Check back often for additional photo galleries that will be added on a. Ive just about finished the a4 scooter and have been toying with either an f100 hun or the skynight. We received mothballed f3ds at nas glynncobrunswick ga and utilized them as rio training planes before the f4 arrived. The navys first jetpropelled night fighter was the twoplace douglas xf3d1 skyknight. This book chronicles the development and operational history of the f3d from the korean war, to service in vietnam. F3d2t2 55 f3d2s were used as radaroperator trainers and electronic warfare aircraft f3d3 unbuilt project, intended to be an advanced version incorporating swept wings. In 1962 the f3d was redesignated f10, the f3d1 became f10a and the f3d2 became f10b. The douglas f3d f10 skyknight is a twinengined twoseat carrierbased night jet fighter aircraft produced by the usamerican manufacturer douglas aircraft company in operation with the united states navy and the united states marine corps. Armed with a copy of the 1954 pilot handbook, i climbed into the f3d skynights cockpit. The us navys first allweather jet fighter, the douglas f3d skyknight, traces its origins to. In subsequent night actions, f3d2s accounted for another yak15 and six mig 15s, with no losses to themselves, which gave the skyknight an overall 80. Part of it is it flew during the korean and vietnam wars, two eras of history that interest me.
Jet engines being as evolutionary as they were at the time, the skyknight saw several changes to its engines, resulting in incremental performance improvements, during its early development which begat two distinct variants. The douglas f3d skyknight later designated f10 skyknight is an american twinengined. F3d2 skyknight korea naval history and heritage navy. The width of the plane was to accommodate the radar system, which used vacuum tubes you younger kids can ask your dads about those. It saw service with the united states navy and united states marine corps. Buy a cheap copy of f3d skynight in action book by alan carey. F3d skyknight achievements the skyknight was the worlds first jet fighter designed for use as a carrierbased night fighter. F3d2 sky knight walk around page 1 any questions, comments, or problems, please email me. The douglas f3d skyknight was designated f3d with the u. It is the same tooling as previously, but with new markings and restyled instructions. Douglas f3d skyknight in 172 scale designer website.
During the korean war, the skyknight shot down a yak15 in the first jettojet aerial victory scored at night. F3d skynight in action the us navys first allweather jet fighter, the douglas f3d skyknight, traces its origins to 1945, when the navy began studies for a jetpowered carrierbased night fighter. Military aviation archives f3df10 skyknight cockpit. The douglas f3d skyknightpage contains all related products, articles, books, walkarounds and plastic scale modeling projects dedicated this aircraft. The cockpit radar set is wrong for the korean war era, it represents an ef10b set up. By june, a production order of 28 f3d 1s was made for delivery to the us navy and marine corps.
While it never achieved the fame of the north american f86 sabre, it did down several sovietbuilt mig15s as a night fighter over korea with only one airtoair loss of its own against a chinese mig15 on the night of 29 may 1953. In subsequent night actions, f3d2s accounted for another yak15 and six mig15s, with no losses to themselves, which gave the skyknight an overall 80 superiority in korea. Douglas f3d skyknight project gutenberg selfpublishing. Us f3d skyknight and ad5 skyraider take off from uss hancock cv19 in the pacific. Part of the reason is i love nightfighters and not just because the paint scheme is easy, and this was one of the last birds to fit that title. When i got out of school at millington, i went to vmft aw 20 fahg at cheery point. In fact, there was also the f3d 1m, f3d 2b, f3d 2m, f3d 2q, f3d 2t, f3d 2t2, and the f3d 3 which was a planned variant that never went into production. The us navys first allweather jet fighter, the douglas f3d skyknight, traces its origins to 1945, when the navy began studies for a jetpowered carrierbased. After talking with corsair nut ive decided to start a quick build skynight.
Taking radar jamming to the enemy in a korean war vintage jet. Us f3d skyknights lands on the deck of uss hancock cv19 in the pacific ocean dur. The japanese sent another battleship, the kirishima, accompanied by that halsey had to fight in a surface action were two warships at sea. Ready for service when war broke out in korea in 1950, the skyknight, also known as willy the whale, proved its worth in the capable hands of pilots and radar operators with marine. It was successfully flown in combat in the korea war. The f3d, designed as a carrierbased jetpowered night fighter, first flew in 1948 but suffered initially from the common problem of the time of underpowered and less than reliable jet engines. The douglas f3d skyknight was the first jet that was designed as a nightfighter. You are clearly someone who sees what they want to see and ignores reality as it is plain as day that the gear door interior above the main gear is the same colour green as the main wheel and the nose gear interior is lighter than the outside colour such that i would say it is the same green as well. In subsequent night actions, f3d2s accounted for another yak15 and six mig 15s, with no losses to themselves, which gave the skyknight an. Its radar equipment required a widerthanusual fuselage, so it. Note that on all the f3d deployments except the one aboard midway, the skyknights retained vc4s tail code of na.
This page was last edited on 8 december 2014, at 16. By june, a production order of 28 f3d1s was made for delivery to the us navy and marine corps. The f3d skyknight was never produced in great numbers but it did achieve many firsts in its role as a night fighter over korea. In fact, there was also the f3d1m, f3d2b, f3d2m, f3d2q, f3d2t, f3d2t2, and the f3d3 which was a planned variant that never went into production.
Bill gilman i love it when someone does such a great job on one of the old classic kits. The douglas f3d skyknight later designated the f10 was the worlds first jet fighter designed for use as a carrierbased night fighter. This was initially offered in two boxings as an f3d2 and ef10b, whilst the third boxing to date is the subject of this first look. Navy asked douglas to develop a carrierbased night fighter in 1946. Douglas f3d f10 skyknight carrierborne nightfighter. In august, 1945 the us navy requested proposals for a carrier based night fighter to supplement the f4u corsair and f7f tigercat night fighters that were then in service. Navy until 18 september 1962 when, with the introduction of the triservice aircraft designation system, all skyknights still in service were redesignated f10. We were certainly due a more modern skyknight kit, and i am sure many welcomed swords new tool release in 2103.
Buy squadron signal publications f3d skyknight in action book. It was used also by south american countries uruguay, argentina and paraguay. Its radar equipment required a widerthanusual fuselage, so it was nicknamed willie the whale. In subsequent night actions, f3d2s accounted for another yak15 and six mig15s, with no losses to themselves, which gave the skyknight an. The first production skyknight flew on february th 1950. The deadliest night fighter in korea why douglas skyknight crews werent afraid of the dark. The only aircraft at the time capable of handling the sam threat were the f3d2q and ef10b. About the douglas f3d skyknight plan this plan is 23. My pilot got in trouble by flying max speed about 75 feet above the beach for 20 miles, it was fun. Squadron signal continues the in action format with a brief history of the skyknight s different versions. The aircraft was officially known as the skyknight, but during its testing phase and due to its appearance, it earned the nickname, willie the whale. Decals for a vc4 f3d with the na tail code were provided in sw 72074.
The douglas f3d skyknight was the us navys first allweather, carrierbased jet fighter. The f3d was designed as a carrierbased allweather night fighter and saw service with the united states navy and united states marine corps. In 1962, the american military coordinated to revise their aircraft marking system and this created the newer and cleaner f10 designation for the remaining operational f3d skyknight family. Airplane parts and accessories airplane miscellaneous. May 14, 2014 us f3d skyknight and ad5 skyraider take off from uss hancock cv19 in the pacific ocean during project steam catapult. Douglas f3d f10 skyknight specifications technical. Jun 27, 2018 im not sure how far along in the build you are but some notes. About the douglas f3d 2 skyknight plan this plan is 22. In subsequent night actions, f3d2s accounted for another yak15 and six mig15s, with no losses to themselves, which gave the skyknight an overall 80. Designed as a carrierbased night fighter, the f3d skyknight was primarily operated by the marine corps during the korea war, gaining several kills in night engagements and being responsible for the destruction of more enemy aircraft in that conflict than any other navymarine corps aircraft. It sat nosehigh at first, so i studied photos in alan careys f3d skyknight in action squadronsignal, isbn 0897476859 and steve ginters naval fighters number four.
Jan 01, 2012 f3d skyknight in action carey, alan on. While its not the sleekest, fastest, or prettiest of jets, i love the skyknight. The f3d2 skyknight is something a lot more interesting than that in my opinion. Squadronsignal aircraft in action series librarything. Paul bless knows a lot more about the douglas f3d skyknight than i do and is generously sharing it. Never produced numbers but iachieved many 1sts as a night fighter over korea. The us navys first allweather jet fighter, the douglas f3d skyknight, traces its origins to 1945, when the navy began studies for a jetpowered carrierbased night. The first flight of the xf3d1 occurred on 23 march 1948. The douglas f3d skyknight was an american twinengined, midwing night jet fighter aircraft of the douglas aircraft company. Navys first allweather jet fighter, the douglas f3d skyknight, traces its origins to 1945, when the navy began studies for a jetpowered, carrierbased night fighter. The f6f also saw extensive service during ww ii with the. Douglas f3d skyknight naval fighters, isbn 0942612043 and determined the nosegear strut was too long.
All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Sword 172 scale f3d2 skyknight finescale modeler magazine. Aug 27, 2019 three months of bitter airgroundsea action in the solomon islands had resulted two battleships, under rear adm. The skyknight was based out of holloman air force base, new mexico during the late 1970s and early 1980s for this. The skyknight was a beast and the matchbox kit is about all you have in 1. The f6f also saw extensive service during ww ii with the british fleet air arm in europe and the pacific, by the french army in indochina and by the french aeronavale in postwar years. Currently working on another notsofalltogether kit, the squadron 148 scale skyknight. It has been downloaded 0 times by fellow modelers from around the world.
The designations of navy aircraft changed during the skyknights career, so some of these designations changed to ef10 examples which are clearly referenced in the text. Us f3d skyknight and ad5 skyraider take off from uss hancock. Looking to do the marine allblack korean war scheme. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. The navy asked douglas to develop a carrierbased night fighter in 1946. The f3d was not intended to be a sleek and nimble dogfighter, but a stable stand off night fighter with a powerful radar system, four 20mm cannons, and a second crewmember to operate the radar. It has been downloaded 6 times by fellow modelers from around the world.
The f3d skyknight, when it arrived in 5, was used for deep. The only thing that didnt earn the 5 stars was the fact that i kept questioning how certain characters were related to the narrator because there wasnt as much back story as there couldve been. This photo set contains seven photographs showing cockpit details of tf10b skyknight, buno. The douglas f3d skyknight was the worlds first jet fighter designed for use as carrierbased night fighter. Aug 09, 2014 the f3d 2 skyknight is something a lot more interesting than that in my opinion.
In addition, no air force b29 was ever lost on a f3d2escorted mission. With sophisticated radar, the douglas skyknight flew night escort missions, giving navy and marine aviators the ability to follow the cardinal rule of fighter pilots. These pictures were taken and shared with the web by jason taylor. Respected author and researcher whos written numerous aircraftrelated books, including one titled douglas f3d skyknight naval fighters series no 4 prominent security information firm.
The douglas f3d skyknight became the worlds first jetpowered, carrierbased dedicated nightfighter in service. Packed with numerous wartime photos, this book features both usn and marine aircraft. A midwing monoplane with a pair of westinghouse 3,000pound thrust j34we22 jets low on the fuselage sides, the xf3dl had the then usual four 20mm guns with 800 rounds behind and below the nose scanner. The designations of navy aircraft changed during the skyknight s career, so some of these designations changed to ef10 examples which are clearly referenced in the text. Also see steve ginters excellent f3d monograph here. F3d 2 sky knight walk around page 1 any questions, comments, or problems, please email me. F3d2q 35 f3d2s were converted into electronic warfare aircraft. Military aviation archives f3df10 skyknight gallery. Us navy carrier planes in action in the korean war 1954 duration. The f3d was actually the most successful navy or marine corps airtoair fighter of the war. The first time i went out on the light line, a whole ton of these big fat beauties were lined up on the flight line. The douglas f3d skyknight was the worlds first, purpose built, jet night fighter.
And to think that a derivation of the skyknight, the xf6d missileer, was almost selected as the fleet interceptor which eventually went to the f. Changing to c when aboard midway was a very early example of a detachment adopting the tail code of the air group it was assigned to. I also wish there was more depth to the book, there were more details and specifics. Douglas f3d2 skyknight flying leatherneck aviation museum. F3d2t five f3d2s were converted into night fighter training aircraft.
We received mothballed f3d s at nas glynncobrunswick ga and utilized them as rio training planes before the f4 arrived. Douglas f3d f10 skyknight carrierborne nightfighter aircraft. Never achieved fame of f86 sabre,but did down several sovietbuilt mig15s with only 1 airtoair loss. Designed by a team led by edward heinemann at douglas aircraft, the f3d skyknight was meant to be the u. Theres a resin piece that goes into the aft nlg area, that i recall the czech model instructions being vague on it is the shell ejection ports for the cannons. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. This aircraft, a derivative of the f3d skyknight and affectionately known.
While it never achieved the fame of the f86 sabre or other contemporary aircraft, it downed several mig15s a. The f3d was designed as a carrierbased allweather fighter aircraft. Vmfn5 crews also flew some night strike and interdiction sorties. The mission of the f3d was to search out and destroy enemy. Usmc skyknight crews were credited with six kills one polikarpov po2, one yakovlev yak15 and four. The deadliest night fighter in korea military aviation. This little night fighter took only 22 hours to finish.
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