The A-4 Skyhawk is an attack aircraft originally designed to operate from United States Navy aircraft carriers. Fifty years after the type's first flight, some of the nearly 3,000 Skyhawks produced remain in service with smaller air arms around the world. The aircraft was formerly the A4D Skyhawk, and was designed by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation, later McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing.

The Skyhawk was designed by Douglas' Ed Heinemann in response to a U.S. Navy call for a jet-powered attack aircraft to replace the A-1 Skyraider. Heinemann opted for a design that would minimize size, weight, and complexity. The result was an aircraft that weighed only half of the Navy's specification and had a wing so compact that it did not need to be folded for carrier stowage. The diminutive Skyhawk soon received the nicknames "Scooter", "Bantam Bomber", "Tinker Toy Bomber", and, on account of its nimble performance, "Heinemann's Hot-Rod."

The Navy issued a contract for the type on June 12th, 1952, and the first prototype first flew on June 22nd, 1954. Deliveries to Navy and U.S. Marine Corps squadrons commenced in late 1956.

The Skyhawk remained in production until 1975, with a total of 2,960 aircraft built, including 555 two-seat trainers. The US Navy began removing the aircraft from its front-line squadrons in 1967, with the last retiring in 1975. The Marines would pass on the A-7 Corsair II. The last USMC Skyhawk was delivered in 1979, and were used until the mid-1990s until they were replaced by the similarly small, but V/STOL vertical landing AV-8 Harrier.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale USMC McDonnell Douglas A-4F Skyhawk Attack Aircraft that was attached to VMA-142 "Flying Gators", then deployed to Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida, during 1984. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 4-3/4-inches
Length: 6-3/4-inches

Release Date: April 2023

Historical Account: "Flying Gators" - During the early 70's VMA-142 flew the J-65 powered A-4L before transitioning to the newer J52-P-408 powered A-4F. The last A-4L departed in the summer of 1976. As active duty A-4 units transitioned to the AV-8B during the 80's, their A-4M's replaced reserve unit A-4F's.

The squadron converted from the A-4M Skyhawk II to the F/A-18A Hornet and was formally redesignated on December 21st, 1990, as Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 142 (VMFA-142).

In August 1997, due to the pending BRAC 93-mandated closure of NAS Cecil Field by the end of 1999, the squadron relocated to Naval Air Station Atlanta, approximately 25 miles (40 km) North of Atlanta in Marietta, Georgia. It was the second F/A-18 squadron to be transferred to NAS Atlanta, having been preceded by the Naval Air Reserve's Strike Fighter Squadron TWO ZERO THREE (VFA-203), which was also previously based at NAS Cecil Field.