Cropped from indoA-4H.jpg
100% of the A-4s built through the end of A-4E production had the pitot probe mounted on the fuselage at the base of the windshield (left side.)
This is an A-4E.
Starting with the TA-4F / A-4F, all A-4s had the pitot probe mounted on the nose. All production international models were in this configuration.
This is an A-4H (or is it?*).
indoA-4Ha.jpg
All A-4 models through A-4E production had the rounded fin tip. TA-4F/A-4F also had the rounded - international models (which were F variants) may have had the square tip. All A-4H had the square tip.
This is an A-4E.
Square tail - it's an H.
This is the one I was going for.
Cropped from indoA-4Hb-nws.jpg
Cropped from indoA-4H-nws.jpg
Look closely. No USN A-4E had nose wheel steering. No USN A-4E had NWS retrofitted**. No A-4 with the fuselage-mounted pitot probe had NWS. When the A-4E were sent to Israel, none of them had NWS. This was a later (by-Israel) retrofit.
Israel could have called their Es A-4H, you only need a stencil and a little paint to do that (even the USN training command had single-seat A-4Es that they stencil-modded to TA-4E). But, the Indonesian A-4s were built A-4E.
* During and after October 1973, Israel was provided a lot of A-4Es (probably 100+) and few A-4Fs. Since the H was a version of the F, this could actually be an A-4F.
** I am excluding the Es that became the prototypes for the A-4F/TA-4F (we know there may have been strange configurations there.)
The Indonesian images are cropped from Indonesian A-4 Skyhawks, Any Good Pics? Any 1/72 Decals Available?
