Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
Sign in to saveAlso known as McDonnell Douglas A-4, Douglas A4D, Attack Design 4, A4D Skyhawk, McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, A4, Douglas A4D Skyhawk, Skyhawk
1954 attack aircraft family by the Douglas Aircraft Company
Key facts
- Type
- Attack aircraft , fighter , aggressor aircraft
- National origin
- United States
- Manufacturer
- Douglas Aircraft Company , McDonnell Douglas
- Status
- In service with the Brazilian Navy
- Primary users
- United States Navy (historical) United States Marine Corps (historical) , Israeli Air Force (historical)
- Number built
- 2,960
- Manufactured
- 1954–1979
- Introduction date
- 1 October 1956 ; 69 years ago ( 1956-10-01 )
- First flight
- 22 June 1954 ; 71 years ago ( 1954-06-22 )
- Retired
- USMC (1998), U.S. Navy (2003), Israeli Air Force (2015) , Royal New Zealand Air Force (2001)
- Variants
- Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk , McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk , ST Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawk
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- attack aircraft
- Country
- United States
- Operator
- Indonesian Air Force
- Country of origin
- United States
- Developer
- Douglas
- Manufacturer
- McDonnell Douglas
- Designed by
- Ed Heinemann
- Image
- Last bulit A-4 Skyhawk in flight in February 1979.jpg
- Height
- 5
- Length
- 12.27
Show 16 more facts
- armament
- Zuni
- United States Navy aircraft designation
- A4D
- topic's main category
- Category:Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
- Commons category
- Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
- powered by
- Pratt & Whitney J52
- Commons gallery
- A-4 Skyhawk
- total produced
- 2960
- first flight
- 1954-06-22
- service retirement
- 1998-00-00
- wingspan
- 8.38
- maximum operating altitude
- 14000
- military designation
- A-4
- vehicle range
- 3220
- nickname
- Skyhawk
- service entry
- 1956-10-00
- wing area
- 20.6
Sources (8)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat, subsonic, carrier-capable, light attack aircraft designed and produced by American aerospace manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Company, later built by McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D under the United States Navy's pre-1962 designation system.
The Skyhawk was developed during the early 1950s on behalf of the Navy and United States Marine Corps as a replacement for the propeller-driven Douglas A-1 (AD) Skyraider. The A-4 is a compact, straightforward, and lightweight aircraft for the era; its maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds (11,100 kg) was roughly half of the Navy's weight specification. The Skyhawk has a short-span, delta wing configuration and tricycle undercarriage, and is powered by a single turbojet engine. The U.S. Navy issued a contract for the aircraft on 12 June 1952. On 22 June 1954, the XA4D-1 prototype performed its maiden flight; it went on to set a world speed record of 695.163 mph on 15 October 1955. On 1 October 1956, the Skyhawk was introduced to operational service.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Douglas A-4 Skyhawk” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.