Royal Navy
Skyhawk FG.5- 899NAS, HMS Ark Royal, Kosovo-1999.
The A-4 first entered service with the RN in 1963 as the FG.1. The type
proved popular and in the early 1970s the RN replaced their 58 FG.1s
(A-4C) with 66 FG.3s. The FG.3 was based on the USN A-4E, with the
distinctive avionics hump. A rolling upgrade program starting in the late
1980s resulted in the FG.5.
The FG.5 is the ultimate UK Skyhawk. Powered by a dry Turbo-Union RB.199,
the FG.5 had greater thrust and lower fuel consumption than the A-4E.
Advances in avionics miniaturization led to the removal of the avionics
hump and the fitting of a Hughes APG-65 radar system. A Martin-Baker Mk10
ejection seat was also fitted, replacing the Mk.9 seat in the FG.3B. The
20mm cannon were also replaced with 30mm Aden guns in a semi-external
installation under the forward fuselage, similar to the Israeli DEFA
installation.
The RN's Skyhawks went to war in the 1991 Persian Gulf war aboard HMS
Eagle, and again in the NATO campaign in Kosovo in 1999, flying from HMS
Ark Royal. To address the limitations of the UK's Paveway II LGBs an
Urgent Operational Requirement led to a umber of Skyhawks operating over
Kosovo with the TIALD/Paveway III combination.
This aircraft is depicted carrying a centerline TIALD laser designator/IR
imaging pod, two Paveway III LGBs, and two AIM-9L Sidewinder AAMs. A
paveway has just been released, and its fins have just deployed in this
display.
Click on
images below to see larger images
I built this model for the
'One Week Group Build' at the whatifmodelers.com site, and it won first
place (amazingly, considering the talent on that forum). I actually
had three days to complete the model, so t he
in-flight display was dictated
by the time constraints. To add some visual interest I decided to
show it just as the bomb left the pylon, with the fins just deployed.
The fins were made from sheet styrene based on photos at Raytheon's
website.
I made very few changes to the
kit (1/48 ProModeler/Hasegawa A-4E/F). I swapped the kit's ESCAPAC
seat for a Verlinden M-B Mk.10, and added the semi-external DEFA 30mm
cannon from an Israeli A-4 (Hobbycraft kit). Apart from a few
antennas and bumps the rest if straight from the box.
Nick
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