Cunningham Bruce. Naval Fighters Number Forty-Five. Douglas A3D Skywarrior Part One; Design, Structure, Testing

Naval Fighters 1998. — 140p. — ISBN: 13: 9780942612455.Another child of the "fabulous fifties" was the big-bad A3D Skywarrior, affectionately known as "Whale" or "Killer Whale". It was not the most glamorous, but became arguably the most utilitarian carrier-based aircraft to come out of the 50's. With Hughes Aircraft's current stable of twelve whales, it will certainly outlive the few QF-4 drones still flying. As a test aircraft, size and speed as well and ease of maintenance have kept the Skywarrior in demand.First published in 1998, the A3D Part One covers, as the title says, the development of the extensive Skywarrior series. Known as the "Whale" due to its large size, the twin jet aircraft was designed as the Navy's nuclear heavy bomber from its inception. Weighing in at 70-84,000 pounds, the Navy found many other uses for the A3D, including electronics warfare, photo, trainer, VIP transport, iron bomb bomber in Vietnam, and tanker. All 15 versions are presented in text, illustrations, and photos as is their usage in the Navy test and development squadrons (NATC, NATF, FEWSG, NASWF, NWEF, NARF, NOTS, NWC, NADC, US Army, Westinghouse, NMC, PMTC, Hughes, and Thunderbird Aviation. 315 + b&w photos and 86 illustrations.