[Rush104]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

RA-5C Vigilante please...a gorgeous beast of a carrier jet....Not that boring ugly Whale (A-3)...

she's dead sexy!!!

I could go for an A-5, too. Especially a bomber version!

[lanslide]

Originally Posted by Rush104

I could go for an A-5, too. Especially a bomber version![/left]
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I agree...no recons for me!...just fighters and bombers please.

[Rush104]

Originally Posted by lanslide

I agree...no recons for me!...just fighters and bombers please.

Actually, I wouldn't mind a recce Vigi. That has a greater chance of being made since it was more widely used. Also, IIRC, the recce birds used the wing of the -2 version of the A3J, which never went into service as a bomber. The -1 bombers would require a different wing. With that being said, bring on the A3J-1/A-5A.

[Lakota Mech]

Since Century Wings has a track record of Naval aircraft. I'd like to see something that isn't being done. So an Vigilante would be my choice. I'd love to see a Demon done too.

[lanslide]

Originally Posted by Rush104

I've always liked it, and the derivative B-66, especially the early bomber versions. The A-3 was a beautiful aircraft in flight. And, it gave solid service from the late 50's to 1991.

The Navy most recently used it as a tanker - right? I'd take the bomber version but not the tanker.

[Rush104]

Originally Posted by lanslide

The Navy most recently used it as a tanker - right? I'd take the bomber version but not the tanker.

Yeah, it was used as a tanker, but it was most widely used as a recon/sigint/elint aircraft. Some, I believe, were even combined tanker/recon birds. I'd have to pull out some books to research that one, though.

I agree though, I'd like to see the bomber versions myself. Those had the tail guns!

[tripoli]

Air & Space magazine has a great article on page 18 of the March 2008 issue on the Vigilanti called "Thai Boom". A great article, especially of you are a fan of this aircraft.

[SKUNKY]

The Navy initially had the Vigilante in mind as a nuclear strike aircraft, but with the Polaris submarines coming online at about the same time, they decided to dump the idea of using aircraft to deploy nuclear weapons. The Vigilante was now standing in the unemployment line at a very young age. As a general purpose strike aircraft it was determined it would have been too ineffective, as the method of weapons delivery was to launch the ordnance backwards down a tube between the engines. Consequently the Vigi was never used in the attack role.

So if CW (or anyone) ever decided to do a Vigilante, it would pretty much have to be an RA-5C, which suits me just fine. The recce guys had an important mission and hung their butts out on the line too, and I would welcome the addition of this "R" jet in my collection.


Gotta love that humpback profile!!...Look at the size of that vertical stab. North American initially planned it to be a twin-tail, but the idea was deemed too radical at the time.

Early A-3J/(A-5A)...Note the flat top of the early 'attack' model. Not nearly as aesthetically pleasing as the curvaceous RA-5C in my opinion...

[Rush104]

Here are some links with some good pics:

RVAH-12 Speartips

RA-5C Vigilante Decal Review by Rodger Kelly (Victory Models 1/48)

For the recon versions, RVAH-7, 9, and 12 birds are good looking ones to me.

[Rush104]

Giving this some more thought, if CW REALLY wants to do something different (yet still produce something with a good service record and many paint schemes to choose from), here's an idea for their first prop aircraft-

The S-2 Tracker Museum-Welcome!

Lots of USN and overseas paint jobs to choose from; plus it was developed into the "Willy Fudd", which could be made without too much of a headache:

Aircraft: Grumman E-1B Tracer

The "Willy Fudd" of VAW-11 Det Lima