page_title: Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
section_title: Variants
hierarchical_section_title: Douglas A-4 Skyhawk / Variants
caption_attribution_description: English: A Douglas A-4L Skyhawk (BuNo. 148578) of attack squadron VA-203 Blue Dolphins, stationed at Naval Air Station Jacksonville (Florida, USA), in 1970.
context_page_description: The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later by McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D under the U.S. Navy's pre-1962 designation system.
  The Skyhawk is a relatively lightweight aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds, and has a top speed of 670 miles per hour. The aircraft's five hardpoints support a variety of missiles, bombs, and other munitions. It is capable of carrying a bomb load equivalent to that of a World War II–era Boeing B-17 bomber, and can deliver nuclear weapons using a low-altitude bombing system and a "loft" delivery technique. The A-4 was originally powered by the Wright J65 turbojet engine; from the A-4E onwards, the Pratt & Whitney J52 engine was used.
  Skyhawks played key roles in the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War, and the Falklands War.
caption: Naval Reserve A-4L of VA-203
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