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-4M Skyhawk attack aircraft that was attached to VMA-131 "Diamondbacks", then deployed to NASJRB Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, during 1993. Pre-order! Ship Date: September 2024.

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

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "Diamondbacks" - Marine Attack Squadron 131 (VMA-131) was an A-4 Skyhawk attack squadron in the United States Marine Corps. The squadron, also known as the "Diamondbacks", were part of the Marine Forces Reserve and were based at Naval Air Station New York, Brooklyn, New York from 1960 through 1970 and NASJRB Willow Grove from 1971 until their deactivation in 1998.

On April 15th, 1958, VMF-131 was recommissioned as part of the Marine Air Reserve. The squadron was based out of Naval Air Station New York, Brooklyn, New York and flew the North American FJ-4 Fury. On July 1st, 1962, the squadron's designation was changed to VMA-131 when it transitioned to the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. VMA-131 remained at NAS New York until 1970 when it moved to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove, Pennsylvania until 1998.