135A-7 CORSAIR II UNITS: 1975-91

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Details the technological development and improvements that were introduced to the airframe post-Vietnam (the FLIR targeting pod from 1979 and AGM-88 HARM missile from 1983 being the most important), and how they shaped operational employment of the aircraft. The jet's combat experiences in conflicts during the 1970s (Cambodia), 1980s (Lebanon, Grenada, Libya and Iran), and 1990s (Iraq) are explained in detail, supported by numerous first-hand accounts from naval aviators that saw action with the A-7 during these campaigns.

Some 30 US Navy squadrons, including six Naval Air Reserve units, flew various versions of the A-7 Corsair II in the mid-1980s. Many of these units saw action across the Middle East. By the time the jet saw combat in Operation Desert Storm (1991), there remained only two fleet squadrons -- many fleet squadrons having either disestablished or transitioned to the F/A-18 Hornet -- but both of these units (VA-46 and VA-72) played a major role in the campaign to free Kuwait.