Name the smallest aircraft designed to carry a nuclear weapon.

1. Make

2. Model nomenclature/s.

3. Common name.

4. What else was unusual about the aircraft?

22 days later

Well, Doug - another one to stretch the imagination with no takers!!

Question: Do you mean an aircraft designed from the outset specifically as a weapon platform, or is it the smallest actual platform that perhaps started out with other function?

Pete

1. Cruise Missile

2. BGM-109A

3. Tomahawk

4. unmanned/multiple launch methods

The only thing smaller is the M-28 or M-29 Davy Crockett Weapon System. But I wouldn't call that an aircraft. There are/were several missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons such as the AIR-2 Genie, AIM-26 Falcon, and the AGM-62 Walleye. But the aircraft capable of carrying them are all larger than a cruise missile. I consider the cruise missile an aircraft because it has a much longer duration engine, and it has wings and files. Missiles use their propulsion system to fly and the their wings/fins are for guidance, not lift.

Pete and Timothy,

Sorry for the delay in replying-I have been offline and away due to some home yard construction.

The question wants the smallest aircraft designed from the outset to carry a nuclear weapon, not the smallest nuclear missile. Implied but not stated was that I was and am looking for the FIRST smallest aircraft designed from the outset to carry/deliver/launch a nuclear weapon. That can be only answered with the first aircraft designed to do so, although I doubt any later nuclear weapon carrying aircraft were even smaller. And, I am not looking for a contemporary drone aircraft-they have humongous wingspans, by comparison. For Timothy-Janes describes the Tomahawk cruise missile in its Missile section, not in its Aircraft section, picky, picky, picky!

I got off my older esoteric history questions kick in hopes of reviving the quizzes interest and am surprised the military aircraft aficionados haven't jumped on this one, and earlier. One correct answer is out there, somewhere. Thanks for your attempts.

Ok, I'll try again

1. Douglas

2. originally A3D, redesignated A-3

3. Skywarrior

4. Carrier Based

No Timothy,

That's a pretty large aircraft, and being carrier-based was not unusual as it has folding wings. And the C-2A Greyhound COD derived from the E-2 Hawkeye were even longer wingspans than the A-3, folding of course both for aircraft carrier duty. Please think a smaller aircraft..

my first attempt at one of your quizzes.

1. Douglas

2. A-4

3. Skyhawk

4. Carrier Based

Thank you Chris, you are most welcome for trying and basically nailing it, except for #4. Here are the answers.

1. Douglas and later McDonnell Douglas for more versions.

2. A-4, originally A4D.

3. Skyhawk.

4. Because of its small size, it did not require folding wings for aircraft carrier duty, unusual for US Navy carrier aircraft.

Conceived by Douglas's brilliant designer Ed Heinemann in 1952 as the smallest aircraft designed to carry a nuclear weapon on a one-way mission if a third world war was declared, the Skyhawk was in production for 30 years starting with pre-production models in 1954. His design came in at HALF the specified weight,

yet met or exceeded all US Navy requirements. Production A-4s' wingspans were just over 26 feet to 28 feet overall. (The Piper Cherokee 140s I learned to fly in had 30 foot wingspans, for comparison). The Skyhawk was designed also as a jet powered replacement for the Douglas AD-1 Skyraider, also known as the "Spad."

The A-4 "Heinemann's Hotrod" or "Bantam Bomber" was known by Navy pilots as the "Scooter" for the way it took off from carrier decks. I've also heard it called the "Tinkertoy" by USN maintenance personnel. After the Vought A-7 Corsair II replaced it on Navy decks, it was used by US Marine Corps pilots, who, by the way, are considered Naval aviators. The A-4 was also exported to many foreign friendly countries, some operating from land bases. The New Zealand model was the A-4K, for example, now all retired with no military fighter/attack aircraft. Two seat versions of the Skyhawk were built and even a tanker version with two huge wing-hung tanks was produced. The Singapore version was unique with having two separate canopies, the rear one behind and above the forward canopy. Many jet engine changes and upgrades kept the A-4 competitive. Final versions were the Skyhawk II and Super Skyhawk. They had a more bulged canopy for improved visibility.

Are these quizzes still of general interest?