After World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces and the Navy entered into a new era of aircraft development, based in part on German innovations in jet propulsion, swept-hack (and swept-for- ward) wings, and the delta wing plan form. Dr. Alexander Lippisch directed the last effort, which was used in several German aircraft designs, most notably, the Me 163, the world’s only operational rocket-propelled aircraft.
The Me 163A began powered flight testing in August 1941, and the Me 163B entered operational service—against U.S. bombers—in 1944. When production ceased in February 1945, a total of 279 Me 163s had been delivered. When airborne, the Me 163B was invulnerable to Allied fighters and bomber defenses.
After the war, a Douglas Aircraft Company design team led by the brilliant Ed Heinemann initiated design studies of a fighter-interceptor using the delta-wing concept. Douglas had produced only one previous fighter for the Navy: The F3D Skyknight all-weather fighter. (The FD Phantom [changed to FH] and F2D Banshee [F2H] were McDonnell aircraft.)
The Heinemann team’s efforts led to a combination delta/swept-back wing configuration, with no horizontal tail surfaces. Team member R. G. Smith drew the initial design (Douglas designation D-571). The Navy ordered two prototype fighters on 16 December 1948, designated XF4D-1. The requirement was for an interceptor that, with afterburner, could climb to 40,000 feet in two minutes; it had to carry a specified weapons load and be capable of operating from aircraft carriers. Maximum speed was a secondary consideration.
The first F4D prototype flew on 23 January 1951. Several technical problems were encountered, some exacerbated by the lack of a conventional tail. The aircraft also was underpowered, leading to adoption of the Pratt &. Whitney J57-P-2 and -8B engines for production aircraft. On 3 October 1953, an F4D-1 set an official world speed record when it streaked over a three-kilometer course at 752.943 miles per hour. This was the first time a carrier-type aircraft captured a world speed record. On 23 February 1955 an F4D-1 set an unofficial climb record by climbing to 10,000 feet in 56 seconds from a standing start. (This topped two previous Navy climb records to 10,000 feet set within the month by an FJ-3 Fury in 73.2 seconds and an F3H-1N Demon in 71 seconds.) In service, the aircraft was rated at a speed of Mach 0.99 at sea level and Mach 1.44 at 35,000 feet, with a ceiling of 55,000 feet. Additional development aircraft were built, with the first production aircraft completed in 1954. The first squadron deliveries, to Composite Squadron 3, were made in April 1956. Deliveries to other Navy and Marine Corps squadrons followed, with the popular name Skyray being assigned to the aircraft, fitting in with the “sky’’-series names for Douglas fighter and attack aircraft. But the F4D was known invariably as the “Ford.”
The standard F4D-1 was fitted with the AN/APG-30A fire control radar and later an Aero 13-F fire control system, plus the AN/APQ-50 radar, providing an all-weather/night capability. Four 20-mm M-12 cannon were fitted in the wings with 70 rounds per barrel. Up to 4,000 pounds of bombs, rockets, or fuel tanks could be carried on six attachment points. Generally, four folding-fin rocket pods or four Sidewinder missiles were carried for air-defense. And because they were designed as short-range interceptors, the aircraft often flew with two 300- gallon drop tanks. The aircraft’s maximum carrier catapult launch weight was 23,050 pounds.
Fords served in several Navy carrier-based and Marine Corps land-based squadrons. And Navy Fighter Squadron (All-Weather) 3, based at Naval Air Station North Island (San Diego), was assigned to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), normally composed only of Air Force fighter squadrons. The squadron was responsible for the air defense of the San Diego area against Soviet bombers attacking the United States over the polar route. Under Commander Eugene Valencia, the Navy’s third-ranking aerial ace of World War II (23 confirmed victories), VF(AW)-3 captured the top NORAD squadron awards for 1957 and 1958.
By the early 1960s the multimission F4H/F-4 Phantom was replacing the specialized fighter aircraft in Navy squadrons. The last carrier deployment of the Ford was Marine VMF(AW)-115 on board the carrier Independence (CVA-62) in 1962. The aircraft served in Naval Reserve squadrons until August 1964 and in Marine Reserve squadrons until April 1965.
Douglas produced 421 Fords, including the two prototypes. Even as the F4D-ls were entering service, Heinemann’s team was at work on an improved version, initially designated F4D-2N but soon changed to F5D-1 Skylancer. This aircraft was improved in many respects over the Ford. Douglas produced four F5D-ls (of an initial order for 19 aircraft). An XF5D-1 Skylancer reached 1,098 miles per hour (Mach 1.5) at 10,000 feet and surpassed the F4D-1 Skyray in rate of climb.
Despite similar performance, the Navy instead selected the Vought F8U/F-8 Crusader as the next generation fighter to serve alongside the Phantom. The F5D, of course, would have had superior all-weather/night performance compared to the Crusader. The surviving F4D-1 aircraft were redesignated as F-6A in 1962.
The service life of the Ford was brief, and there were many criticisms of the aircraft as well as accolades. The late Captain Jerry O’Rourke, a veteran test pilot, night fighter pilot, and author, in 1979 provided a suitable epithet for the aircraft:
In all fairness and with 20 or more years of retrospect to soften the absurdities, the Ford had some very fine characteristics and provided a wealth of experience which served so well in later years in the Phantom over Vietnam and the Sinai. The bird was rugged and the J-57 Pratt & Whitney engine was a real live brute, with a reputation for dependability and durability unparalleled even today. The big manta-ray wing was great in a high-altitude dogfight, when it could be horsed around and still provide lift at almost any altitude. The same characteristic could be used to make super- tight turns, and the tremendous power available could be used to climb like a rocket—better than any other design, U.S. or foreign—of the era.*
* Jerry O’Rourke, “The Douglas Navy F4D FORD,” American Aviation historical Society Journal (Summer 1979), pp. 130-131. See also O’Rourke, “The F4D ‘Ford’: A Better Idea?” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings (June 1986), pp. 123-126.