Grumman's A-6 Intruder didn't exude sexiness. It wasn't sleek nor was it particularly fast. What it did best was to carry large loads of things which go bang through any kind of weather and drop them exactly where they were supposed to go. It did this through thick and thin for more than 30 years.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Joel I really enjoyed watching your build take shape and progress, Thank you

I urge you to send in a full build feature as I feel this is one of those builds that many will look at for guidance in the future.

A well presented and informative summary of this long and interesting build with great pictures of the completed A-6.
Well done Joel, must be an impressive sight, together with your F-4
Again Congratulations

Bernd

Jessica,
Thank you for taking the time to complete the feature process to my article. It's much appreciated.

Darren,
Thanks for following along from the start to the finish line. I'm a little confused as to what you're referring to by a full build feature. How is that different then the detailed build blog I did in the Cold War forum?

Bernd,
And of course a special thanks to you who also has been there from day one of the build to the end of my journey. I can tell you that having both the A-6E and the F-4B seating side by side in Navy colors from the same period, is quite a sight. They also occupy a good 3 feet of display space.

Joel

Joel-

Joel- Fine work on the A-6E, but a few small corrections on the narrative: The A-6's did not have ailerons, nor flaperons; they used spoilers on top of the wings for control about the roll axis. The wingtip speedbrakes were used as speedbrakes only, not for inducing a roll, They opened/closed together on both wingtips simultaneously. Please note the correct spelling of "ordnance".

Great work Joel!

Jorl, super Intruder! I can imagine how good it looks next to the F-4B.

Joel
What I meant was a full blow by blow article covering from start to finish, that way the images will always be accessable along with the information you have provided.

Hi Joel

Great build! All Darren's saying is that the photos in your blog aren't future-proofed the way they would be if they were uploaded as "content" photos for Aeroscale.

All the best

Rowan

Hi Kevin

Thanks for the comment about "flaperons" (or lack thereof..) . I found this on Joe Baugher's website that explains things further:

"The wing had trailing-edge flaps that extended over almost the entire length of the wing, so conventional ailerons were not fitted. Lateral controls was provided at low speeds by the movements of the flaps (operating as "flaperons") and at high speeds by a series of spoilers mounted on the upper wing surface. The spoilers could be operated differentially for roll control in flight."

All the best

Rowan

A very impressive A6 Joel, very nicely done. An excellent paint job and the decals look super. Again very nicely done.

What a magnificent build Joel. Really top notch build of another "Iron Works" aircraft.

Great work on the A-6. Always loved that airplane.

I don't think it could carry the Aim-54 Phoenix? It's only launch platform was the F-14 Tomcat. Am I wrong, just curiosity.

Marc/ubi

I don't think that it was Sparrow capable either. I think that Joel had in mind ground attack missiles such as Shrikes, Standards, Bullpups and the like.

The Intruder dug holes in the ground. The only times it distributed airplane parts was when they were on the ground.

To further clarify my statement, here's the full weapons load available for the A-6E with various electronic upgrades:
Rockets:
2.75 in (70 mm) FFAR Rocket Pod
5 in (127 mm) Zuni Rocket Pod

Missiles:
AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile
AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile
AGM-62 Walleye TV-guided glide bomb
AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile
AGM-84 Harpoon air-to-ground missile
AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile

Bombs:
Mk 81 250 lb (113 kg) GP bombs
Mk 82 500 lb (227 kg) GP bombs
Mk 83 1,000 lb (454 kg) GP bombs
Mk 84 2,000 lb (907 kg) GP bombs
Mk 117 750 lb (340 kg) GP bombs
Mk-20 Rockeye II cluster bombs
CBU-89 GATOR mine cluster bombs
Mk 77 750 lb (340 kg) incendiary bombs
GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bombs
GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs
GBU-16 Paveway II laser-guided bombs
B43 nuclear bomb
B57 nuclear bomb
B61 nuclear bomb
B83 nuclear bomb
Various air-dropped landmines
Various air-dropped underwater mines
Various practice bombs [Mk-76, BDU-45, LGTR, etc.]

Joel