3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. EA-3B VQ-1 in flight South China Sea 1974: U.S. Navy· Public domain
- 2. A3D-2-Skywarrior-VAH-6-April1958: US Navy· Public domain
- 3. Douglas A3 Yorktown: RadioFan· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Douglas A-3 Skywarrior is a jet-powered strategic bomber that was developed and produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was designed by Douglas on behalf of the United States Navy, which sought a carrier-capable strategic bomber. In July 1949, Douglas was awarded the contract to produce its design, having beaten eight other aircraft companies' submissions.
How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · shoulder wing · carrier-capable retractable tricycle gear · 22.1 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 74 years ago, in 1952.
- Top speed is 7.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 22.1 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 6 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Range of 3,380 km: 19× Amsterdam to Brussels.
- Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1952-10-28
- introduced
- 1956
- retired
- 1991
- status
- retired
- number built
- 282
- role
- strategic bomber
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Douglas
- engines
- 2× Pratt & Whitney J57-P-10 / J57
- crew
- 3
- length
- 23.3 m
- wingspan
- 22.1 m
- height
- 7 m
- max take-off weight
- 37.2 t
- top speed
- 982 km/h
- cruise speed
- 963 km/h
- range
- 3,380 km
- ceiling
- 12,497 m
- wings
- shoulder wing
- landing gear
- carrier-capable retractable tricycle gear
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q1138882, Wikipedia: Douglas A-3 Skywarrior (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.