The carrier-based, single seat aircraft, which also saw service with the Marine Corps, was created to meet the 1947 Navy require for an interceptor that could shoot down enemy planes at 15,240 m (50,000 ft).
Beginnings
The job of generating the F4D fell to veteran Douglass designer Ed Heinemann. Adhering to the Navyâ??s request that the fighter be built according to the models of German pioneer, delta wing, tailless aircraft researcher Alexander Lippish, Heinemann gave the F4 its wide, rounded triangular wings and no tail.
Originally, the Skyray was to be propelled by the Westinghouse J40 turbojet, but problems with the engine led to its replacement with the a lot more potent Pratt &Whitney J57.
The development and prototype construction was one of the most guarded military secrets of the post war cell telephone lookup period.
After the similarity to a Manta ray fish had been observed the Skyray name was a offered. Pilots nicknamed it the â??Fordâ?.
Deployment
Even though it was properly identified that the F4D was an unstable craft, it was 1st deployed in 1956, following five years of tests. The airplanesâ?? initial service was with the VC-three Naval Squadron, the only Navy unit in NORAD.
The F4D, which was eventually, renamed F6A, saw service with 21 Navy and Marine squadrons.
However, its restricted function as a higher altitude interceptor and handle problems restricted the F4Dâ??s service life. It was retired from active duty in 1964. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the organization that would grow to be NASA, kept 4 for experimental purposes. They were withdrawn in 1969.
Other Particulars
For its time, the F4D was cell phone lookup a nicely armed plane. It featured 4 200 mm Colt Mk12 cannons and pods for unguided rockets of various sizes. The Skyray could also be fitted with four Sidewinder missiles and two 907 Kg (two,000 lb) bombs.
By modern day requirements, the F4Ds avionics had been meager: APQ 50 low bombing radar and Aero 13F fire-control radar.
Grumman came up with a related but longer model, the F5D Skylancer. It was an improvement more than the Skyray, but the Navy did not obtain it for political factors and simply because it paralleled the mission of other existing fighters.
A total of 442 aircrafts were built These days, eight Skyrays survive. They are all residing in military museums. Not 1 F4D ever saw combat.
Sources
The Douglas F4D Skyray
Aircraft Image and Squadron Histories
Douglas F4D Skyray – CARRIER-BORNE cell phone lookup INTERCEPTOR
