The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk gets lost in the mix sometimes—but between 1954 and 1979, nearly 3,000 A-4s were produced, making the jet a ubiquitous Cold War staple with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
The A-4 Skyhawk was designed as a small and nimble dogfighter—the same design principles used for Soviet aircraft, making it useful as a stand-in. The aircraft people remember from the film Top Gun is ...