Century Wings CW001627 | A-6E INTRUDER VA-196 MAIN BATTERY NK500 1996 LAST CRUISE

General Background:

Designed to meet a US Navy requirement for an all-weather carrier-based attack/strike aircraft, the A-6 Intruder was first flown on April 19th, 1960. The A-6 was equipped with a CRT that allowed for low-level flight in all weather conditions, a characteristic that helped it remain the US Navy and US Marine Corps' principle night and all-weather attack aircraft through the 1990s. With its large, blunt nose and lean tail, the A-6 was given a variety of unflattering nicknames, including "Double Ugly" and the "Drumstick." The A-6 served in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Somalia and Bosnia and was ultimately replaced by the F-14 Tomcat.

The Aircraft:

US Navy Fighter Squadron 153 (VA-153)Thundercats was established on July 15th, 1948 flying the F8F-1 Bearcat. The squadron was redesignated VF-194 on February 15th, 1950, flying the F4U-4 Corsair and later the AD-1 Skyriader. It was redesignated once more on May 4th, 1955 to Attack Squadron 196 (VA-196) when it adopted the nickname "Main Battery". After deploying with the Skyraider several times to South Korea in the 1950s, the squadron eventually moved to the A-6 Intruder just in time for deployment to Vietnam. VA-196 flew several variants of the Intruder over the years before finally being disestablished in 1997.