"Without question, the arrival of the EA-6B Prowler on the carrier deck established airborne electronic attack as an invaluable, 'don't leave home without it' part of every Navy and Marine strike mission."
- Rick Morgan, LCDR, USN (Ret.) and historian for the Prowler Association

The Grumman A-6 Intruder is a twinjet, all-weather subsonic attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace. It was formerly operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

The A-6 was designed in response to a 1957 requirement issued by the Bureau of Aeronautics for an all-weather attack aircraft for Navy long-range interdiction missions and with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability for Marine close air support. It was to replace the piston-engined Douglas A-1 Skyraider. The requirement allowed either single or twin-engined aircraft, as well as either turbojet or turboprop-based engines. The winning proposal from Grumman was powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney J52 turbojet engines. The A-6 was the first U.S. Navy aircraft to have an integrated airframe and weapons system. Operated by a crew of two in a side-by-side seating configuration, the workload was divided between the pilot and weapons officer (bombardier/navigator or BN). In addition to conventional munitions, it could also carry nuclear weapons, which would be delivered using toss bombing techniques.

On April 19th, 1960, the first prototype made its maiden flight; the type was introduced to squadron service during February 1963. The A-6 was operated by both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps as their principal all-weather/night attack aircraft between 1963 and 1997, during which time multiple variants were developed and introduced. One derivative of the type was the EA-6B Prowler, a specialized electronic warfare aircraft. Another was the KA-6D, a dedicated aerial refueling tanker. The definitive attack version of the aircraft, which was furnished with vastly upgraded navigation and attack systems, was the A-6E. While the development of further variants, such as the A-6F, were explored, they ultimately did not come to fruition.

The A-6 saw active combat across multiple conflicts. Its combat debut was the Vietnam War, in which the type operated from both carriers and shore facilities. The type proved vulnerable to conventional ground fire and ground-based anti-aircraft measures, which brought down 56 A-6s. In the 1980s, both the Multinational Force in Lebanon and Operation El Dorado Canyon made use of the type. During the Gulf War, a combination of U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps A-6s conducted in excess of 4,700 combat sorties against a variety of Iraqi ground-based targets. During the 1990s, the A-6 was intended to be superseded by the McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II, but this program was ultimately canceled due to cost overruns. Thus, when the A-6E was scheduled for retirement, its precision strike mission was initially taken over by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat equipped with a LANTIRN pod, and later passed on to the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a US Navy Grumman A-6E Intruder attack aircraft that was attached to VA-34 "Blue Blasters" then deployed to NAS Oceana, Virginia, during the late 1970s. First in the series! Pre-order! Ship Date: October 2026.

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 8-3/4-inches
Length: 10-inches

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "Blue Blasters" - Less than a year after disestablishment of the second VA-34, a new Blue Blaster squadron was established at NAS Oceana, Virginia, on 1 January 1970 as the Atlantic Fleet's sixth A-6E Intruder squadron. The actual establishment ceremony was conducted at NAS Oceana on April 17th, 1970.

On September 18th, 1970, VA-34 embarked aboard USS John F. Kennedy as part of Carrier Air Wing One for a short at-sea period prior to its scheduled November deployment to the Gulf of Tonkin in the Western Pacific. However, while en route to the Caribbean for an operational readiness inspection, the ship was ordered to deploy to the Mediterranean after Syria invaded Jordan. The squadron returned home in March 1971 from this unscheduled deployment, only one year old, but already in possession of the Meritorious Unit Commendation. In August 1971, VA-34 received the Battle "E" award as the Atlantic Fleet's top A-6 squadron.

In September 1972, a squadron A-6 Intruder conducted crossdeck operations on HMS Ark Royal while operating in the Norwegian Sea. Due to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, VA-34 and USS John F. Kennedy departed the Norwegian Sea in October 1973 and re-entered the Mediterranean, conducting surveillance operations south of Crete.