Editing Grumman A-6 Intruder (section)

===Background===
As a result of the fair-weather limitation of the [[Propeller (aircraft)|propeller-driven]] [[Douglas A-1 Skyraider|A-1 Skyraider]] in the [[Korean War]] and the advent of turbine engines, the [[United States Navy]] issued preliminary requirements in 1955 for an all-weather [[aircraft carrier|carrier-based]] [[attack aircraft]]. The U.S. Navy published an Operational Requirements Document (ORD) for it in October 1956. It released a [[Request For Proposal]]s (RFP) in February 1957.<ref>Jenkins 2002, pp. 5–6.</ref> The RFP called for a 'close air support attack bomber capable of hitting the enemy at any time'. The specification was shaped by the service's Korean War experiences, during which air support had been frequently unavailable unless fair weather conditions were present.<ref name = "bomber 209">Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 209.</ref>

In response to the RFP, a total of eleven design proposals were submitted by eight different companies, including [[Bell Helicopter|Bell]], [[Boeing]], [[Douglas Aircraft Company|Douglas]], [[Grumman]], [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]], [[Glenn L. Martin Company|Martin]], [[North American Aviation|North American]], and [[Vought]].<ref>Jenkins 2002, pp. 6–7.</ref> Grumman's submission was internally designated as the ''Type G-128''.<ref name = "bomber 209"/> Following evaluation of the bids, the U.S. Navy announced the selection of Grumman on 2 January 1958. The company was awarded a contract for the development of their submission, which had been re-designated ''A2F-1'', in February 1958.<ref>Jenkins 2002, p. 7.</ref>

[[File:YA2F-1 tilting pipes NAN6-60.jpg|thumb|right|250px|YA2F-1 showing the original tilting tailpipes]]
Grumman's design team was led by Robert Nafis and Lawrence Mead, Jr.<ref name = "bomber 209"/> Mead later played a lead role in the design of the [[Lunar Excursion Module]] and the [[Grumman F-14 Tomcat]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/business/lawrence-mead-jr-aerospace-engineer-who-helped-design-a-6-bomber-dies-at-94.html?ref=science "Lawrence Mead Jr., Aerospace Engineer, Dies at 94."] ''The New York Times'', 30 August 2012.</ref> The team was spread between two sites, the company's manufacturing plant at [[Bethpage, New York]], and the testing facilities at [[Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton]] in [[Riverhead, New York]]. During September 1959, the design was approved by the Mock-Up Review Board.<ref name = "bomber 209"/>

The A2F-1 design incorporated several cutting-edge features for the era. In the early 1960s, it was novel for a fighter-sized aircraft to have sophisticated avionics that used multiple computers. This design experience was taken into consideration by NASA in their November 1962 decision to choose Grumman over other companies like General Dynamics-Convair (the [[F-111]] had computerized avionics capabilities comparable to the A-6, but did not fly until 1964) to build the Lunar Excursion Module, which was a small-sized spacecraft with two onboard computers.{{citation needed|date=August 2011}}