The Intruder could haul some impressive tonnage, like this computer flight sim version of the A-6F Intruder II from the Strike Fighters series. The Intruder could carry six 500 pound bombs on each of its five stations for a total of 30. Only the Boeing B-52 surpassed the Intruder for total loading.

    Back in 1988 when I was stationed with VA-115 in Japan, the squadron deployed to Osan Air Force Base for a two week exercise. Our then Executive Officer, Commander Terry Toms, requested a fully armed A-6E TRAM with six Mark 82 500 pound bombs on the four wing stations and a 1,000 pound Mark 84 bomb on the belly station. The last time an Intruder had been so fully armed was in 1972 with VA-175 (The Sunday Punchers) during the Linebacker II Operation over North Vietnam.

    It took Commander Toms almost the full length of the runway to get the heavily loaded Intruder in the air. The target for this unleashing of hell en masse? An old Korean freighter.

   The drop was impressive as the aircraft unleashed the entire load upon the unlucky freighter...which vaporized as it was struck from 15,000 feet.

An A-6F releases a load of Mark 82's. The Intruder could time the release and spread distance of each bomb load to ensure complete coverage or "laydown" as the target required.

The A-6 used what was called the MIR rack (Multiple Independent Release) which was developed in the mid-1960's after two Intruders were destroyed by their own bombs over Vietnam. The MIR used 1 inch diameter "shotgun shells" to force each bomb clear of the aircraft during dive bombing.

This loaded beast belongs to my on-line Intruder squadron (VA-166 Seyones) which is named after the Wolf tribe in Kipling's Jungle Book. Note the "hook" sticking up over the nose? This is the plane's re-fueling probe. Every spot and space of the Intruder was used for the electronics, engines and flight control systems.

A nice front profile view.

Climbing to bombing altitude.