The Douglas A-3 Skywarrior, though something of a cult favourite, remains a largely unremarked classic of Naval Aviation. Built for nuclear weapon delivery, the A-3 made its name in Vietnam as a conventional bomber, tanker and Electronic Warfare platform. It was the largest aircraft ever regularly operated from the decks of aircraft carriers, earning it the fleet-wide nickname 'Whale'. It excelled in every mission area assigned to it and operated in the US Navy for more than four decades, from 1956 through to 1991. Fully illustrated to depict the incredible array of paint schemes and awesome size, this volume focuses on the type's Vietnam service, which saw the aircraft briefly used as a bomber over both North and South Vietnam from March 1965, before the Skywarrior proved far more valuable as a multi-role tanker (KA-3B) and tanker/tactical jammer (EKA-3B). The title includes details on all of these operations as well as more clandestine reconnaissance missions, and provides information about the men that flew them.
Über den Autor Morgan Rick
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Rick Morgan is the author of several books on Naval Aviation history (including Intruder: The Operational History of Grumman's A-6 for Schiffer in 2005) and more than 20 historical articles on the subject of Naval Aviation. Twice named 'Contributor of the Year' by the editorial staff of The Hook - The Journal of Carrier Aviation, Rick is a retired US Navy lieutenant commander with more than 2300 hours of flight time to his name, principally in EA-6B, A-4 and A-3 type aircraft. He also has more than 450 carrier-arrested landings to his name, and flew 41 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. He currently works in the aviation industry.Jim Laurier is a native of New England and lives in New Hampshire. He attended Paier School of Art in Hamden, Connecticut, from 1974-78, and since graduating with Honours, he has been working professionally in the field of Fine Art and Illustration. He has been commissioned to paint for the US Air Force and has aviation paintings on permanent display at the Pentagon.
