A-37B Tiếp Nhiên Liệu Trên Không
The A-37 Dragonfly in Vietnam
When light attack was the real thing. Of 577 A-37Bs built, the Air Force eventually turned 254 over to the South Vietnamese Air Force to replace its aging A-1 Skyraiders. Most pilots, including Vietnamese pilots, were trained in the A-37 at England Air Force Base near Alexandria, La.
Two 2,850-lb thrust General Electric J85-GE-17A turbojet engines powered the A-37B. These provided about 30 percent more power and about 20 percent higher speed than the trainer version. Yet the A-37 was well equipped for operations from primitive airfields and required little of the fancy, high-tech maintenance needed by more sophisticated warplanes. It was ideal for use by Vietnamese forces, which had some excellent pilots but overall lacked the standard of training and expertise found in the U.S. Air Force.
