In the 1950s, Killer Rays were lethal weapons seen strictly in science fiction movies. To an enemy intruder of U.S. airspace at the time, the sight of bat-wing Douglas Skyrays climbing into the stratosphere to attack and destroy their foe would have indeed seemed like science fiction. However, by 1955, it was scientific fact that this jet-powered delta-wing interceptor was about to become the U.S. Navy's latest lethal weapon. Author and former Navy JAG Mark Frankel has accessed a wealth of Skyray photos, artwork, engineering drawings, and related material including actual transcripts of conversations with Chief Engineer Ed Heinemann.

Covering development of the F4D Skyray from mock-up to prototype, flight testing, and operational deployment, this book brings you the inside story of how problems with the Westinghouse J40 turbojet nearly cost the F4D program and how the Pratt & Whitney J57 saved it. This book features detailed documentation of Skyray production, world speed and time-to-climb records, operational F4D units, and the advanced supersonic F5D Skylancer. The use of never-before-seen photos and artwork completes this story of the world's first carrier-based jet interceptor.