skip to content
stan runge

#1792

Grumman A-6 Intruder

🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1960· attack aircraft, aerial tanker (ka-6d variant)

🎖️ military 2× jet retired
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. Grumman KA-6D Intruder of VA-34 in flight, in 1988: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  2. 2. 20180328 A-6 Intruder Udvar-Hazy 2: Balon Greyjoy· CC0
  3. 3. A-6E Intruder Pax River Museum: Balon Greyjoy· CC0
  4. 4. A-6E Intruder over Spain in Operation Matador: Commander David Buss, USN, Commanding Officer VA-34· Public domain
  5. 5. A-6E Intruder preps for launch aboard CVN-65: MIKE CORRADO, USN CIV.· Public domain
  6. 6. Grumman A-6A Intruder weapon load display, 1962 (NNAM.2011.003.240.028): U.S. Navy· Public domain
  7. 7. Grumman A-6E Intruder of VA-52 in flight, in 1981 (6379373): U.S. Navy· Public domain
  8. 8. Grumman A-6E Intruder of VA-65 on flight on 1 August 1983 (6392725): PH2 Parlsey, U.S. Navy· Public domain
  9. 9. Intruder on display: The Wordsmith· CC BY-SA 3.0
  10. 10. Last VA-34 A-6E Intruder launch from USS George Washington (CVN-73) on 22 July 1996 (6526829): PH3 Kris White, U.S. Navy· Public domain
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Grumman A-6 Intruder, photo 1 of 10
1/10 U.S. Navy· Public domain

what is it?

The Grumman A-6 Intruder is a twinjet, all-weather subsonic attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace. It was formerly operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The A-6 was designed in response to a 1957 requirement issued by the Bureau of Aeronautics for an all-weather attack aircraft for Navy long-range interdiction missions and with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability for Marine close air support.

How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 16.2 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 1,037 km/htop speed
  • range 5,222 kmwithout refuelling
  • size 27.4 tmax take-off weight
  • built 793made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 66 years ago, in 1960.
  • Top speed is 8.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 16.2 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 5 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • Range of 5,222 km: 29× Amsterdam to Brussels.
  • Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight
1960-04-19
introduced
1963
retired
1997
status
retired
number built
793
role
attack aircraft, aerial tanker (ka-6d variant)
origin
🇺🇸 United States
makers
Grumman
engines
2× Pratt & Whitney J52-P8B / Pratt & Whitney J52
crew
2
length
16.7 m
wingspan
16.2 m
height
4.9 m
max take-off weight
27.4 t
top speed
1,037 km/h
cruise speed
763 km/h
range
5,222 km
ceiling
12,924 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family

Grumman EA-6B Prowler1968

Sources: Wikidata Q332809, Wikipedia: Grumman A-6 Intruder (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

stan runge 704880d source