Nicknamed "The Whale" due to its enormous size and weight, the Navy's A-3 Skywarrior was one of the longest serving, carrier-based jet aircraft. Designed by famed Douglas engineer Ed Heinemann, the A-3 featured a 36° swept wing, semi-monocoque fuselage, and two J57 turbojets in underwing nacelles. It typically carried a crew of three in a frame canopy with the pilot and bombardier/navigator sitting side by side. The A-3 was an outgrowth of a development program that dated to 1948 and was intended to serve as a strategic bomber. The prototype XA3D-1 first flew in 1952. Production problems pushed back introduction of the first A3D-1 aircraft to 1956, and 282 left the assembly line by the time production ceased in 1961. By that time the aircraft's role as a nuclear delivery platform had been handed off to the A3J Vigilante. Skywarriors served in Vietnam as conventional bombers and in other capacities including as an electronic warfare platform (designated EA-3B), as tactical reconnaissance and photography platform (RA-3B), and as a refueling aircraft (KA-3B). The EA-3B also performed critical functions for the fleet as electronic intelligence gathering platforms, and could carry a crew of up to seven. EA-3Bs participated in the Gulf War in 1991 before being retired by the Navy.

Originally created in 1968 and revised in 1970, this Skywarrior instruction manual was standard issue for Navy pilots and crews, and features the A-3A / A-3B aircraft. In its pages you will find a description of the aircraft, performance data, and normal and emergency operations procedures. Originally "restricted", this manual was declassified years ago and is here reprinted in book form, in its entirety.