US Navy 1960-1963 VAX supersonic A-4 replacement program

Another topic revived by the Reanimator.
In the recent opus by Bill Spindle on the development of the Crusader, the Author reveal details of V-456, the Attack Crusader that was proposed in June 1962 as an interim solution for a supersonic carrier strike aircraft waiting for the VAX. The single seat V-456 was developed out of the F8U-2NE with an enlarged, thicker and stiffer wing that also was 37 degrees swept instead of the original 42. The rest of the aircraft was externally identical to the 2NE but structurally strenghtened. External load 6.282 pounds on 4 underwing and 2 body stations. The V-456 was developed after the abandonment of the 1961 V-455, that was an attack version of the F8U-2N with two seats, that was found underpowered (PW J57 P-20). I don't publish the drawings and photos due to copyright (and Author) respect. If Bill is here, up to him.

Addition: artist impression and low-speed windtunnel model here https://books.google.it/books?id=4d...nepage&q=vought v-456 attack crusader&f=false
 
Skybolt said:
And, if someone is near Dallas, Texas, and has time to spare: http://libarchives.utdallas.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/7325
Click to expand...

I hope so.
 
Skybolt said:
Boeing was in the competition and tendered a scaled down (almost 50 percent) version of its submission for the TFX. Presumably with only one engine. The Navy evaluators weren't impressed and called it the F-55.5 (half an F-111... ::) ) Then I realized that probably other companies did the same: I remember that on the APR site there was (three years ago?) a photo depicting two models: one was a GD F-111, the other seemed a scaled down version with only one engine and narrow cockpit.
Click to expand...

This makes a lot of sense on one level; the Director of Defence Research and Engineering (Dr Harold Brown), was stating that the VAX would be half the size and half the cost of the TFX, it was to be a tri-service aircraft to fulfil the following missions:

1) Direct support of ground operations (close support)
2) Interdiction and armed reconnaissance
3) Destruction of designated enemy targets at long distances from base

There was some suggestion that the close support role would be fulfilled by a separate version. Given that TFX was pushing the art of the possible, and the aim was for something half the size and half the cost of TFX, it seems logical that many of the studies would have been single engined/half sized versions of TFX offerings or incorporate ideas developed during the TFX design process. As such, I think all of the following previously posted on the forum are VAX related:

Boeing swing-wing design
Grumman concept

Equally, this twin-engined A-4 derivative would make a lot of sense as an early concept for the close support role.

The nav-attack system was to be the Integrated Light Attack Avionics System (ILAAS) that would have used a navigation and bombing radar. This program was continued with the aim that it would go in the A-7A. Sperry was awarded a $17.9 million contract in 1965 for the development and production of four prototypes. The system never made it into the A-7A but it was later intended that components developed under the ILAAS programme would go into future A-7 variants.
 
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Hi All!

Douglas D852--this is a wrong model number of this model because this number belongs El Segundo Divisions and this picture: "ebay 2017-09-16 d852 g.jpg"---"....Douglas Aircraft Co. Aircraft Division, Long Beach, Calif"
 
D-852 was allocated in December 1961 at El Segundo as a "VAX - Light Attack Aircraft".

The model was made at Long Beach in their wind tunnel model serialization (LB-122 - Long Beach [model]#122). Douglas Santa Monica used the sequence WTM-xxx where WTM meant Wind Tunnel Model. (Long Beach was established later, so they adopted "LB" to differentiate their models when they went to contracted wind tunnels.)

The El Segundo Division was wound down in the early 1960s and the residual A-4 production was transferred to Long Beach with final assembly at Palmdale. North American took over the El Segundo site until the mid-70's when Northrop took it over for their share of F-18 production which will end in the next year.
 
but in book: ASP, 4--Bombers, Attack and Anti-Submarine Aircraft 1945-1974
written: "851---VAX Study, c1961-63" (page 362) and no written about Model 852.
why ?
 
You are not wrong. D-851 is "VAX parametric Study", issued 19 October 1961. Multiple numbers were allocated for various VAX studies.
 

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