Tag Archives: Wright J65-W-2

15 October 1955

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Lieutenant Gordon L. Gray, Jr., United States Navy, with record-setting Douglas YA4D-1 Skyhawk, Bu. No. 137820, at Edwards Air Force Base, 15 October 1955. (Navy Pilot Overseas)
Lieutenant Gordon L. Gray, Jr., United States Navy, with record-setting Douglas YA4D-1 Skyhawk, Bu. No. 137820, at Edwards Air Force Base, 15 October 1955. (Navy Pilot Overseas)

15 October 1955: At Edwards Air Force Base, California, Lieutenant Gordon L. (“Gordo”) Gray, Jr., United States Navy, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record For Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 500 Kilometers when he flew a pre-production Douglas Aircraft Company YA4D-1 Skyhawk light attack bomber, Bureau of Aeronautics serial number (Bu. No.) 137820, to an average speed of 1,118.7 kilometers per hour (695.128 miles per hour).¹

Douglas Aircraft Company YA4D-1 Skyhawk, Bu. No. 137820. (Navy Pilot Overseas)
Douglas Aircraft Company YA4D-1 Skyhawk, Bu. No. 137820. (Navy Pilot Overseas)

The Douglas A4D-1 Skyhawk is a single-place, single-engine, delta-winged light attack bomber designed for operation from aircraft carriers. It is 39 feet, 4 inches (11.989 meters) long with a wingspan of 27 feet, 6 inches (8.382 meters) and overall height of 15 feet (4.572 meters). Its empty weight is 8,400 pounds (3,810.2 kilograms). It was powered by a Curtiss-Wright J65-W-2, a licensed-production version of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire axial flow turbojet engine, which had a 13-stage compressor and 2-stage turbine. It produced 7,200 pounds of thrust (32.03 kilonewtons).

The A4D was in production from 1956 to 1979. 2,960 one- and two-place aircraft were built. The Skyhawk remained in service with the United States Navy until 2003.

Lieutenant Gordon L. Gray, Jr., U.S. Navy (thrid from left) with the Douglas Aircraft Company A4D team at Edwards AFB, California, 15 October 1955. (Navy Pilot Overseas)
Lieutenant Gordon L. Gray, Jr., U.S. Navy (third from left) with the Douglas Aircraft Company YA4D-1 Skyhawk team at Edwards AFB, California, 15 October 1955. (Navy Pilot Overseas)

¹ FAI Record File Number 8859

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes