The Douglas F4D "Skyray" (always known as the 'Ford' because of its designation) was intended to be the U.S. Navy's first supersonic fighter, though in fact it was really a transonic aircraft. A very handsome machine it had a relatively short career but equipped quite a number of units both with the Navy and the U.S. Marines. It was flawed and fell short of being a true all-weather fighter, but it had excellent manoeuvrability and an impressive rate of climb and it provided many pilots with their first experience of jet aircraft. The altogether sleeker F5D "Skylancer" was a true supersonic successor and provided a considerable advance over the "Skyray", but it fell victim to cost cutting and only a few examples were completed, some of which were used for research.
Group
Books (first-hand)
Author
Buttler, Tony
Title
Douglas F4D/F-6 Skyray & F5D Skylancer
Details
English text, paperback, many bw- and some colour photos, colour profiles by Richard J.Caruana, scale drawings, large format. 52 pages.
