<article><hdr>Airborne shot of B-66 Destroyer</hdr><body>
<hi style=afpcap>The Douglas Aircraft Company adapted the Naval A-3 Skywarrior for the US Air Force as the B-66 Destroyer to perform tactical light bombing and reconnaissance. No prototype was constructed, and tests of early development examples soon showed the need for extensive modification work. The B-66 was the only version of the Destroyer which was purely a tactical bomber. Weaponry varied, but included both conventional and nuclear munitions. The RB-66 was designed for all-weather night photographic duties, with many serving in Europe where the Destroyer was ideally suited to monitor activities behind the Iron Curtain. The final version was the WB-66D which performed electronic weather reconnaissance. All versions of the B-66 had been withdrawn from service by the mid '60s, although the ruggedness of the airframe lead to a secondary role with RB-66s being converted to EB-66 electronic jamming and countermeasures aircraft for service in Vietnam.</hi>
