Douglas F3D-2 Sky Knight

History

The F3D-2 was acquired from the Davis-Monthan aircraft graveyard in Tucson, Arizona, and believed to be one of the last remaining examples of this veteran night fighter.

The Museum’s F3D-2 (Bureau No. 124620) was assigned to VMF(N)-513 in Korea during the Southeastern Asian conflict. At the end of the war, the Skynight returned stateside and was based initially in Southern California, and later based at Cherry Point, North Carolina. The F3D-2 later served in Vietnam as an EF-10B counter-intelligence aircraft.

The Skynight was the second jet fighter designed by Douglas for the Navy and the first to go into production. The aircraft employed a Westinghouse AN/APQ-35 radar located in the nose of the fuselage, which resulted in a bulbous appearance, earning it the nickname, "The Whale".

The two-seat night fighter was propelled by two, side-by-side turbojets and utilized cantilever wings which folded during aircraft carrier stowage. Although the Skynight was considered to be under powered as compared with other US and enemy fighters, it did see combat action during the Korean conflict. The F3D-2 was credited with the first night time jet-to-jet kill of a Yak-15 on November 2, 1952, and scored more victories over enemy aircraft during the war than any other Naval aircraft.

A total of 28 F3D-l ‘s and 237 F3D-2’s were ordered by the Navy, whereby a number of the models were redesignated as different variants based upon ordinance and equipment modifications. All -l and-2 models used the originally designed straight cantilever wing.

In 1951, Douglas modified the wing configuration and the Navy ordered 287-swept wing F3D-3. F3D-3 production was subsequently cancelled in February 1952.

F3D’s also saw service during the Vietnam War with Marine Composite Squadron 1. Although the F3D was designed for aircraft carrier operations, it was also used by the Marines as a land-based aircraft.

Specifications

Description

Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Corporation
Designation: F3D
Version: -2
Nickname: Skynight
Type: Carrier based, two-seat night fighter
Navy Bureau Number: 124620

Dimensions

Length: 45 ft 6 in
Height (over tail): 16 ft 1 in
Wingspan: 50 ft 0 in
Wing area: 260 sq. ft

Weights

Empty Weight: 10,465 lbs.
Gross Weight: 26,614 lbs.
Maximum Weight 24,500 lbs.

Propulsion

Power plant: Two Westinghouse J34-WE-34/36
Thrust-lb. (military): 3400 lbs.

Performance

Range: 1,375 miles
Cruise Speed: 493 mph
Max. Speed: 580 mph
Service ceiling: 39,900 ft

Armament

Armament Four 2Omm cannons

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