Alfa-Strike

The battle accomplishments of US Navy Squadron VA-163 during the Vietnam War, was the stuff of legends. Stationed aboard the carrier Oriskany on its second cruise, VA-163's A-4 Skyhawks were led by Commander Wynn Foster, one of the navy's most aggressive strike leaders, and under Air Wing Commander James Stockdale, the A-4 pilots racked up a formidable record as a top fighting unit.

Nick Trudgian's outstanding painting, ALFA-STRIKE, shows Wynn Foster leading a typical ground attack near Haiphong in June 1966. Zigzagging out of the target area at low level, the A-4s are going flat out just a few feet above the spectacular coastal landscape of North Vietnam, close to the border with China.