The Douglas A-4 impressed the US Navy when it was introduced in 1954 because it weighed only half that which many experts predicted was required to meet the Navy's carrier-based jet attack demands. Easy to fly, maintain, and repair, 2980 Skyhawks were produced in seventeen different configurations and notably did not suffer from excessive weight and its attendant performance penalties like many other US-built aircraft of the period. The Skyhawk was originally conceived as a carrier-based fighter, but as the Navy was more interested in an attack plane at the time, the A-4 filled that role instead. The 'E' model saw extensive action in Vietnam.
