"The Whale" Topic

A truly Cold War airplane.

"…The EA-3B variant was modified for electronic intelligence against the Warsaw Pact. Missions were flown around the globe beginning in 1956, with the U.S. Air Force EB-47 Stratojet flying a similar mission. The EA-3B carried a crew of seven, with flight crew of three in the cockpit and an Electronic Warfare Officer and three electronic systems operators/evaluators in the converted weapons bay. It offered unique electronic reconnaissance capabilities in numerous Cold War-era conflicts and the Vietnam War.
EA-3Bs survived long enough to participate in the first Gulf War in 1991, although the Skywarrior was out of Navy service by September 1991. For more than three decades, the 282 Skywarriors the U.S. Navy procured served effectively in many roles with the last USN Skywarriors retiring on 27 September 1991. U.S. Navy RDT&E units, notably Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) activities at NAS Point Mugu and NAWS China Lake, attempted to retain their A-3 testbeds. This plan ultimately failed when Vice Admiral Richard Dunleavy, as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare and an old A-3 bombardier/navigator himself, made the final decision to retire the type…"
From wiki.
link

Great plane.

Amicalement
Armand

Yup, I remember crawling up inside some, when I worked at Pt. Mugu.

They were dangerous to escape from, I was told that A3D stood for All 3 Dead…

Yup unlike3 the Air Force version, the B-66, the A3 had no ejector seat's.

Fatman

Glad you had enjoy it guys!.

Amicalement
Armand

Cool article.

There's also it's much sexier supersonic successor- the RA-5 Vigilante:

All back from the days when USN Carrier Air Wings were a veritable menagerie of jets in stunning markings.

Unlike today's boring all F/A-18 wings with muted markings.

"Unlike today's boring all F/A-18 wings with muted markings."

Ain't it the truth. I wept when the Aardvdarks and Sundowners deactivated.