Walk Around Photo Feature:       McDonnell Douglas A-4D Skyhawk

This is a walk around of a McDonnell Douglas A-4D Skyhawk.

General Infomation:

"The A-4 was originally designed to provide the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps with a simple, low cost, lightweight attack aircraft.  The first prototype flew in June of 1954.  Later versions included a two-seat desigh for training and for sale to Singapore.  Other advanced versions were sold to Israel, Argentina, and New Zealand.

History of AVM Skyhawk, Bureu number 145072:

The A-4D aircraft on display was built in El Segundo, California in 1959.  It was delivered to the U.S. Navy at Patuxent Navel Air Station in Maryland and flight tested there on November, 11, 1959.  It remained at Pax River until March 22, 1961 when it was transferred to the Navel Air Station in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Skyhawk is on loan from the U.S. Navy and the National Museum of Naval Aviation, AVM volunteers brought it here from Dalgren, Virginia.  It was in poor condition and our volunteers spent over 5,000 hours refurbishing and painting the aircraft.  The NMNA requires that6 all aircraft on loan be maintained and painted as the were in the unit in which they served.  Special permission was given to AVM to paint our Skyhawk in the colors of the Blue Angles, the Navy precision flight team.

From Wikipedia:

"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, 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 US Navy and United States Marine Corps as a replacement for the propeller-driven Douglas A-1 (AD) Skyraider. The A-4 is by comparison, a compact, straightforward, and lightweight aircraft for the era. Its maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds (11,100 kg) being roughly half of the Navy's weight specification. The Skyhawk has a short-span delta wing configuration, a tricycle undercarriage, and is powered by a single turbojet engine. The US Navy issued a contract for the aircraft on 12 June 1952. On 22 June 1954, the XA4D-1 prototype performed its maiden flight; it went on to set a world speed record of 695.163 mph on 15 October 1955.   On 1 October 1956, the Skyhawk was introduced to operational service."