Douglas A-4 Skyhawk

what is it?

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.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · 8.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 1,083 km/htop speed
• range 1,867 kmwithout refuelling
• size 11.1 tmax take-off weight
• built 2,960made in total

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 72 years ago, in 1954.
• 🏎️Top speed is 8.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🌍Range of 1,867 km: 10× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.6× 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

1954-06-22

introduced

1956

retired

1998

status

still flying

number built

2,960

role

attack aircraft, fighter, aggressor aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

McDonnell Douglas, Douglas

engines

1× Pratt & Whitney J52-P-6A / Pratt & Whitney J52 / General Electric F404

crew

1

length

12.2 m

wingspan

8.4 m

height

4.6 m

max take-off weight

11.1 t

top speed

1,083 km/h

range

1,867 km

ceiling

14,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family