Editing Grumman A-6 Intruder (section)

===Entering service and Vietnam War===
[[File:Grumman A-6E Intruder of VA-65 on flight on 1 August 1983 (6392725).jpg|thumb|An A-6E Intruder aircraft assigned to {{USS|Dwight D. Eisenhower|CVN-69|6}}.]]
[[File:Several A-6 aircraft parked with EA-6 and S-3 aboard CV-67.jpg|thumb|[[Lockheed S-3 Viking|S-3A Viking]], A-6E Intruder, and an [[EA-6B Prowler]] aircraft are parked on the flight deck of aircraft carrier {{USS|John F. Kennedy|CV-67|6}} during a storm.]]

The Intruder received a new standardized [[United States Department of Defense|US DoD]] designation of ''A-6A'' in the Autumn of 1962, and entered squadron service in February 1963. The A-6 became both the U.S. Navy's and U.S. Marine Corps's principal medium and all-weather/night attack aircraft from the mid-1960s through the 1990s and as an aerial tanker either in the dedicated KA-6D version or by use of a [[buddy store]] (D-704). Whereas the A-6 fulfilled the USN and USMC all-weather ground-attack/strike mission role, this mission in the USAF was served by the [[Republic F-105 Thunderchief]] and later the [[General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark|F-111]], the latter which also saw its earlier F-111A variants converted to a radar jammer as the [[General Dynamics–Grumman EF-111A Raven|EF-111 Raven]], analogous to the USN and USMC EA-6B Prowler.

A-6 Intruders first saw action during the [[Vietnam War]], where the craft were used extensively against targets in [[Vietnam]]. The aircraft's long range and heavy payload ({{convert|18000|lb|kg|disp=or}}) coupled with its ability to fly in all weather made it invaluable during the war. However, its typical mission profile of flying low to deliver its payload made it especially vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire, and in the eight years the Intruder was used during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps lost a total of 84 A-6 aircraft of various series. The first loss occurred on 14 July 1965 when an Intruder from [[Second VA-75 (U.S. Navy)|VA-75]] operating from {{USS|Independence|CV-62|6}}, flown by LT Donald Boecker and LT Donald Eaton, commenced a dive on a target near Laos. An explosion under the starboard wing damaged the starboard engine, causing the aircraft to catch fire and the hydraulics to fail. Seconds later the port engine failed, the controls froze, and the two crewmen ejected. Both crewmen survived.

[[File:Marine A-6 Intruder destroyed at Danang Airfield 1968.jpg|thumb|left|A U.S. Marine Corps A-6 Intruder destroyed by a rocket and mortar bombardment on [[Da Nang Air Base]] in 1968 during the [[Vietnam War]]]]
Of the 84 Intruders lost to all causes during the war, ten were shot down by [[surface-to-air missiles]] (SAMs), two were shot down by MiGs, 16 were lost to operational causes, and 56 were lost to conventional ground fire and [[anti-aircraft artillery|AAA]]. The last Intruder to be lost during the war was from [[Second VA-35 (U.S. Navy)|VA-35]], flown by LT C. M. Graf and LT S. H. Hatfield, operating from {{USS|America|CV-66|6}}; they were shot down by ground fire on 24 January 1973 while providing close air support. The airmen ejected and were rescued by a Navy helicopter. Twenty U.S. Navy aircraft carriers rotated through the waters of Southeast Asia, providing air strikes, from the early 1960s through the early 1970s. Nine of those carriers lost A-6 Intruders: {{USS|Constellation|CV-64|6}} lost 11, {{USS|Ranger|CV-61|6}} lost eight, {{USS|Coral Sea|CV-43|6}} lost six, {{USS|Midway|CV-41|6}} lost two, USS ''Independence'' lost four, {{USS|Kitty Hawk|CV-63|6}} lost 14, {{USS|Saratoga|CV-60|6}} lost three, {{USS|Enterprise|CVN-65|6}} lost eight, and USS ''America'' lost two.<ref>Hobson 2001, pp. 269–270.</ref> Although capable of embarking aboard aircraft carriers, most U.S. Marine Corps A-6 Intruders were shore based in [[South Vietnam]] at [[Chu Lai Air Base|Chu Lai]] and [[Da Nang Air Base|Da Nang]] and in [[Royal Thai Air Base Nam Phong|Nam Phong]], [[Thailand]].