Check out this 3-D version of Hank Caruso's caricature of the A-3 Skywarrior "Whale" he did in '91 for the poster commemorating the last flight of the Whale. See the poster third from the bottom on this page. A friend of mine who is heavy into ceramics and knowing my love for the whale presented me with a 'surprise'.

Al Rankin
tanker@a3skywarrior.com

This watercolor is a depiction of the A-3 in action and features Ed Heinemann, the chief designer and genius behind the A-3s conception. It is available from the Association. Click here

The artist was a Marine F-18 pilot who later flew for American Airlines and now paints professionally. He has had several of his works published in aviation magazines.
Submitted by Harvey Herzog

An artist rendition of a fund raising proposal. Dig an A-3 out of the "boneyard" and sell advertising space, ala Nascar, and make the airshow circuit. Would be a crowd pleaser and we could even sell gas enroute. Created by Al Rankin with Jasc Paint Shop Pro.

Jim Sieff of Raytheon concocted this photo of 144865 in formation with itself performing an airshow takeoff.

A model of 144856 in a research configuration with the new paint job.

submitted by Jim Sieff

The center of this image is a photo of the original EKA-3B BuNo 147665 as I photographed it in the late 60s during a Tonkin Gulf cruise. The perimeter images are of a Hasagwa 1/72 scale model I just finished in an effort to replicate the original A-3 aircraft. I'm not a pro but I kind of like it.
Al Rankin

"Douglas A-3 Skywarrior" by Joe Milich of Lakewood, CO. Medium is pen & ink. Available from Joe at www.milich-arts.com

This sequence of four photos was put together into an animated loop to give you a perspective of landing on a carrier in a VAH-4 A3-B Skywarrior. The photos were taken by Frank Cogdell from his B/N seat during a landing aboard the USS  Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31). NOTE: This will take about 3 min. to download with a 56K modem and appear in a new browser window. Be patient and let it load, then it will loop continuously so you can watch it normally. Close the window when you've seen enough. Enjoy!

Another fine piece of work by Stephen Mudgett. He picked the title because it is of his dad, LCDR Frank Mudgett, at the controls of an EA-3B 'somewhere down south' in 1971. Medium is acrylic.

Carl (Dan) Tilton sent in this copy of an original that he had painted in 1965. It is a watercolor on silk and shows VQ-1's 'Peter Rabbit 5' high over Mt. Fuji, Japan.   ctilton@sbcglobal.net

Thanks to Paul Tabor, paulfreedon@earthlink.net, and his magic mouse, you can see a simulation of A-3 inflight refueling in progress. Click on the thumbnail image for the action. Hint...let it load completely and then it will repeat and loop until you stop it. Give it several minutes, depending on your internet link speed.

This is a beautiful piece of work by Stephen Mudgett, former AQ2 (F-4Js & F-14s). His father was the pilot of this VQ-1 EA-3B dipicted here about to launch. Stephen is a part time free-lance artist whose specialty is NAVAIR subjects. He would like to make prints of this work if there is sufficient interest. It would ultimately be a 28x20 print. Please contact him for details and to register your interest in this print. Contact Stephen at: stephen.mudgett@rscs.net

You can trust your tail to the crew who fly the whale, the geat big Texaco whale. B/N Harvey Herzog made this model of a VAH-8 whale tanker, slightly modified.

KA-3B model delivered to Peter Nowicki. Custom made by Giffin Aerospace Models.

Wooden model of EA-3B 'ranger 15'. Custom built for Mark Swisher. For more information click here.

Hasagawa's plastic 1/72 scale rendition of A-3B BuNo 142632 from VAH-10. Model assembled by Al Rankin, Jan. 98.

Maybe its not 'art', but I love this. This is what happens if you let a navy pilot get ahold of a USAF C-17. 'CLEAR THE DECKS !'

Artist rendition of the art of "bringing it home".
An EKA-3B of VAQ-135 Black Ravens keeps an A-4 in the
air while fuels spills from a hole in the wing. They were
attached to CVW-21 aboard the USS Hancock,
circa 72-74. This practice was not uncommon during the war
in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Smith started as a draftsman for Douglas in the 1930s
and was involved with many Douglas aircraft throughout his
career.

Artist unknown
photo courtesy of Tom Rivet ,VAP-61

Caruso's famous caricatures published on a 1989 calender
depicting the VAQ-34 'Aggressors'.

Caption reads: "The venerable Douglas ERA-3 Whale and
Vought EA-7 SLUFs simulate Soviet bombers and cruise
missiles in mock attacks to keep the Navy's fleet
responsive and electron-smart."

Caption reads: "When it first flew 40 years ago, the A-3
Skywarrior made the heavy attack concept a reality for
Naval aviation. Finally retired from operational service in
1991, the Whale leaves behind an impressive legacy of
outstanding service in many different missions.

Depicted are the A-3B, foreground, and left to right in the
background are the EA-3B, ERA-3B and KA-3B.

Caption reads: "Stress: flying at 35,000 feet over international
waters with threee armed hostile interceptors off your wing!

This photo was taken of an original painting of ERA-3B
146446 while with VAQ-33 in Misawa, Japan, 1989. The
artist was a Marine F-18 pilot who later flew for American
Airlines and now paints professionally. He has had several
of his works published in aviation magazines.

"TA-3B Cockpit"

This sketch was drawn in 1991 by NFO Lt. Bergesu who
was stationed with VQ-2 at the time.

Donated by John Branning