Hobby Master HA4701 1:72 North American RA-5C Vigilante

Hobby Master HA4701 1:72 North American RA-5C Vigilante 156624, RVAH-6, USS Kitty Hawk,1971.

The North American A3J Vigilante first flew on August 31, 1958 and was in service until
November 1979. Originally designed as a Mach 2 all-weather bomber; the aircraft eventually had a new role of high-speed reconnaissance. In 1962 the Vigilante received new designators, the original A3J-1 became the A-5A, A3J-2 became A-5B while the reconnaissance version A3J-3P became the RA-5C and first flew June 30, 1962. The Vigilante was the largest and fastest aircraft to operate from an aircraft carrier. The RA-5C was heavily used in the Vietnam War.

North American RA-5C 156624 was one of the last Vigilantes to be manufactured and was accepted by the USN in January 1970. The first assignment was with Reconnaissance Attack Squadron 6 (RVAH-6) “Fleurs” that spent 1970 and 1971 on a cruise aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) West Pac Cruise. During 1972-73 the aircraft deployed aboard the USS America (CVA-66). The RVAH-6 moved to Florida and spent time aboard the USS Forrestal (CVA-59) in 1974. The next three years saw the aircraft move to RVAH-5 “Savage Sons”, RVAH-9 “Hoot Owls”, RVAH-12 “Speartips” and time on the USS Constellation (CVA-64) and USS Independence (CV-62) before returning to RVAH-6. RA-5C 156624 made its final flight in mid-1978 and is displayed at the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola, Florida wearing AJ-601 from its last cruise aboard the USS Nimitz.