Which Skyhawk carried British 30 mm cannons?

Short answer

The A-4Ss and TA-4Ss rebuilt for the RSAF of Singapore, which began acquiring A-4s in 1973: they were armed with 30 mm (1.18 in) ADEN cannons instead of the original 20 mm Colt Mk 12s. They came from the first batch of more than 50 A-4Bs: 44 single-seat A-4Ss and three two-seat TA-4Ss.

Published: November 4, 2026 · Updated: November 4, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Which Skyhawk carried British 30 mm cannons?

A-4SU Skyhawk

A minimal aircraft born in El Segundo

Heinemann chose a design that kept size, weight and complexity to a minimum. The result was an aircraft that weighed only half of the Navy's weight specification. He and his team in El Segundo promised the Navy the range and payload it had asked for. The type first flew on 22 June 1954, and by 1956 it was already in service with the fleet. The Skyhawk remained in production until 1979, with 2,960 aircraft built, 555 of them two-seat trainers.

150 airframes for Singapore

From 1973, the RSAF began acquiring Douglas A-4 Skyhawks. In total, Singapore acquired 150 airframes, all of them A-4Bs and A-4Cs. The first batch, of more than 50 A-4Bs from the US Navy, went through the Lockheed Aircraft Service Company in Ontario, California, and its subsidiary Lockheed Aircraft Service Singapore. From that first batch came the single-seat A-4S, with 44 airframes, and the two-seat TA-4S trainer, with three.