The Douglas EA-3B Skywarrior was born out of the need for a strategic bomber by the United States Navy and went on to be among the most versatile and long-serving aircraft in the annals of naval aviation. Conceived by Ed Heinemann, one of the finest engineers of the time, and built by Douglas Aircraft Company, the Skywarrior first took to the skies on October 28, 1952. It was officially taken into service in 1956 and continued operating until it finally retired from active duty on September 27, 1991.
Its service role would be very much different from its original purpose of carrying nuclear payloads. It would later become one of the most essential platforms for electronic warfare, tactical air reconnaissance, and high-capacity aerial refueling. This flexibility in mission and adaptation gave it one of the longest service lives of any carrier-based aircraft and earned it the nickname “The Whale” due to its huge size and substantial weight.
Aside from the F-14 Tomcat, the Skywarrior was the only U.S. The only Navy attack aircraft designed as strategic bombers to see full-scale service, the other being its predecessor, the North American AJ Savage. The carrier-based North American A-5 Vigilante briefly took over the strategic nuclear strike role in the early 1960s. However, when the strategy changed to place greater reliance on Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines and the aircraft carriers were removed from the SIOP roster, the Vigilante’s mission was reconstituted to carrier-based tactical air reconnaissance.
Perhaps the best-known Skywarrior derivative, the B-66 Destroyer served for some period as a tactical bomber, an electronic warfare aircraft, and as a reconnaissance platform for the U.S. Air Force into the early 1970s.
In the Vietnam War, the EA-3 variant undertook highly important ELINT missions from both aircraft carriers and land bases. A complement to the larger Lockheed EP-3, it continued in ELINT service into Desert Storm. The EA-3B variant was specially adapted for electronic intelligence against the Warsaw Pact; it started flying sorties over most parts of the world in 1956. It carried seven: three flight crew members and four specialists in electronic warfare. It provided a peculiar reconnaissance capability during the Cold War and the Vietnam War.
Perhaps the most remarkable mission to have taken place with this aircraft was probably in mid-May 1967 when Operation Rolling Thunder was undertaken. Lieutenant Commander Don Alberg was flying a KA-3 Skywarrior tanker; the flight was for some very difficult aerial refueling – underlining the versatility of both the aircraft and its crew. The Alberg Skywarrior refueled two F-8 Crusaders while simultaneously being refueled by a USAF KC-135 Stratotanker. This very complex aerial ballet done within sight of the enemy coastline showcased more than ever how much aerial refueling meant to sustain combat operations.
Working around the mission’s challenges- mechanical issues of the rescue helicopters and the urgent need for the Skywarrior crews were able to keep the F-8s airborne until they could return to their carrier. The crew of the KC-135, which had initially faced court-martial for abandoning their post, later received the Distinguished Flying Cross for saving lives.
The 1991 retirement of the Douglas EA-3B Skywarrior brought to a close a long era of this very capable platform, updated and converted to numerous missions over almost four decades. Its legacy as one of the most versatile and reliable aircraft in the air stands in continued testimony to the ingenuity and dedication of its designers and operators.