Douglas F3D-2 Skyknight by Sword

1/72 scale
Kit No. 72094
Retail: $30.00
Decals: Four versions – One U.S. Navy, three U.S. Marine Corps
Comments: Engraved panel lines, multi-part canopy; includes paint mask for canopy

History

Entering service with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in 1951, the Douglas F3D Skyknight (redesignated the F-10 in 1962) was the world’s first jet fighter specifically designed for use as a carrier-based night fighter. Its radar equipment required a wider-than-usual fuselage, which led to its unflattering nickname, “Willie the Whale.” The Skyknight has the distinction of being the only Navy/Marine fighter to fly combat missions in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The Skyknight originated from a U.S. Navy request of Douglas Aircraft to develop a carrier-based night fighter in 1946. Specifications included twin-jet engines, side-by-side seating for a pilot and radar operator, a top speed of 500 mph (805 kph), a combat radius of 500 miles (805 kilometers), an operating altitude of 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) and an unusual escape system that allowed the crew to depart downward through the bottom of the fuselage.

The result was the straight-wing, two-seat, twin-engine Douglas F3D. It flew for the first time on March 23, 1948. The first of 28 production-model F3D-1s was delivered to the Navy in late 1950, as work began on the more powerful F3D-2. The subject of this kit, the F3D-2 flew 100 mph (161 kph) faster and had twice the range of its predecessor. It also incorporated new electronics and radar equipment, air-to-air rockets, a thicker bulletproof canopy, wing spoilers to improve the rate of roll, and an automatic pilot.

The F3D-2 entered the Korean War during the spring of 1952 with Marine Corps night fighter squadrons, escorting U.S. Air Force B-29 Superfortresses on night-time bombing raids over North Korea. B-29’s had previously been restricted to night missions due to the deadly effectiveness of the MiG-15 in countering their daytime raids. On November 2, 1952, an F3D Skyknight piloted by USMC Major Willian Stratton with Master Sergeant Hans C. Hoagland in the second seat as radar operator, shot down a Yak-15 in the first jet-on-jet aerial victory scored at night. With its straight wings, the F3D was obsolete by the end of the Korean War. But, upgraded with more sophisticated electronics, the Skyknight saw use during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.

Redesignated EF-10Bs, Skyknights of composite reconnaissance squadron VMCJ-1 accompanied bombing raids over North Vietnam and greatly reduced American aircraft losses by jamming the enemy’s radar. After the first six of the vastly more up-to-date Grumman EA-6A Electric Intruders arrived at Da Nang on Oct. 28, 1966, they initially suffered significant maintenance and readiness problems. Therefore, during 1967-68 the obsolete but reliable Skyknights conducted defensive electronic operations alongside their intended successors.

Douglas produced 268 Skyknights, including several conversions to special-duty variants. After 1953, many Skyknights were converted as trainers for radar intercept officers and for use as electronic reconnaissance and countermeasure aircraft during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. The last Skyknight was retired in 1978.

The Kit

Sword’s Douglas F3D-2 Skynight is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 81 parts on four sprues, including three clear parts for the multi-part canopy. The kit bears crisp engraved panel lines and boxed in wheel wells, along with a detailed cockpit featuring excellent raised and recessed relief on the main instrument panel, raised details on the side and center instrument consoles, and small parts providing details such as separately mounted headrests, rudder pedals, control yoke and an instrument panel hood. An insert supplementing the kit instructions explains where these small detail parts go.

There are two large, separate fairings for the Skyknight’s distinctive engines mounted low on the fuselage sides, together with intake and exhaust fans for each. The landing gear and interiors of the gear doors are above average in detail, and the kit offers a choice of wing-mounted drop tanks, one pair bearing only two integrally molded fins and the other four fins which are separately mounted. As the F3D was a night fighter, there is no other externally mounted ordnance.

Markings

The kit provides decals for four different aircraft. The first is White 106, a night fighter of VF-11 “Red Rippers,” based on the U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt CVA-42 during 1953. It is painted in a scheme of overall Gloss Sea Blue with red flashes on its wing tips, top of the vertical tail and on the fuselage. The second version, bearing the unusual number of 12 7/8 in red on its fuselage along with red code letters on its tail, is a machine of VMF(N)-513 “Flying Nightmares” based as Pohang Air Base in Korea, circa 1954. It too is painted in overall Gloss Sea Blue. While this is a Marine Corps aircraft based on its squadron designation, “Navy” is emblazoned on its wings and fuselage.

The third aircraft, Red 2, is also a Marine Corps machine attached to VMF(N)-513 “Flying Nightmares,” based at Pyungteag, Korea circa 1953, and is painted overall Night Black. The fourth aircraft, Red 23, is also a machine attached to VMF(N)-513 “Flying Nightmares,” and it too is painted overall Night Black. Interestingly, while both carry the national insignia in appropriate locations, neither of these latter two aircraft carry the word “Marines” anywhere on their airframes.

Conclusion

This is a highly detailed kit of the U.S. Navy’s first dedicated night fighter, an important but often overlooked part of the Navy’s air assets during the most critical years of the Cold War, and the only Navy combat plane to see action in both Korea and Vietnam. Highly recommended.

The Skyknight was the only U.S. Navy combat aircraft to see action in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

References

• www.boeing.com
• www.19fortyfive.com
• www.historynet.com