SLUF

The LTV* A-7 Corsair II was nicknamed the "SLUF", for Short Little Ugly Fucker. A single seat attack aircraft developed from the F-8 fighter, it was a workhorse in Vietnam.

The one in Dayton is an A-7D, which is a version of the Navy's A-7 that was built for the USAF. Instead of the two 20mm Colt Mk. 12 cannon of the original, the D model had a single 20mm Vulcan, as well as a more powerful Allison turbofan, a fine product of Indiana.

The USAF A-7's were relegated to Air National Guard units as the F-16 came online in the Seventies, but the last combat missions flown by Navy SLUFs were in Operation Desert Storm. The Corsair II was also flown by the Greeks, Thais, and Portuguese.

*LTV was Ling-Temco-Vought, the company that resulted from a 1961 hostile takeover of the old Chance Vought corporation of F4U Corsair and F8U Crusader fame by Ling Electric, who had recently gone on a buying spree, absorbing Temco Aircraft and speaker manufacturer Altec Electronics among others.