Launching into combat just 27 months after its maiden flight, the LTV A-7 Corsair II set a record for the fastest deployment of an aircraft into battle. Entering the fray in the mid-1960s as a rambunctious, state-of-the-art attack aircraft for the US Navy, it quickly proved its mettle in the skies of Vietnam, becoming the war's most successful tactical jet bomber.

With a smaller size and less glamorous appearance than some of its flashier contemporaries, the A-7 would become affectionately known as the Short Little Ugly Fella or SLUF. Yet, its unassuming visual profile belied its extraordinary capabilities, its pioneering use of a heads-up display, sophisticated digital navigation/combat system, and computerized weapon-aiming allowing for pinpoint accuracy in bomb delivery, fundamentally altering the landscape of ground-attack missions and setting a precedent for future generations of military aircraft.

The A-7 Corsair II, renowned for its impressive range and endurance, mastered the skies with a payload capacity that seemed limitless. Equipped to deliver destruction with surgical precision, it handled a broad spectrum of missions—from laying sea mines and launching anti-ship strikes to executing armed interdictions and providing close air support. Celebrated as the "ultimate bomb truck," the Corsair II was a powerhouse of versatility, capable of adapting to any combat scenario thrust upon it. In an era dominated by the quest for speed, the Corsair simply did what supersonics couldn’t.