Douglas A-4 Skyhawk

Navy’s McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, first flown in 1954; and the Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair, first flown in 1965. The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (better known as the “Warthog”), a twin-engine aircraft first flown in 1972, became in the mid-1970s the principal close-support attack aircraft of the U.S.…

The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, entering service in 1956, sacrificed speed for ordnance-delivery capability. One of the most structurally efficient aircraft ever built, it carried the burden of U.S. Navy attacks on ground targets in North Vietnam and was often used by Israeli pilots in the Middle Eastern…

…as the F-4 Phantom, the A-4 Skyhawk, the F-15 Eagle, and the F-18 Hornet. The company also manufactured launch vehicles and cruise missiles. In 1984 it purchased Hughes Helicopters Inc. from the estate of Howard Hughes. In the 1970s the company began diversifying with the acquisition of companies engaged in…