Designed by the famed Ed Heinemann, the Douglas F3D Skyknight was the company's first offering of a jet powered fighter for the US Navy which was intended for all-weather operation equipped with radar, a side-by-side two seat arrangement, and an escape tunnel in place of ejection seats. Like most early jets, the straight wing F3D was lacking in power and the bulky APQ-35 air interception radar also hampered its performance (and gave it the nickname "Willie the Whale"). Notwithstanding these limitations, the Skyknight saw extensive combat with the US Marine Corps during the Korean War being notewhorthy for obtaining the first jet versus jet kill during a night interception and accounting for more kills than any other USN or USMC aircraft. Long after most of its contemporaries like the Banshee and Panther had been retired, Skyknights remained in service in various secondary roles: they were used for electronic intelligence during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and also served in the Vietnam War before ultimately retiring in 1970.

First flight of the XF3D-1 prototype took place on 23 March 1948 followed by the production F3D-1 two years later. The major production version was the F3D-2 which had originally been intended to be equipped with J46 engines but reverted to the J34s. Other subvariants included the swept wing F3D-3 which was never built, the F3D-2M missile carriers, the F3D-2Q electronic warfare platforms, and the F3D-2T and -2T2 trainers. Post-1962 changes in designations were as follows: F-10A (F3D-1), F-10B (-2), and EF-10B (-2Q).