num_pages: 62
description: In the postwar period, the US Navy decided to obtain a carrier-based nuclear strike capability, with the effort leading to the twin-engine Douglas "A3D / A-3 Skywarrior" jet bomber. The A-3 was an excellent aircraft, being put to a range of uses including the reconnaissance, electronic warfare, tanker, and trainer missions, serving with distinction during the Vietnam War and later.  As a follow-on to the Skywarrior, the Navy obtained a supersonic carrier-based strategic nuclear bomber, the sleek North American A-5/RA-5 "Vigilante". It never actually saw action as a bomber, however, instead being used as a reconnaissance platform, and also serving with distinction in the Vietnam War. This document provides a history and description of the Skywwarrior and Vigilante -- as well as the North American "AJ Savage", the predecessor of the Skywarrior, and the Douglas "B-66 Destroyer", a US Air Force derivative of the Skywarrior.  revcode v1.1 / 06-18
title: The Douglas Skywarrior & North American Vigilante
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