Air brake?

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3250/img0012b0ut.jpg ALT=DunpingToiletWaste> You two should both know better than that. It's obviously for dumping toilet waste!

That would definitely explain that, in addition to an A-7's short landing gear, they never carried any stores on their bellies.

The A-7 Corsair II had a large door-type ventral speed-brake under centre-fuselage built into the structure of the plane. First time I have ever seen it open, nice pic.

It's size and placement is pretty interesing. It would be impossible to use it to slow down on the landing role. A dorsal one would have made more sense, ala Eagle and Hornet.

Just noticed this thread. I think I know why the air brake flap was on the belly instead of the dorsal location. The A7 was a developement of the F8U Crusader, and they just left it in the same place. The F8 had a system that could alter the incidence of the wing structure, putting the fuselage more nose down during landings. That system occupied the space where the high mounted wing was attached to the upper fuselage, leaving no room for the speed flap there, so it was put on the bottom.