I gotta ask...why is a dedicated reconaissance aircraft so popular? I guess it had a nuke capability as well, but it's not as if you'd do THAT everyday.
A lot can be said about "looking good" and "going fast." In its time, the RA-5C epitomized both.
I must admit at the start of my naval career, it was the aircraft I hoped to fly for those very same reasons. Later, I learned some other conflicting reasons why I might not want a tour in Vigi's – both because of the A/C, and because of it's modified and somewhat limited mission. However I still wish I had gotten to fly it...... at least once. It was a thing of beauty.
(And it was a superb vehicle for the recon mission over NVN, having extraordinary success despite heavy enemy fire because of its speed.)
Because of its difficulty coming aboard the boat, only 2nd tour pilots ever got orders to Vigi's.
Then I think with my class, they began putting brand new nuggets in it. Against their personal preferences, they assigned the top two pilots in our winging class to RA-5's, because of its infamous difficulty around the boat. With a lesser grade, I lucked out with F-4's.
[As for the entire list, I did fly a few of them, and I sincerely wished I had the opportunity to fly them all. They were all great, for various and diverse reasons.]
