F3D Skyknight
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| F3D (F-10) Skyknight | |
|---|---|
 An EF-10B Skyknight of VMCJ-2 Playboys |
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| Type | Fighter aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| Maiden flight | 23 March 1948 |
| Introduced | 1951 |
| Retired | 1970 |
| Primary users | United States Navy United States Marine Corps |
| Number built | 265 |
The Douglas F3D Skyknight, (later F-10 Skyknight) was a United States twin-engine, midwing jet fighter aircraft manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California. The F3D was designed as a carrier-based all-weather aircraft. It saw service with the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, downing several MiG-15s over Korea, and serving as an electronic warfare platform in the Vietnam conflict. The aircraft is sometimes unofficially called "Skynight", dropping the second "k".
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[edit] Design and development
The F3D was not a typical sleek and nimble fighter, but as a night fighter packing a powerful radar system and second crew member, it was not intended to be. It originated in 1945 with a U.S. Navy requirement for a jet-powered radar-equipped carrier-based night fighter. The Douglas team led by Ed Heinemann designed around the bulky air intercept radar systems of the time, with side-by-side seating for the pilot and radar operator [1]. The result was an airplane with a broad, deep, and roomy fuselage. Instead of ejection seats, an escape tunnel was used, similar to the A-3 Skywarrior[1].
Power was provided by two Westinghouse J34 turbojets mounted in the roots of then-standard straight wings of the early jet era. The F3D was not much of a dogfighter. Instead, it was a stable platform for its radar system and the four 20 mm cannon mounted in the lower fuselage.[citation needed] The U.S. Navy awarded Douglas a contract for three XF3D-1 prototype aircraft on 3 April 1946. (The losing design from Grumman evolved into the F9F Panther.)[citation needed]
The radar system in the F3D-1 was the Westinghouse AN/APQ-35. The AN/APQ-35 was a combination of three different radars, each performing separate functions: a search radar, a tracking radar, and a tail warning radar.[citation needed] The complexity of this radar system, which was produced before the advent of semi-conductor electronics, required intensive maintenance to keep it operating fully.[citation needed]
First flight of the XF3D-1 occurred on 23 March 1948 [2]. A production contract for twenty-eight F3D-1 production aircraft soon followed in June 1948. The F3D-1 was followed by the F3D-2, which was first ordered in August 1949. The F3D-2 was intended to have Westinghouse J46 engines in enlarged nacelles to replace the J34--WE-32 engines of the F3D-1. Development problems with the J46 lead to F3D-2 aircraft being fitted with J34-WE-36 engines instead. The F3D-2 also incorporated an improved Westinghouse AN/APQ-36 radar system. A total of 237 F3D-2s were built before production ended on 23 March 1952. A higher performance F3D-3 version with swept wings and J46 engines was planned, but was cancelled when the trouble-plagued J46 engine program was terminated.
[edit] Operational history
The few F3D-1 aircraft were used primarily to train F3D crews and did not see combat. F3D-2 aircraft, however, saw extensive service during the Korean War and destroyed more enemy aircraft in Korea than any other Navy or Marine fighter aircraft[3]. They were used as escort fighters, accompanying B-29 Superfortress bombers on night raids. They also flew nighttime intercept and interdiction missions. By the end of the war, Skyknights had shot down six enemy aircraft (one Polikarpov Po-2 and five Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15) without a loss.[4] The first air-to-air victory occurred on 3 November 1952 in a United States Marine Corps F3D-2 piloted by Major William T. Stratton, Jr. and radar operator Master Sergeant Hans C. Hoglind of VMF(N)-513.[4]
In the years after the Korean War, the F3D was gradually replaced by more powerful aircraft with better radar systems. The F3D's career was not over though; its stability and spacious fuselage made it easily adaptable to other roles. The F3D (under the designations F3D-1M and F3D-2M) was used to support development of a number of air-to-air missile systems during the 1950s, including the Sparrow I, II, and III and Meteor missiles[citation needed].
The F3D-2M was the first operational Navy jet aircraft to be fitted with an air-to-air missile, the Sparrow I, a missile that used beam riding guidance for the aircrew to control the flight of the missile. Only 38 aircraft (12 F3D-1Ms[5], and 16 F3D-2Ms[6]) were made able to use the missiles.
In the late 1950s, a number of the Marine F3D-2 aircraft were re-configured as electronic warfare aircraft and were designated F3D-2Q (later EF-10B). Also, a few aircraft were converted for use as trainers and were designated F3D-2T.
Skyknights continued service through the 1960s in gull white color scheme, when their contemporaries had long since been retired. In 1962, when the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force unified their designation systems, the F3D-1 was redesignated F-10A and the F3D-2 was redesignated F-10B. EF-10Bs served in the electronic countermeasures role during the Vietnam War until 1969. The U.S. Marine Corps retired its last EF-10Bs in 1970. Some aircraft continued flying as testbeds for Raytheon until the 1980s.[7]
When the U.S. Navy issued a requirement for a fleet defense missile fighter in 1959, Douglas responded with the F6D Missileer, essentially an updated and enlarged F3D that would carry the AAM-N-10 Eagle long-range missile with the most important characteristics being able to carry a large load of fuel, crew of two, and sophisticated electronics rather than speed or maneuverability. This concept was soon cancelled, but the missile system would later evolve into the AWG-9/Phoenix by the F-14 Tomcat which could swing its wing straight forward for loiter. The general engine and wing configuration would also re-appear on the Northrop YA-9 contender for the A-X "Attack Experimental" program.
Although relatively obscure by comparison with the Sabre or MiG-15, it was the subject of a Dogfights television episode in 2007, where one downed a MiG-15 at night on an escort mission.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (F3D-2)
Data from Standard Aircraft Characteristics F3D-2 "Skyknight" [8]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 45 ft 5 in (13.85 m)
- Wingspan: 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
- Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m)
- Wing area: 400 ft² (37.2 m²)
- Empty weight: 14,989 lb (6,813 kg)
- Loaded weight: 21,374 lb (9,715 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 26,731 lb (12,151 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Westinghouse J34-WE-36 turbojets, 3,400 lbf (15.1 kN) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 460 knots (529 mph, 852 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 395 knots (454 mph, 731 km/h)
- Stall speed: 80.6 knots (93 mph, 149 km/h)
- Range: 1,195 nm (1,374 mi, 2,212 km) (with 2 x 150 gallon tanks)
- Service ceiling 36,700 ft (11,200 m)
- Rate of climb: 2,970 ft/min (15.1 m/s)
- Wing loading: 53.4 lb/ft² (383 kg/m²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.32
Armament
- Guns: 4× 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano-Suiza M2 cannon, 200 rounds/gun
- Missiles: 4× Sparrow I air-to-air missiles (F3D-2M)
- Bombs: 2 x 2000 lb (909 kg) bombs
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
- List of fighter aircraft
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Donald 1997, p. 365
- ^ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, page 1559
- ^ Douglas F3D-2 "Sky Knight" Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation and Aviation Museum. Retrieved: 16 December 2007.
- ^ a b Grossnick, Roy A. and Armstrong William J. United States Naval Aviation, 1910–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Historical Center, 1997. ISBN 0-16049-124-X.
- ^ Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p.183.
- ^ Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p.182.
- ^ Douglas F3D-2 Skyknight Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Retrieved 06 March 2008
- ^ [1] Standard Aircraft Characteristics F3D-2 "Skyknight" Naval Historical Centre, Access date: 23 June 2007
[edit] Bibliography
- Andrade, John M. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979, ISBN 0-904597-22-9.
- Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
- Francillon, René. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume I. London: Putnam, 1979. ISBN 0-87021-428-4.
- Goebel, Greg. The Douglas F3D Skyknight. Vectorsite. [2] Access date: 19 October 2005.
- Heinemann, Edward H. and Rausa, Rosario. Ed Heinemann: Combat Aircraft Designer. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1980. ISBN 0-87021-797-6.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
- Jones, Lloyd. U.S. Naval Fighters: 1922 to 1980s. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, 1977. ISBN 0-8168-9254-7.
- Jones, Lloyd. U.S. Fighters: Army-Air Force 1925 to 1980s. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, 1975. ISBN 0-8168-9200-8.
- Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. United States Navy Aircraft since 1911. London:Putnam, Second edition, 1976. ISBN 0 370 10054 9.
[edit] External links
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