Douglas A-4 Skyhawk

Light Attack Multirole Carrierborne Fighter Aircraft

United States | 1956

"The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk naval jet fighter saw decades of service worldwide with nearly 3,000 aircraft produced."

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Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 07/30/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The A-4 Skyhawk (nicknamed "Heinemann's Hot Rod" and the "Scooter") came about as a private venture when the Douglas corporation was seeking to replace the aging AD Skyraider (A-1 Skyraider) piston-engine aircraft. The successor to the A-1 was originally another piston-engine alternative known by the designation as the A-2D Skyshark, but powerplant issues shelved the project altogether. During this time, the A-4 Skyhawk was already in development as a small, lightweight jet-powered attack aircraft to which the US Navy took a fair amount of interest in.

Ed Heinemann was the chief designer of the A-4 Skyhawk while working at Douglas, which led to the development of nine Skyhawk prototypes designated as the XA4D-1 - the first of which flew on September in 1956. From there, the Pratt & Whitney J65-powered craft would go into full operational production as the A-4A Skyhawk.

The Pratt & Whitney powerplant was a British-designed and licensed Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet. The system was capable of producing over 8,000lbs or standard thrust (no afterburner was integrated to the engine) and the base powerplant could be found on the initial three A-4's - the A, B and C models.

The A-4E Skyhawk model stood as a vast improvement over previous models and served the US Navy featuring an overall heavier airframe but a Pratt & Whitney J52 powerplant. A successive model for the US Navy, the A-4F, proved to be the last model and featured further improvements on the A-4E, most notably the avionics-housing "hump" visible in the image above just behind the cockpit and running along the dorsal spine of the fuselage.

The United States Marine Corps took orders for the "Ultimate Skyhawk" in the A-4M Skyhawk II. This model featured an all-new enlarged canopy for improved pilot visibility. It also featured an increased MTOW capacity (nearly double of what the base A-4 could do) allowing for an additional array of weaponry to be fitted. The A-4M model was fitted with an even more powerful J52-P-408 powerplant that increase range and overall speed.

Export figures were decent, with Argentina becoming the initial customer. Others would soon follow including Israel, Malaysia, Kuwait, Brazil and Singapore. In the end, the A-4 Skyhawk proved its worth with decades of faithful service to the United States with the Navy and the Marine Corps both putting the aircraft through a rigorous pacing. The single powerplant was more than suitable for the role that the A-4 was designed to fulfill and the diminutive size when compared to other carrier aircraft was a good fit for carrier storage.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Douglas A-4M Skyhawk II (Super Skyhawk) Light Attack Multirole Carrierborne Fighter Aircraft.

1 x Pratt & Whitney J52-P-408 non-afterburning turbojet developing 11,200 lb of thrust.
Propulsion

645 mph
1,038 kph | 560 kts
Max Speed

38,698 ft
11,795 m | 7 miles
Service Ceiling

2,001 miles
3,220 km | 1,739 nm
Operational Range

10,300 ft/min
3,139 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Douglas A-4M Skyhawk II (Super Skyhawk) Light Attack Multirole Carrierborne Fighter Aircraft.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

40.3 ft
12.27 m
O/A Length

27.5 ft
(8.38 m)
O/A Width

15.0 ft
(4.57 m)
O/A Height

10,465 lb
(4,747 kg)
Empty Weight

24,504 lb
(11,115 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Light Attack Multirole Carrierborne Fighter Aircraft .

STANDARD, FIXED:
2 x 20mm Colt Mk 12 automatic internal cannons in wing roots (one gun per root).

OPTIONAL:
Mission-specific weapons included any of the following:

AIM-9 "Sidewinder" short-range air-to-air missiles.
AGM-12 "Bullpup" air-to-surface missiles.
AGM-65 "Maverick" air-to-surface missiles.
AGM-45 "Shrike" anti-radiation missiles.
AGM-62 "Walleye" glide drop bombs.
LAU-10 rocket pods.
B43, B57 and B61 nuclear bombs.
Rockeye Mk 7 (cluster), Rockeye II Mark 20 (cluster) and Mark 80 conventional drop bombs.
3 x 370 Gallon jettisonable fuel tanks.

Maximum ordnance loads of up to 9,155lb (4,155 kg) across five external hardpoints (1 x Fuselage centerline; 4 x Underwing); Three internal positions plumbed for fuel stores.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk family line.

XA4D-1 - Prototype Designation of which nine produced.

A4D-1 - Initial Production Models pre-1962 reorganization.

A-4A - Initial production model post-1962 designation; 166 examples completed.

A-4B - Reinforced airframe; air-to-air capability added; improved avionics; AGM-12 Bullpup missile support; 542 examples completed.

A-4C - Adverse weather variant with AN/APG-53A radar; powered by Wright J65-W-20 engine of 8,200lb thrust; 638 examples produced.

A-4E - Refined variant; heavier airframe; powered by Pratt & Whitney J52 engine.

A-4F - Final USN variant with fuselage "hump" housing additional avionics equipment.

A-4M "Skyhawk II" - USMC variant with enlarged canopy for increased visibility; increased MTOW; more powerful J52-P-408 engine.

TA-4F - Two-seat USN trainer Variant

A-4P - Argentine Air Force export model

A-4Q - Argentine Air Force export model

A-4AR "Fightinghawks" - Argentine Air Force export model based on A-4M; updated avionics, HUD system and ARG-1 radar system.

A-4H - Israeli export model based on A-4E variant.

A-4N - Israeli export model based on A-4M variant.

A-4S - Singapore export model

A-4K - New Zealand export model with upgraded HUD, avionics, twin-CRT displays and HOTAS.

T/A-4KU - Kuwaiti export model (resold to Brazil).

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 2,960 Units
Contractor(s): McDonnell Douglas - USA

[ Argentina; Australia; Brazil; Indonesia; Israel; Malaysia; New Zealand; Singapore; United States ]

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