The addition of the avionics hump did improve the "lines" of the 2 seat A-4's, IMHO. They considered putting the J-52-P408, like the A-4M, in the air frame, but the size of the intakes were insufficient to satisfy the air volume demand of the engine. Hence, the J-52-P8 was retained, the same as the TA-4F and some retrofitted TA-4J's. Having flown A-4's for 14 straight years, the last 10 in the adversary business, enabled me to fly most of the versions still active at that time. The OA-4M was not one of them. At the end of my career, we had A-4M's at NAS Dallas, courtesy of the USMC, dedicated as adversary assets for VF-201, -202, & VMFA-112. The A-4F's ("Super Fox") we had at VC-12 (later VFC-12) had the P408 engine, like the A-4M. It was a rocket ship and my favorite model. The "Mike" had a larger canopy which made it a little more comfortable and a HUD, in addition to a self-start capability, which was nice for going on the road. We stripped everything else off, just like was done on the "F", including the avionics hump, to reduce weight. Our TA-4F's at the VC squadrons and also at NAS Dallas before the arrival of the "M", all had the J-52-P8. That was a very nice flying machine also, especially completely slick with no drops, which was seldomly done due to the need for the extra gas to get to and from the ranges. The 150 gal. center line tank was usually loaded, since the internal capacity of the T-birds was only 4000 lbs, vs. 5200 lbs on the "F" & "M". Sorry, I could ramble on longer, but my typing can't keep up with my brain.
