Douglas A3D Skywarrior

The Douglas A3D (later A-3) Skywarrior was a twin-jet carrier-based strategic bomber developed for the U.S. Navy in the early 1950s to deliver nuclear weapons from aircraft carriers. First flown on October 28, 1952, it entered service in 1956 and was, for years, the heaviest aircraft ever to operate routinely from carrier decks, earning the nickname The Whale. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojets and crewed by three, it carried its bomb load internally.

As the nuclear-strike role passed to missiles, the versatile Skywarrior was adapted into electronic warfare (EA-3B), aerial reconnaissance (RA-3B), and aerial tanker (KA-3B) variants. It saw extensive service during the Vietnam War, particularly as a tanker and electronic intelligence platform, and remained in fleet service into the early 1990s.