The AD-4W was a three-seat airborne early warning version of the AD-4. 158 were built. The AD-4W carried a crew of three--a pilot underneath a transparent canopy, plus two observers seated side-by-side below and behind the cockpit. The two observers entered the aircraft via doors in either side of the fuselage adjacent to the wing trailing edge.
The radar was the S-band (today's E/F band) AN/APS-20A, which was improved over that which was installed in the AD-3W. Its maximum output was 1 megawatt, and it had an elliptical dish antenna rotating inside a bulbous fiberglass radome located underneath the fuselage. The radome was a source of considerable structural problems and often vibrated severely, affecting the success of the early-warning mission.
Fifty AD-4Ws were transferred to the Royal Navy as Skyraider AEW 1s. Those remaining in service with the US Navy were adapted to the search role in anti-submarine warfare.
Specification of Douglas AD-4W Skyraider
Engine: One Wright R-3350-26WA Duplex Cyclone 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, rated at 2700 hp for takeoff
and 2100 hp at 14,500 feet.
Performance: Maximum speed 350 mph at 18,300 feet,
26,000 feet service ceiling, Maximum range 1100 nautical miles
Weights: 12,600 pounds empty, 17,500 pounds normal loaded, 24,000 pounds maximum.
Dimensions: Wingspan 50 feet 0 1/4 inches, length 38 feet 2 inches, height 12 feet,
wing area 400.33 square feet.
Armament: Two 20-mm cannon in the wing.
Serial Numbers of Douglas AD-4W Skyraider
124076/124127 Douglas AD-4W Skyraider c/n7382/7433 124761/124777 Douglas AD-4W Skyraider c/n7571/7587 125765/125782 Douglas AD-4W Skyraider c/n 7658/7675 126836/126875 Douglas AD-4W Skyraider c/n 7819/7858 127921/127961 Douglas AD-4W Skyraider c/n 7936/7976
Sources:
-
Douglas A-1 Skyraider, Robert F. Dorr, Osprey, 1989
-
McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920, Vol 1, Rene J. Francillon, Naval Institute
Press, 1988
- American Combat Planes, 3rd Edition, Ray Wagner, Doubleday, 1982.
