an aerial tanker version, the KA-6D, which utilizes a small refueling package just forward of the tailhook and five external fuel tanks to "tank" other planes in midair. An interesting development is the EA-6B Prowler, which houses powerful ECM (electronic countermeasures) gear and a four-man crew (pilot and three ECM officers). The Prowler was developed to fill the Navy's need for an electronic warfare plane. The EA-6A was an Intruder modified with ECM pods, but due to several shortcomings, the B model was developed, incorporating a lengthened cockpit to house a four-man crew and more electronic gear inside the plane. The Prowler's role is to interfere with enemy defenses by jamming their radars and radios, utilizing up to five ALQ electronic warfare jamming pods carried on the aircraft's weapons stations. An improved version of the Prowler, the ADVCAP, equips the plane with more advanced jamming capability, more powerful engines, and strengthened wings. Unfortunately, the ADVCAP never made it into operational service. Despite the Intruder's overwhelming success in the role of a carrier-based medium attack bomber, the A-6E and KA-6D have been taken out of active service, to be replaced by the F/A-18E and F/A-18F. The last Intruder ever to be launched from a carrier flew from the U.S.S. Enterprise on December 12, 1996, representing the last of these great warplanes. The United States Navy had proposed plans for the A-6F Intruder II, which would give the Intruder strengthened wings, more powerful engines, and more weapons stations, but the program was canceled due to budget constraints. As a last-ditch attempt to keep the A-6 from becoming outdated, a proposal was made to give the Intruder the same advances and improvements of the A-6F, but dropping the new engines. Designated the A-6G, the program was canceled even before a prototype could be built. The EA-6B is the last version of the Intruder still in service, but is becoming old, and the Navy is searching for a replacement.
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Copyright ©2003 David Jong [Jong Productions, Ltd.], All Rights Reserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: December 8, 2003. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
