The Skyhawk Association is a non-profit organization founded by former Skyhawk Pilots which is open to anyone with an affinity for the A-4 Skyhawk. We welcome all ages, male and female, pilots, maintenance personnel, modelers and photographers, aviation historians, aviation enthusiasts; anyone with a love for "Heinemann's Hot-Rod". Join those that flew and repaired her in recognizing the Skyhawk's contribution to freedom.
| This page is dedicated to LCDR Ted "T.R." Swartz, USN Please read about him below. |
Membership privileges are:
The Skyhawk Association Journal every three months. (3 print editions and one expanded digital edition.) Enjoy twenty-plus pages of color photos, accounts of unforgettable sorties, and current association happenings.
Access to the "Skyhawk Association Ready Room" where you will find "Members Only" data such as the association roster, A-4 aircraft histories, private photo galleries, past journals, and more.
For new members; a membership card, association patch and decals.
The enjoyment of meeting fellow Skyhawkers at the Association's Annual Organizational Meeting (typically at the Tailhook Convention in Reno), as well as other Association gatherings around the country.
Membership Options
| USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands mailing address. [Journal delivered by postal mail.] $30.00 USD per year or $75.00 USD for three years. |
International (Outside of USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands mailing address.) [Journal delivered by postal mail.] $35 USD for one year or $90 USD for three years |
International Membership with internet accessed Journal. [Full membership without the hard copy of the journal. Journal is viewable in the Association Internet Ready Room.] $18.00 USD for one year or $45.00 USD for three years. |
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See the next column for mailing your payment. |
TO JOIN Send information which will include *Your full name *Mailing address *Telephone number *(If applicable) E-mail address *(If applicable) Preferred nickname or call sign. *(If applicable) Identification of Skyhawk Unit(s) with which you served with dates. If you have A-4 time, include hours and traps. *Any comments on why you love the Skyhawk. Send check to: |
LCDR Ted "T.R." Swartz, USN
| On May 1, 1967, VA-76 "Spirit" A-4C Skyhawk, BuNo. 148609, side number NP-685, from USS Bon Homme Richard CVA-31, piloted by Lieutenant Commander Ted "T.R." Swartz. "T.R." was about to make an air-to-ground missile attack on North Vietnam's Kep Airfield, north of Hanoi. The Skyhawk was armed with 5" ZUNI rockets designed for destroying ground targets. An unguided weapon, the ZUNI went more or less where the pilot aimed it as long as the target wasn't moving. As "T.R." began his roll-in to attack the target, his wingman alerted him of a pair of enemy MiG-17 Fresco fighters moving in to attack at Swartz's 6 o'clock position. The intrepid Skyhawk driver wanted nothing to do with THAT game, so he aborted his target run and pulled his aircraft into a defensive high "G" barrel roll. The unexpected maneuver caused the attacking MiGs to over-shoot and Swartz slid into the 6 o'clock position of one of the MIGs. WHOOOOOOOM!! Swartz pickled three separate ZUNI rockets from beneath his Skyhawk's wings and after two major sight adjustments, was happy to see his third and last ZUNI hit the MIG he was chasing, which disintegrated in a ball of flame. SPLASH ONE MiG! T.R. Swartz returned safely to USS Bon Homme Richard that day, his action marking the first, and only, shoot-down of an enemy aircraft by a Skyhawk during the Vietnam War. The Experimental Aircraft Association displays an accurate replica of LCDR "T.R." Swartz's A-4C at Wittman Field, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The replica is actually A-4B BuNo.142112, originally owned by the Combat Jets Flying Museum of Houston, Texas, and was flown on the air-show circuit for several years before being donated to the Experimental Aircraft Association about 1994. |
