LTV A-7P Corsair II

The acquisition of the A-7P Corsair II was the result of many attempts by Portugal to replace its F-86F Sabre in the air defense role and, to some extent, the Fiat G.91 in the ground attack role. The first attempts started in 1968, during the Ultramar War, due to the performance of the Portuguese fighters in Africa. After the end of the war, the Portuguese Air Force (PoAF) renewed its attempts in procuring new air combat aircraft because of the F-86 and G.91 being outdated compared to the aircraft fielded by its NATO allies and the countries of the Warsaw Pact. This plan dismissed the option of acquiring the Mirage F1 because of its cost and the fact that it would take four years for the aircraft to be delivered. Further reports mentioned the possible involvement of the Guinea Air Force, which had started receiving help from Cuban pilots and technicians to maintain its MiG-17F fleet that were mostly inoperable. Upon the stalemate between the two ministries, France's then-prime minister Pierre Messmer agreed with the minister of Defense to only impose basing restrictions to Cape Verde and Guinea. On April 3, 1974, the International Affairs assistant director of the French Ministry of Defense, Philippe Esper, met in Lisbon with the Portuguese government to start negotiations and discuss the imposition of restrictions, delivery schedule, and pilot and ground crew training. The Portuguese government then decided on the purchase of a variant of the Mirage IIIE, to be designated Mirage IIIEPL, instead of the Mirage 5. After the Carnation Revolution, on April 25, 1974, Portugal started its decolonization process and withdrew its military forces from its oversea territories. With this change in policy and strategy the acquisition of the Mirage III stopped being a priority and the new political regime did not continue the negotiation process. Post-war aircraft acquisition With the end of the conflict in Africa the Portuguese Armed Forces went through a reorganization and shifted their focus back from counter-insurgency to honoring Portugal's commitments to NATO and preparing for a possible conflict in Europe against the Warsaw Pact. The Portuguese Air Force's F-86F Sabre and G.91 fighters were considered to be outdated in both the air defense and ground attack roles to face Soviet forces in the European operations theater and only a few Sabre fighters were in service due to problems with the engines and lack of spare parts. and to eventually provide operational conversion. Unable to purchase the F-5 the PoAF studied the purchase of the SAAB J-35 Draken and of second-hand French Mirage IIIs, but without any success. Without a dedicated air-to-air combat fighter, the A-7P permanently took over the air defense role until the entry in Portuguese service of the F-16 Fighting Falcon in 1994. == Vought A-7P/TA-7P ==

The A-7P version acquired by Portugal were reconstructed and converted A-7A airframes powered by the Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-408 engine and equipped with A-7E/A-7D avionics. The initial 20 airframes for this conversion were chosen from 28 former-United States Navy airframes stored at AMARC, with the remaining 8 airframes being used for spare parts. Six TA-7P later bought were also former A-7A airframes converted to tandem, twin-seat aircraft for training and operational pilot conversion that had the same capabilities as the A-7P with the exception of the guns, which were replaced by an oxygen system. The airframes from both orders that were selected from AMARC already had between 2,331 and 4,523 flight hours before their conversion. The avionics of the P version included the AN/ASN-91B armament control and navigation system, which consisted primarily of the Navigation/Weapon Delivery Computer (NWDC), air data computer (ADC), Flight Data Computer (FDC), AN/AVQ head-up display (HUD), ASCU/JBOX armament pylon station control unit, projected map display system (PMDS), and was equipped with the AN/ASN-90 inertial navigation system, AN/ASN-190 navigation Doppler radar, and the AN/APQ-126 terrain-following radar. This version was equipped with two Colt Mk 12 cannon that originally were used by the USN's A-7A and was capable of using newer missiles and bombs due to its modern avionics and sensors. All aircraft retained their in-flight refueling systems, making the A-7 the first aircraft operated by the PoAF with this capability. These armament included the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile (P version) and in its last years of service the L version, BAP 100, M117, Mk 20, Mk 82, Mk 83, Mk 84, BL755 bombs, Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket, CRV-7 rockets, AGM-65 Maverick (B and G versions). Between 1982 and 1989 the A-7 fleet was modernized with a hydraulic system upgrade, AN/ALR-46 radar warning receiver installation, IFF system implementation, and the installation of an Engine Condition Monitoring (ECM) system. In 1990 the HUD was further upgraded and received the CTVRDS recording system, the AN/ALR-46 was replaced by the SPS-1000 system, AN/ALE-40 Chaff and Flare dispenser system, and received the Improved Night Lights update and TA-7P were installed with Automatic Maneuvering Flaps (AMF). In 1991, the PoAF bought AN/ALQ-131 electronic countermeasure pods to equip the A-7P. Later in 1995 the fire control and navigation computer (OFP-2) received a major update. == Operational service ==

The Portuguese Air Force operated the A-7 primarily in the tactical air support for maritime operations and air interdiction roles, with air defense and counter air operations as a secondary role. These aircraft were operated by 302 Squadron, replacing the F-86F Sabre, and 304 Squadron, later created to operate the A-7, and served alongside the Fiat G.91 until this aircraft's retirement in 1993. While these aircraft did not see any combat it was an important part of Portugal's commitment to NATO during the Cold War with both its operating squadrons being under the command of the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic. During their service the loss of several aircraft in accidents allied to lack of spare parts and logistics problems led to severe maintenance problems in the fleet and several aircraft were cannibalized for spare parts to service other fighters. This resulted in the available fighters no longer being assigned and dedicated to one specific squadron but shared and assigned to a squadron as needed. These maintenance difficulties and financial problems resulted in the reduction of the squadron's flight hours, with the fleet only flying two hours in May 1988 and another 16 hours in August 1995, having the fleet been completely grounded in September of that year. Introduction into service The initial team of Portuguese pilot instructors () underwent theoretical instruction and flight qualification training at Vought's facilities in Dallas, Texas, from October 12 to December 23, 1981. A cheaper alternative to train these first Portuguese A-7 pilots with the Air National Guard's A-7D at Tucson Air National Guard Base was also studied but the idea was discarded because of the differences between the A-7D and the A-7P versions. Official delivery of the A-7P took place on August 18, 1981, at Andrews Air Force Base, where the Portuguese ambassador announced the intention to order a second squadron. The first part of the delivery of the aircraft to mainland Portugal, nicknamed Operation Peregrine Falcon (), started on December 21, 1981, with the first nine A-7P piloted by Vought and PoAF pilots taking off from Dallas and being supported by one PoAF C-130 Hercules, from 501 Squadron. These aircraft arrived on December 24, 1981, at Monte Real Air Base and the reception ceremony taking place on January 8, 1982. The remaining 11 aircraft were flown from Dallas by contracted civilian pilots and arrived in Portugal between February and September 29, 1982. These aircraft equipped 302 Squadron. Additionally, one TA-7C (s/n 154404; c/n B-044) was temporarily provided by the United States Navy to Portugal in April 1982 to support the operational conversion of fighter pilots. This aircraft, a A-7B-1-CV Corsair II converted to TA-7C tandem twin-seat trainer, was nicknamed "White Dove" () due to the original USN white painting that was kept and its maintenance was provided by Vought technicians. It was later returned to the USN in June 1985. In 1983 a second order was placed for an additional 24 A-7P and six TA-7P with deliveries taking place between October 8, 1984 and April 30, 1986, with one A-7P being lost prior to its delivery. These additional A-7P were to equip the 304 Squadron and the TA-7P were to be divided between the two squadrons. Maintenance As part of the acquisition program the Portuguese Air Force received equipment and its technicians were instructed in the first two echelons of maintenance. The first echelon performed by the squadron mechanics was responsible for service of the aircraft and their equipment, preflight and daily inspections, light repairs, anti-corrosive treatments, parts replacement, and refueling, while the second echelon was carried out at dedicated facilities at Monte Real Air Base (BA5) and was responsible for the periodic preventive inspections and the periodic servicing for the systems, engines and other aircraft equipment. The third echelon responsible for Standard Depot Level Maintenance (SDLM) such as advanced periodic inspections and repairs to the airframe, avionics, electric systems, hydraulic components and engines was performed at the workshops at Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal S.A. (OGMA), then part of the Air Force. Later, after the separation of OGMA from the Air Force and its creation as a company, some of the third echelon maintenance started being performed at BA5. Accidents The PoAF's Corsairs suffered several air crashes and accidents with the first taking place on May 9, 1984, in the United States. This first A-7P (PoAF s/n 15540; BuAer s/n 154346) was lost and destroyed prior to its delivery while undergoing flight testing due to a bird strike incident, resulting in the death of the pilot. In 1985 and 1986 three separate accidents resulted in the loss of five aircraft, with the more serious accident on May 26 during a ground attack training mission at Field Firing Range of Alcochete resulting in the death of one pilot. The following accidents between March 27, 1987, and July 25, 1995, resulted in the further loss of nine aircraft and five deaths. Most losses occurred in Portugal with some accidents occurring in Greece, Spain, and the Netherlands during squadron exchanges and international exercises. The origin of these accidents were at least four bird strikes, one engine failure and one aircraft sliding off the runway during a landing. == Retirement ==

The loss of a number of aircraft to accidents and problems with obtaining spare parts led Portugal in the late 1980s to begin the process of replacing the A-7 fleet, and in early 1990 a decision was made to acquire the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. On July 8, 1994, the first F-16 arrived in Portugal and in May 1996 the first A-7 squadron, 302 Squadron was deactivated and all personnel and A-7 aircraft were transferred to 304 Squadron. On July 9, 1999, 304 Sqn. was disbanded and the Portuguese Air Force A-7 fleet was finally retired from service, having performed a total of 63,600 flight hours. The retired airframes belonging to the PoAF were then transferred to the General Storage Complex of the Air Force (, DGMFA) in Alverca. In the mid-2000s most of these airframes were sold as scrap metal and several were stored at Ota, Monte Real and Beja Air Base installations, with one example (PoAF s/n 15502, BueAer s/n 153200) being transferred to the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków and at least two aircraft being restored and displayed at the Air Force's museum, three aircraft have been preserved as gate guardians. == See also ==