Seeking to preserve the historical legacy of aircraft with a long history in the United States Armed Forces, the US Navy, through the Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE), restored a Douglas fighter A-4M Skyhawk that belonged to the Marine Corps and had been in storage for 20 years. This is how the Naval Air Systems Center (NAVAIR) was able to report in a recent publication where it provided details of the work carried out and the destination of the aircraft in question.
The restoration of the A-4M was carried out by personnel from the Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) of the United States Navy, located in North Carolina. More precisely, in the facilities belonging to the Cherry Point Air Station of the Marine Corps (USMC). Among the many jobs and capabilities that the unit’s personnel have is the preparation, with fuselage work and painting, of various aircraft. However, the FRCE craftsmen had the opportunity to travel back in time with the arrival of an A-4M Skyhawk, which had been in storage for 20 years, being the first opportunity where the personnel would carry out this type of task. Also symbolically, the FRCE also hosted many Skyhawks which received maintenance tasks until their retirement in 2003.
The works, thanks to the photographs released, show the original state in which the A-4M was received after spending 20 years in storage. This required various works on the fuselage and painting, which had to replicate the original scheme in which the aircraft flew in the Marine Corps as part of the VMA 223 Squadron, respecting the insignia and tones used in those years.
It also meant a reunion between diverse personnel with the Skyhawk after decades. This was expressed by Stephen T. Gurley, who currently serves as branch head of the Critical Item Management Team of the Fleet Support Team at FRCE, stating that: “The A-4 platform was the first one I worked on at FRC East in 1991, and I spent a lot of time working on them“, he expressed. Adding: “I traveled to different squadrons throughout the ’90s to repair A-4s, and now hearing about this is exciting. Bring back memories“.
At the same time, although it is not the first work of this kind that they have carried out with historical aircraft, this was the first A-4M restored by the United States Navy unit, presenting challenges in terms of the unique paint scheme.
“This is the fourth historic aircraft we have restored for the air base, but the first A-4,” said Jeffrey Mitchell, Aircraft Transfer Branch planner. “This project was chosen to honor Marine Attack Squadron 223 here at the base, which flew the A-4 until ’87 when they received their first AV-8 from McDonald-Douglas“.
Faced with the latter, the tribute to the VMA 223 Squadron gains relevance since this was the last operational A-4M Skyhawk squadron on the East Coast until its final retirement in 2023. Thus, after completing the extensive restoration, the aircraft It can be seen as a static monument at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, one of the last resting places where the weapons system served the US armed forces.
*Photographs: NAVAIR.
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