The Douglas F3D Skyknight was a two-seat, twin-engine, carrier-based jet night fighter used by the US Navy and Marine Corps during the Korean War. A prototype of the F3D first flew on 23 March 1948, and a production plane first flew on 13 February 1950. The F3D entered US Navy and Marine Corps service early in 1951.
The F3D-2 had two engines each with 3,400-lb thrust, could reach a maximum speed of 565 mph, and was armed with four 20mm cannon.
The first F3Ds were used in Korea by US Marine Corps Night Fighter Squadron 513, VMF(N)-513, which received 12 F3D-2Ns in early November 1952. A Skyknight of VMF(N)-513 scored the first ever night-time jet vs. jet victory on 2 November 1952. F3Ds did such an excellent job escorting B-29s on night raids that no B-29s were lost to enemy action after January 1953. A total of 24 F3Ds operated in Korea during 1953, and they are credited with shooting down 6 MiG-15s that year.
