By Sharon Challenger.
(July 25, 2021) People along the Connecticut River were treated to an unusual event today when a Douglas F4D Skyray aircraft floated by on a barge. Its journey began in Windsor Locks where it had been housed at the New England Air Museum. Its final destination, a new home at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.
The decision to transport the aircraft by water rather than road was explained by the Intrepid Museum curator Eric Boehm, “It doesn’t get any smaller than the way it is right now. With the wings folded, it’s still 25 feet wide. You really can’t truck it all the way to New York City so the best thing to do was come 17 miles that we needed to do over the road overnight.” After it arrived at the Charter Oak Landing, the aircraft was loaded onto a barge in the Connecticut River via crane.
Boehm said the trip is expected to take around 24 -30 hours and covers 177 miles. The barge will pass along the Connecticut River, through Long Island Sound then down the East River, around the southern tip of Manhattan and up the Hudson River arriving at the museum on Tuesday morning. It will then be lifted again by crane and placed on board the Intrepid’s flight deck where it last resided 60 years ago.
Once back aboard Intrepid, the Museum’s experts will begin working to preserve the aircraft.
Interesting Skyray facts:
- The Skyray was named for its unusual wing shape which resembles a manta ray
- They were designed to be high-altitude fleet protector interceptors
- They went into operation with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in 1956
- They were designed to catch and neutralize an approaching enemy bomber flying at 500 knots
- Skyrays set many speed and time-to-climb records
- Skyrays were able to reach supersonic speeds
- The specific Skyray served in U.S. Navy Fighter Squadron 162 (VF-162)
- It deployed on Intrepid between June 1961 and March 1962 with Carrier Air Wing Six (CVW-6)
Skyray Statistics
- Length 35 feet 4 inches
- Height 13 feet
- Empty weight 16,024 pounds
- Max weight 27,116 pounds
- Top speed 722 mph
- Wingspan 33 feet 6 inches
- Ceiling 55,000 feet
- Crew 1
Armament
- 4 x 22mm Colt Mk 12 cannons
- 65 rounds per gun
- 4 x AIM-9 sidewinder air-to-air missiles
- Or 4,000 pounds of bombs, rockets, and fuel tanks
Time schedule of where & when the plane will be according to Fox News 61
West Haven: Sunday, July 25 at 11:00 p.m.
Fairfield: Monday, July 26 at 1:00 am
Stamford: Monday, July 26 at 4:00 am
Westchester: Monday, July 26 at 1 5:30 a.m.
Throgs Neck Bridge: Monday, July 26 at 6:00 a.m.
Whitestone Bridge: Monday, July 26 at 6:30 a.m.
Queensboro Bridge: Monday, July 26 at 7:30 a.m.
R.F.K. Bridge (Triborough): Monday, July 26 at 7:30 a.m.
Manhattan Bridge: Monday, July 26 at 8:00-9:00 a.m.
Brooklyn Bridge: Monday, July 26 at 9:00 a.m.
For more info: https://www.intrepidmuseum.org/Skyray
https://www.facebook.com/IntrepidMuseum/
Photo by Bill Morris.
