F3D Skyknight: This Navy Warbird Made History Over Korea

April 4, 2025

The Skyknight was designed in response to a 1945 USN requirement for a jet-powered, radar-equipped, carrier-based night fighter.

When one thinks of the famous American jet fighter planes of the Korean War, the first such warbirds that come to mind are most likely the F-80/P-80 Shooting Star, the F9F Panther, and the iconic F-86 Sabre.

However, there was another U.S. fighter plane that served in the Korean conflict that wasn’t nearly as famous as the aforementioned trio but nonetheless made history in its own right. Accordingly, The National Interest now takes a look at the Douglas F3D (later EF-10B) Skyknight.

F3D Skyknight Initial History and Specifications

Built by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation—most famous for building the game-changing SBD Dauntless dive bomber of World War II, the A-4 Skyhawk that served in the Vietnam War and the Falklands War, and the A-1 Skyraider ground attack plane that served in Korea and Vietnam—the Skyknight made its maiden flight on March 23, 1948. It entered into official operational service with the Navy in 1951 and with the Marine Corps shortly thereafter.

The Skyknight was designed in response to a 1945 USN requirement for a jet-powered, radar-equipped, carrier-based night fighter. The warbird had the following tech specs and vital stats:

Crew: Two
Fuselage Length: 45 ft 5 in (13.84 m))
Wingspan: 50 ft (15.24 m) with wings spread; 26 ft 10 in (8.18 m) with wings folded
Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m) with wings spread; 16 ft 6 in (5.03 m) wings folded
Empty Weight: 14,989 lbs. (6,799 kgs)
Gross Weight: 23,575 lbs. (10,693 kgs)
Max Takeoff Weight: 26,731 lbs. (12,125 kgs)
Powerplant: Two Westinghouse J34-WE-36 turbojet engines generating 3,400 lbf (15 kN) thrust each
Max Airspeed: Mach 0.69 (460 knots, 530 mph, 850 km/h)
Combat Range: 995 nautical miles (1,145 statute miles, 1,843 km)
Ferry Range: 1,195 nautical miles (1,375 statute miles, 2,213 km)
Service Ceiling: 36,700 ft (11,200 m)
Armament:
- Guns: Four 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano-Suiza M2 cannon with 200 rounds per gun
- Bombs: Two 2,000-lb. (910 kg) bombs
- Missiles:
  - Four Sparrow I air-to-air missiles (F3D-2M; more on this below)
  - Four 11.75 in (298 mm) Tiny Tim air-to-ground missiles

A total of 265 airframes were built.

Operational History and Performance

The Skyknight ended up making air combat history several times over during the Korean War:

The first successful night radar interception by a jet of another jet; this transpired on November 2, 1952, when U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Major William T. Stratton Jr., and his radar operator, Master Sergeant Hans C. Hoglind of VMF(N)-513 Flying Nightmares, shot down what was believed to be Yakovlev Yak-15.
Five days later, another Skyknight under the command of Marine Captain O.R. Davis with radar operator Warrant Officer D.F. “Ding” Fessler shot down a MiG-15.
On December 10, 1952, USMC pilot Lt. Joseph Corvi and his radar operator, Sergeant Dan George, downed the first aircraft by an aircraft with a radar track and lock-on and without visual contact; their victim was a Polikarpov Po-2 biplane.

All in all, the Skyknights killed more enemy aircraft in the Korean conflict than any other U.S. Navy/USMC warplane. In turn, the platform suffered only one air-to-air combat loss, at the hands of a Chinese MiG-15 pilot on May 29, 1953.

In 1954 (the year after the Korean War was frozen via the signing of the armistice), the F3D-2M variant of the Skyknight became the first Navy jet aircraft to be fitted with an operational air-to-air missile, the AIM-7 Sparrow. In the late 1950s, a number of Marine F3D-2s were reconfigured as electronic warfare aircraft and were accordingly redesignated F3D-2Q and later the EF-10B. The Marines used them for that purpose in the Vietnam War up until 1969, thus making history yet again as the only Korean War jet fighter that also flew in Vietnam.

Where Are the Skyknights Now?

The USMC retired the last of its EF-10Bs in May 1970.

Nine Skyknights survive today at museums and memorial parks throughout the United States. I can personally vouch for two of those museums, namely:

The National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola, Florida, which hosts an F3D-2 bearing Navy Bureau No. (BuNo) 124598.
The National Museum of the Marine Corps, in Quantico, Virginia, which hosts an F3D-2Q bearing BuNo 124618.

About the Author: Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.