The Strange Nuclear Attack Aircraft Coated with Gold

Only Planes
Only Planes
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Published 2024-03-21
Engineered by the visionaries behind the P-51 Mustang, the North American A-5 Vigilante was America’s answer to the call for a supersonic nuclear bomber to dominate the skies during the Cold War.

Epitomizing technological extravagance with its titanium-armored General Electric J79 turbojet engines, pioneering digital flight computer, and gold-plated engine bays, the Vigilante was a monumental gamble of raw speed and atomic devastation packed into a single 15-ton powerhouse of a warplane.

Blasting off carrier decks with a thunderous 17,900 pounds of thrust per engine, this nuclear deterrence aircraft rewrote the playbook on speed and strength. Measuring a striking 76-foot nose to tail with a 53-foot wingspan, it carved through the heavens at a blistering 1,400 miles per hour.

Equipped with advanced fly-by-wire controls, a bomb-navigation system integrated into the pilot’s HUD, and innovative features like adjustable engine intakes, the A-5 aimed to revolutionize Cold War aviation and show the world that thanks to America’s ubiquitous Carrier fleets, no target on Earth was beyond its cataclysmic reach.

Yet, its lavish gold plating and pioneering avionics also marked it as a potential financial sinkhole. Worse still, a radical shift in military strategy in the ’60s put the Vigilante’s very survival in jeopardy. Like the P-51 Mustang before it, the A-5 faced a critical crossroads: it either showed its worth or faced oblivion…
All Comments (21)
  • @jayhershey7525
    The RA5 was my favorite bird while I worked on the flight deck crew during the Vietnam War. She was just so sleek and beautiful!
  • @Primus54
    The Vigilante, conceived in the mid-‘50s, is to this day one of the most strikingly beautiful jet aircraft ever to fly. Born in ‘54, I was very lucky to live under a downwind of what was then Port Columbus Airport where every Vigilante made flew its first flight. Until FAA changes, there were sonic booms regularly heard over Columbus. I also recall a couple of night test flights of the reconnaissance version flying over the city with its bright white strobe light flashing during photography.
  • @TK199999
    The A-5 would go on to influence design of the MiG-25, F-14 and F-15.
  • @Real_Claudy_Focan
    Such an elegantly proportionned jet ! This one and the Valkyrie are my 2 favourites ! Peak late 50's designs !
  • @shenmisheshou7002
    While in the Marines, my F-4 squadron deployed aboard the USS Forestall, and this was the first time I had seen the A5 in person. When I was bored (which was a lot), I would go up on the island and watch the deck ops, and seeing the RA-5C operating off the cats and coming in on the slope was always a treat. While many find that F-4 to be beautiful, my own take on the Phantom was that it was one of the most menacing looking military jets ever to fly but not a plane I would call beautiful. The RA-5C though, was indeed a beautiful airplane. It was sleekly elegant when viewed from any angle, and graceful in flight.
  • @cab6273
    The Vigilante first flew just 12 years after the end of WW2. Simply amazing
  • @craigpennington1251
    We had these on both the CVA-60/CVA-67 carriers that I was on. Super cool and a valuable aircraft for the fleet. That dude was FAST.
  • @socaljarhead7670
    One key to the Vigilante’s success was that it almost always flew combat missions, “clean.”
  • @roberts9095
    Am I the only one that notices the uncanny resemblance to the F-15? The A-5 was a beautiful jet.
  • @captjinxmarine9832
    a-5 always amazed me during Nam. She was so sleek and she made the f-4 look like dumbo.
  • @user-en9zo2ol4z
    I cannot believe how attractive this plane is, and its many fine attributes followed from there it would seem?
  • @user-en9zo2ol4z
    This aircraft looks very similar to the British one, which was cancelled just as its flight trials were proceeding. This was the TSR2, and it should have gone ahead, I strongly feel.
  • @ekesamuel8795
    Gold plated engine bays... That's where Gordon Murray and the F1 comes in.
  • @lambokhutabarat1100
    I think the weapon bay location of the A-5, and the "bomb-fuel tanks" arrangement is a breakthrough feature of the Vigilante, and better than internal weapon bay system of the F-111. But after watching this video, I have the impression that the wepon release is somewhat troublesome. And so it's abandoned. Nice video, anyway. Thank you
  • @Idahoguy10157
    B-58 Hustler was similar. High speed. High altitude. Nuclear weapon delivery
  • @davidgraham4807
    I’m gonna say something…I think the video is well done. It is not an AI voice and the intricate details of the aircraft’s development is well discussed. I’m not privy to all the technical details, but the video captures my attention. Thanks