page_title: McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk
section_title: Royal Australian Navy
hierarchical_section_title: McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk / Operational history / Royal Australian Navy
caption_attribution_description: HMAS Melbourne at anchor, Honiara April 1980
context_page_description: The McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk is a variant of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft developed for the Royal Australian Navy. The model was based on the A-4F variant of the Skyhawk, and was fitted with slightly different avionics as well as the capacity to operate AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. The RAN received ten A-4Gs in 1967 and another ten in 1971, and operated the type from 1967 to 1984.
  In Australian service the A-4Gs formed part of the air group of the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, and were primarily used to provide air defence for the fleet. They took part in exercises throughout the Pacific region and also supported the training of RAN warships as well as other elements of the Australian military. The Skyhawks did not see combat, and a planned deployment of some of their pilots to fight in the Vietnam War was cancelled before it took place. Ten A-4Gs were destroyed as a result of equipment failures and non-combat crashes during the type's service with the Navy, causing the deaths of two pilots.
context_section_description: RAN Skyhawk operations began in 1968. On 10 January that year 805 Squadron was recommissioned at HMAS Albatross to operate the type from Melbourne. Skyhawk flight training started later that month, with six experienced pilots being instructed by a US Navy officer and two other Australian pilots who had previously been posted to the United States to qualify as instructors. Shortages of spare parts disrupted flying activities for much of the year, and the first course graduated in mid-December 1968 rather than May as had been originally planned; the shortages were largely the result of the US Navy prioritising deliveries to its forces fighting in Vietnam over the needs of the RAN. The A-4Gs first operated at sea in November 1968, when they landed on board the British carrier HMS Hermes while she was visiting Australia.
  The Australian Government considered deploying pilots from 805 Squadron to fight in Vietnam during 1967 and 1968. On 12 May 1967, the Naval Board recommended to the Government that six Skyhawk pilots and their ground crew be offered to the US Navy during May the next year after these personnel had completed their training on the new aircraft. This decision was motivated by a desire to keep the pilots gainfully occupied while Melbourne completed her refit, and would not involve deploying the A-4Gs as they lacked the weapons systems and avionics needed to counter North Vietnamese air defences. As part of the initial consideration of this option, the Minister for Air suggested that the Australian Skyhawks could be sent to Ubon Air Force Base in Thailand to relieve the CAC Sabre-equipped No. 79 Squadron RAAF stationed there, but such a deployment was found to be impractical. The Government's Defence Committee subsequently recommended that FAA fighter pilots be attached to a United States Marine Corps (USMC) unit stationed at Chu Lai Air Base and conduct combat missions over South Vietnam. While the USMC Skyhawk units frequently attacked targets in North Vietnam, the FAA aircrew were to be prohibited from joining these operations as the Government had previously decided to restrict Australia's war effort to South Vietnam. This plan was announced by Prime Minister Harold Holt in October 1967 as part of a package of Australian reinforcements to the war effort in Vietnam. In the event, the deployment did not proceed as the delays to 805 Squadron's initial Skyhawk conversion course meant that the pilots were not ready until after Melbourne re-entered service. The Navy assessed that it would not be possible to both man a fighter squadron on the carrier and post pilots to Vietnam, and delaying the reactivation of Melbourne's air group could lead to criticism of the Skyhawk acquisition. In February 1969 the Minister for Defence directed that no further consideration was to be given to sending naval fighter pilots to Vietnam.
  The RAN's jet aircraft operational conversion unit, 724 Squadron, was also equipped with Skyhawks during 1968. By December of that year the squadron was operating a mixed fleet of TA-4G Skyhawks, de Havilland Sea Vampires and Sea Venoms from Albatross. The Skyhawk conversion courses conducted by this unit lasted for six months, and involved a total of about 110 hours of flying in TA-4Gs and A-4Gs. During this period pilots became familiar with flying the type and practised combat missions as well as air-to-air refuelling from other Skyhawks using buddy fuel tanks. They were also required to complete about 100 simulated carrier landings at Albatross before landing a Skyhawk on board Melbourne.
  After Melbourne's refit was completed, the ship put to sea with Skyhawks in 1969. At this time her air group typically comprised four Skyhawks from 805 Squadron, six S-2 Trackers operated by 816 Squadron and eight of 817 Squadron's Wessex anti-submarine helicopters. The mix of aircraft carried varied from time to time. During the late 1960s and 1970s Melbourne made regular deployments throughout the Pacific region to exercise with the Royal Navy and US Navy. In May 1972, 805 Squadron's strength was increased to
caption: Melbourne in 1980 with four A-4Gs on her flight deck
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