USS Intrepid
Douglas A-4B Skyhawk
In the early 1950s, the Navy sought a jet-powered replacement for the large, piston-engined AD-1 Skyraider. Noted in-flight aircraft designer Edward Henry “Ed” Heinemann led his team in creating the Skyhawk, an aircraft weighing half as much as the Skyraider. The A-4 Skyhawk features a modified delta wing with a span of only twenty-seven and one half feet that did not require folding for carrier hangar storage or transport to the flight deck. The A-4 met all Navy performance requirements and set a world speed record of 695 mph (1119 kph) in 1954, earning the craft the nickname “Heinemann’s Hot Rod.” The A-4 was flown by Senator John McCain off the USS Forrestal during the Vietnam War. He had previously flown Skyraiders off the Intrepid.
USS Intrepid
Douglas A-4B Skyhawk
In the early 1950s, the Navy sought a jet-powered replacement for the large, piston-engined AD-1 Skyraider. Noted in-flight aircraft designer Edward Henry “Ed” Heinemann led his team in creating the Skyhawk, an aircraft weighing half as much as the Skyraider. The A-4 Skyhawk features a modified delta wing with a span of only twenty-seven and one half feet that did not require folding for carrier hangar storage or transport to the flight deck. The A-4 met all Navy performance requirements and set a world speed record of 695 mph (1119 kph) in 1954, earning the craft the nickname “Heinemann’s Hot Rod.” The A-4 was flown by Senator John McCain off the USS Forrestal during the Vietnam War. He had previously flown Skyraiders off the Intrepid.