Vought A7-A Corsair II BuNo 152673
BuNo 152673 was one of 199 A7’s built at a cost per unit of $2,860,000, and was constructed at the Ling, Temco, and Vought facility at Dallas, Texas.
VX-5 “Vampires” based at China Lake, Calif
152673’s first known assignment was with VX-5 “Vampires” based at China Lake, Calif., between 1967 and 1969. VX-5 was an Air Test and Evaluations squadron with the responsibility for the airborne tests of weapons and electronic equipment to be used on the aircraft of the U.S. Navy and the Marines. 152673 was one of only two A7-A aircraft assigned to VX-5, the other A7-A was later lost in an August 1967 mid-air collision with a civilian aircraft leaving BuNo 152673as the only A7 to serve with VX-5.
BuNo 152673’s next known assignment was with VA-93 “Ravens” beginning in March 1973.
VA-93 had been equipped with A7-B’s but due to the attrition of the Vietnam War, A7-A’s were brought back into service. VA-93 was a squadron attached to Carrier Air Wing 5, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway which was forward based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. VA-93 as part of CV-41’s Carrier Air Wing 5 participated in 7 deployments in the western Pacific between January 1974 and September 1976.
Vietnam Deployment
Deployment 1: off Vietnam January 29, 1974 to March 6, 1974.
Deployment 2: off Vietnam October 18, 1974 to December 20, 1974.
Deployment 3: off Vietnam January 13, 1975 to February 18, 1975.
Deployment 4: off Vietnam March 31, 1975 to May 29, 1975.
Deployment 5: off Vietnam April 5, 1975, participated in Operation Frequent Wind supporting the evacuation of personnel from Saigon, South Vietnam.
Deployment 6: Western Pacific and Indian Ocean October 4, 1975 to December 19, 1975. During this deployment, BuNo 152673 was assigned as the personal aircraft of the Carrier Air Group commander Capt. W. Lewis Chatham and later Commander John L. Finley, aboard USS Midway.
Deployment 7: off the Korean peninsula from August 1976 to September 1976.
In April 1977, VA-93 received A7-E’s and the A7-A’s were retired from service and were transferred to Davis Monthan A.F.B. May 27, 1977, receiving inventory code 6A0059.
The next thing that is known about BuNo 152673 was its discovery by Mr. Edward Maloney in a yard in North Hollywood, Calif., in January 2007. BuNo 152673 was eventually acquired by the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, Calif., where it is currently on display in the markings of VA-93 “Ravens” with which it served during the 1970’s.
