Vietnam War-era military plane lands at new Costa Mesa home
An unusual vehicle traversed the streets of Orange County on Thursday night — a Vietnam-era warplane bound for its new home at the OC Fair & Event Center.
A crane detached the 27-foot-wide A-4 Skyhawk jet from its old home at the Santa Ana Civic Center and strapped it to a rigging truck. California Highway Patrol officers escorted the aircraft on its 15-mile trek up Broadway to Civic Center Drive, then to Fairview Street and south toward its final destination at 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa.
The plane will be installed on the lawn in front of the Heroes Hall veterans museum at the fairgrounds and unveiled during a Salute to Veterans celebration Nov. 9. The aircraft will sit atop a pedestal on a plot that the Fair & Event Center is preparing with artificial turf, benches and a paved plaza. The total cost of the project is about $700,000.
The jet left the Santa Ana Civic Center to make way for new buildings.
Skyhawk planes first flew in 1954, according to a Fair & Event Center news release, and were introduced to the Marine Corps two years later. The Marines and Navy used the Skyhawk — which was built to carry nuclear weapons, missiles, bombs and other munitions — during the Vietnam War. The last Skyhawk was produced in 1979.
One notable A-4 Skyhawk pilot was John McCain. The late U.S. senator from Arizona was leading a bombing mission over Hanoi in 1967 when he was shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was held as a prisoner of war for more than five years before being released in 1973.
The particular aircraft that will be displayed at Heroes Hall was first used in April 1970, according to the Fair & Event Center, and produced by Douglas Aircraft Co.
The plane is on loan to Orange County from the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla.
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