A-4 Skyhawk

A-4 Skyhawk
General Info
Role	Attack
Hangar level	5
Difficulty	★★★★☆
Durability	▰▰▰▰▱▱
Speed	▰▰▱▱▱▱
Agility	▰▰▰▰▱▱
Traits	armor plating cool engines
Base Stats
Hitpoints	200
Top speed	1148 km/h
Acceleration	40 m/s²
Turn rate	34 °/s
Ideal turning speed	756 km/h
Afterburner fuel	24 s

The classic light Attack plane of the early 60s. Although a little slow, it is a surprisingly tough and nimble gunfighter.

— In-game description

The A-4 Skyhawk is an attack aircraft that was introduced into service in October 1956. While lacking in speed its rugged construction gives the A-4 exceptional durability and resilience, allowing it to withstand enemy fire and deliver devastating strikes. Armed with a powerful close-range armament of internal and external cannons and a pair of short range missiles, the A-4 is capable of chipping away durability of the toughest of opponents. Despite its sluggish pace, the A-4 thrives in low-altitude terrain, where its small turn radius and surprisingly nimble handling provide a distinct advantage over its adversaries. Pilots skilled in terrain-hugging tactics can exploit its unique capabilities to evade enemy detection and deliver harassing damage to opponents.

Loadout

The A-4 Skyhawk is equipped with short range ×2 heat-seeking missile, internal precision cannon, and 600 rounds external assault cannon. The A-4 Skyhawk also comes with ×4 flares.

Type	Max Damage (DPS)	Ideal Range (km)	Reticle Range (km)	Spin-up Time (s)	Spread	Overheat Time (s)	Ammo	Armor Piercing
Precision cannon	42	0.9	1.1	0	very low	5.1	∞	none
Assault cannon	154	0.5	0.9	0.3	very low		600	none

Guidance	Range Type	Range (km)	Quantity	Damage	Speed (km/h)	Turn Rate (°/s)	Lock Angle (°)	Lock Time (s)
Heat-seeking missile	Short range	2.8	2	75	3240	15	7	1.3

Special Ability

The A-4 Skyhawk has a special ability called Gun Cooling which instantly removes all the heat from (internal) cannons and reduces the overheating rate by 50% for a short period of time. This ability has a cooldown of 30 seconds.

Veteran tips

The A-4 Skyhawk is a very durable plane capable of surviving multiple direct hits from an opponent while inflicting damage in return. Although it is equipped with five cannons that fire simultaneously, the combined damage is not impressive. It is suggested to avoid head on firing scenarios against opponents as the A-4 pilot is more likely to receive more damage than inflict damage upon those opponents. Limit the cannon fire scenarios to firing upon an opponents tail. The external cannons have only 600 rounds between the three of them. The external cannons will not overheat. The internal cannons can overheat and stop firing. The internal produce so little damage, the pilot will most likely not notice they are no longer firing. The special ability Gun Cooling only affects the internal cannons. Due to the low performance of the internal cannons, it suggested to not spend resources on the special ability for the A-4. The A-4 is equipped with only two, average performing short range missiles. The majority of the battle fighting from the A-4 will come from the cannons. This limits the A-4's effectiveness. The A-4 Skyhawk has quick roll speed, but still less than desirable agility. This combined with a weak afterburner, the A-4 cannot maintain optimal turning speed for too long, and will have to disengage from a dog fight to regain energy and speed. The afterburner has a long burn time, however the A-4 is capable of slower air speeds. It is suggested to limit the A-4 Skyhawk to dog fighting on short maps, where it does not need to travel far, at a reasonable speed.

Trivia

In-game, the A-4 Skyhawk "Dambusters" paint appears to be loosely modeled after the US Navy Attack Squadron 195 (VA-195) Douglas A4D-5 (A-4E) Skyhawk. Although a wonderful representation of VA-195 livery, airframe Registration/Serial 150058 was in service with the Marine Attack Squadron 322 (VMA-322). Registration/Serial 150058 is currently on display (demilitarized), painted in the US Navy's Blue Angels livery, aboard the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) in Norfolk, Virginia USA.

Paints

The A-4 Skyhawk has four different paints available, including the default paint, and Beta exclusive

Name	Unlock requirement	Rarity	Image
Factory Gray	Beta Exclusive	Basic
Dambusters	Default	Uncommon
Boneyard	65 gold	Uncommon
Black Knight	99 gold	Rare