"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 KA-6D Intruder refueling aircraft that was attached to VA-35 "Black Panthers", then embarked upon the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) during 1975. Pre-order! Ship Date: October 2026.

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

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "Black Panthers" - The squadron was established as Bombing Squadron VB-3B at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, on 1 July 1934. It was subsequently redesignated VB-4 on July 1st, 1937, as VB-3 on July 1st, 1939, as VA-3A on November 15th, 1946, and as VA-34 on August 7th, 1948. It was finally designated VA-35 on February 15th, 1950, (the first VA-35 had been disestablished on November 7th, 1949). The diving black panther design first appeared in mid-1935, and was carried on through the various redesignations of the squadron. VA-35 was disestablished on January 31st, 1995, after over 60 years of continuous service