Six Day War

In 1967, the state of Israel was faced with a multi-front war of survival.  The country was being attacked from Syria, Jordan, and Egypt.  By the end of it, Israel had vanquished all the attackers and in fact took portions of Jerusalem from Jordan.

During this time, the first of 48 A-4H Ayits were under construction back in the United States as part of the US named Operation Rugby which was in answer to Israel's Plan Samuel to modernize the air force.  Israeli pilots and ground crew were also Stateside training for the new planes.  The pilots would return to Israel and fly combat missions during the Six Day War.  Once the fighting had stopped, the pilots returned to their conversion course at NAS Cecil Field.

As a result of losing 30 aircraft during the Six Day War, Israel ordered a further 42 A-4Hs to be built.  The first two squadrons of A-4Hs were 109 Sqn at Ramat David air base and the brand new 102 Sqn at Hatzor air base.  The first A-4Hs arrived on the Haifa docks on 29 December, 1967.  First combat by A-4Hs happened on 15 February 1968 when four 109 Sqn A-4Hs attacked PLO terrorist training camps in Jordan.

Externally there was little to differentiate an A-4H from an A-4F.  Squared off rudder, braking parachute housing under tail-pipe, and lack of ECM antennas being the only noticeable changes.  Marking note - the initial 48 A-4Hs left the Douglas plant in an asymmetric camouflage pattern that became standard after the Six Day War, full color US national insignia, and the last three digits of its Bureau Number painted in solid block letters just in front of the tailplane.

The first of all A-4H Ayits, Bu No 155242, was assigned to 109 Sqn at Ramat David.  The number 01 was painted on both sides of the nose.  The aircraft was lost in combat on 13 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War.  The aircraft was carrying out an attack against Syria when lost.  The pilot made it back alive.

Reference Books

A-4 Skyhawk in Action, Aircraft #11, Squadron-Signal Publications, 1973.
A-4 Skyhawk Walk Around, Number 41, Squadron-Signal Publications, 2006.
A-4 Skyhawk in Detail & Scale, D&S Vol. 32, TAB Books, 1989.
Colorful U.S. Navy A-4 Skyhawks, C&M Vol. 18, TAB Books, 1990.
Douglas A-4E/F Skyhawk in Marine Service, Naval Fighters #52, Ginter&Albright, 2001.
USN/USMC Two-Seat Skyhawks, Naval Fighters #82, Ginter, 2008.
- covers TA-4F, EA-4F, TA-4J, OA-4M, TA-4G, TA-4H, TA-4AR, TA-4S/SU, TA-4PTM, TA-4KU, AF-1A, and TA-4K.
A-4 Skyhawk, #346, Model Art Co. Japan, 1990.
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Variants, Wings of Fame Vol. 4, Aerospace Publishing Ltd, 1996.
Topped Gun:Requiem for the Skyhawk, OSP, Ross Ewing, 2002.
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Attack & Close-Support Fighter Bomber, Pen and Sword Aviation, Jim Winchester, 2005.
The A-4 Skyhawk Ayit, IAF Aircraft Series #2, AD Graphics, Amos Dor, 1999.
Israeli A-4 Skyhawk Units in Combat, Osprey Combat Aircraft 81, Shlomo Aloni, 2009.

Israeli Decal Sheets

There are two companies who are currently producing aftermarket decal sheets for Israeli A-4 Ayits.

IsraDecal has identical sheets in 1/32d and 1/48th scale, IAF-57 and IAF-60.  Both decal sheets have the Flying Tiger outline for the tail though the IsraDecal pictures do not show it for the 1/48th scale sheet.  Price direct from IsraDecal is $25US and $26US respectively.  Or can be ordered via places like Sprue Brothers or Earl's Hobby Hanger.

Sky Decals also offers decal sheets in 1/32d and 1/48th scale for Israeli Ayits.  Like the IsraDecal sheets can model aircraft from any squadron that flew Ayits including the Flying Tigers, Smashing Parrots, and Flying School.

So it looks like I won't have to create any custom decals for my project.  My scanner, Adobe, and spare time rejoice they won't be used for custom decals.

KMC Upgrade Kit

KMC Resin Upgrade Kit for the Monogram A-4E/F Skyhawk

Part of the stash I have accumulated is a complete upgrade kit from KMC.  Thank you eBay.  It comes with a complete cockpit tub with the area behind the bulkhead that is missing from the Monogram kit.  The ejection seat is a very nice resin piece except for the excess resin at the top of the ejection seat that needs to be removed.  A control column comes in two pieces.  The wheels are the same diameter as the Monogram wheels but detail wise they resemble the Classic AirFrames and Hasegawa wheels.  Like the Hasegawa, Classic AirFrames, and Pro-Modeller kits we get the front of the J-52 jet engine.  Get the five underwing pylons, four rocket pods, and enough sway braces for all pylons.  For the A-4F Super Fox, the ALR-45 antenna hot-dog is included.  KMC also includes the hatch on the bottom of the fuselage between the flaps where Remove Before Flight tags are stored, sometimes called the Hellhole; instructions tell the modeller to put plastic to close up the hole when you drop this hatch - for the super detail freaks who don't want to close up the hole, will need to add the aft fuselage attachment bulkhead, wiring, hydraulics, and bottom of the J-52.  There is one more part in this kit not pictured on the box and that is a nice resin instrument panel.