Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia

The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Company, and later by McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D under the United States Navy's pre-1962 designation system.

The Skyhawk was designed by Douglas Aircraft's Ed Heinemann in response to a United States Navy call for a jet-powered attack aircraft to replace the piston-powered Douglas AD Skyraider (later redesignated A-1 Skyraider).[4] Heinemann opted for a design that would minimize its size, weight, and complexity. The result was an aircraft that weighed only half of the Navy's weight specification. It had a wing so compact that it did not need to be folded for carrier stowage. The first 500 production examples cost an average of $860,000 each, less than the Navy's one million dollar maximum. The diminutive Skyhawk soon received the nicknames "Scooter", "Kiddiecar", "Bantam Bomber", "Tinker Toy Bomber", and, on account of its speed and nimble performance, "Heinemann's Hot-Rod". The XA4D-1 prototype set a world speed record of 695.163 mph on 15 October 1955

The aircraft is of conventional post-World War II design, with a low-mounted delta wing, tricycle undercarriage, and a single turbojet engine in the rear fuselage, with two air intakes on the fuselage sides. The tail is of cruciform design, with the horizontal stabilizer mounted above the fuselage. Armament consisted of two 20 mm (.79 in caliber) Colt Mk 12 cannons, one in each wing root, with 100 rounds per gun (the A-4M Skyhawk II and types based on the A-4M have 200 rounds per gun), plus a large variety of bombs, rockets, and missiles carried on a hardpoint under the fuselage centerline and hardpoints under each wing (originally one per wing, later two).

Douglas Aircraft

Douglas A-4 (A4D) Skyhawk

General Info

Crew: 1 Length: 40 ft 1.5 in (12.230 m) Wingspan: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m) Wing area: 260 sq ft (24 m²)

Powerplant

Empty weight: 9,853 lb (4,469 kg)
Gross weight: 16,216 lb (7,355 kg)
Max takeoff weight: (11,113 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney J52-P-6A turbojet engine, 8,500 lbf (38 kN) thrust

Performance

Maximum speed: 898 km/h (558 mph, 485 kn) at sea level
Stall speed: 148.5 km/h (92.3 mph,
Never exceed speed: 926 km/h (575 mph, 500 kn) (EAS: Mach 0.82)
Range: 1,760 km (1,090 mi, 950 nmi) (internal fuel)
Ferry range: 2,110 km (1,310 mi, 1,140 nmi) (with two drop tanks)
Service ceiling: 14,630 m (48,000 ft)
g limits: +8.0, -4.0

Armament

- Guns: 2× 20 mm (0.79 in) Colt Mk 12 cannon, 100 rounds/gun
- Hardpoints: 4× under-wing & 1× under-fuselage pylon stations with a capacity of 8,500 lb (3,900 kg), with provisions to carry combinations of:
  - Rockets: 4× LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4× 127 mm Mk 32 Zuni rockets)

Special Links Aeromacchi Leonardo

Links to Youtube & Others

The MB-339 was developed during the 1970s in response to an Italian Air Force requirement that sought a replacement for the service's existing fleet of Aermacchi MB-326s.

Douglas A-4 (A4D) Skyhawk

An Aermacchi MB-339 jet had just taken off in formation to head to Vercelli, where it should have perform an aerial exhibition.

Youtube Link

Learn all about the Aermacchi MB-339 with Curator of Aviation Eric Boehm.

Douglas
A-4 (A4D) Skyhawk

Douglas
A-4 (A4D) Skyhawk

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History
Douglas A-4 (A4D) Skyhawk

The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Company, and later by McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D under the United States Navy's pre-1962 designation system.

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Douglas A-4 (A4D) Skyhawk