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The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the
Jet Age The Jet Age is a period in the history of aviation defined by the advent of aircraft powered by jet turbine engines, and by the social change this brought about. Jet airliners were able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older pisto ...
(when most piston-engine attack or fighter aircraft were replaced by Jet aircraft); thus becoming known by some as an " anachronism". The aircraft was nicknamed "Spad", after the French World War I fighter. It was operated by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
(USN), the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
(USMC), and the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
(USAF), and also saw service with the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, the French Air Force, the
Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...
(RVNAF), and others. It remained in U.S. service until the early 1970s. The jet powered
A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic ...
was based on specifications for a modernized Skyraider with a heavy payload and good endurance.


Design and development

The piston-engined, propeller-driven Skyraider was designed during World War II to meet United States Navy requirements for a carrier-based, single-seat, long-range, high performance dive/
torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
, to follow on from earlier aircraft such as the
Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/di ...
, the
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver is a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few surviv ...
and the
Grumman TBF Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...
. Designed by
Ed Heinemann Edward Henry Heinemann (March 14, 1908 – November 26, 1991) was a military aircraft designer for the Douglas Aircraft Company. Biography Heinemann was born in Saginaw, Michigan. He moved to California as a boy and was raised in Los Angeles. A ...
of the Douglas Aircraft Company, prototypes were ordered on 6 July 1944 as the ''XBT2D-1''. The XBT2D-1 made its first flight on 18 March 1945, and the USN began evaluation of the aircraft at the Naval Air Test Center (NATC) in April 1945.Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p. 176. In December 1946, after a designation change to ''AD-1'', delivery of the first production aircraft to a fleet squadron was made to VA-19A.Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p. 177. The AD-1 was built at Douglas's El Segundo plant in Southern California. In his memoir ''The Lonely Sky'', test pilot
Bill Bridgeman William Barton Bridgeman (June 25, 1916 – September 29, 1968) was an American test pilot who broke aviation records while working for the Douglas Aircraft Company, testing experimental aircraft. In July 1951, the United States Navy announced t ...
described the routine yet sometimes hazardous work of certifying AD-1s fresh off the assembly line at a rate of two aircraft per day for delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1949 and 1950. The low-wing monoplane design started with a
Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone is an American twin-row, supercharged, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine with 18 cylinders displacing nearly . Power ranged from 2,200 to over 3,700 hp (1,640 to 2,760 kW), depending on the model. ...
radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...
which was later upgraded several times. The aircraft had distinctive large straight wings with seven hardpoints apiece. The Skyraider had excellent maneuverability at low speed, and carried a large amount of
ordnance Ordnance may refer to: Military and defense *Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. **The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Unit ...
over a considerable combat radius. It had a long loiter time for its size, compared to much heavier subsonic or supersonic jets. The aircraft was optimized for ground attack and was armored against ground fire in key locations, unlike faster fighters adapted to carry bombs, such as the
Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...
or
North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
, which were retired by U.S. forces before the 1960s. Shortly after Heinemann began designing the XBT2D-1, a study was issued showing that for every of weight reduction, the takeoff run was decreased by , the combat radius increased by and the rate-of-climb increased by . Heinemann immediately had his design engineers begin a program for finding weight savings on the XBT2D-1 design, no matter how small. Simplifying the fuel system resulted in a reduction of ; by eliminating an internal bomb bay and hanging external stores from the wings or fuselage; by using a fuselage dive brake; and by using an older tailwheel design. In the end, Heinemann and his design engineers achieved more than of weight reduction on the original XBT2D-1 design. The Navy AD series was initially painted in ANA 623 glossy sea blue, but during the 1950s, following the Korean War, the color scheme was changed to light gull grey and white (Fed Std 595 27875). Initially using the gray and white Navy scheme, by 1967 the USAF began to paint its Skyraiders in a camouflaged pattern using two shades of green, and one of tan. Used by the US Navy over Korea and Vietnam, the A-1 was a primary close air support aircraft for the USAF and RVNAF during the Vietnam War. The A-1 was famous for being able to take hits and keep flying thanks to armor plating around the cockpit area for pilot protection. It was replaced beginning in the mid-1960s by the
Grumman A-6 Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 r ...
as the Navy's primary medium-attack plane in
supercarrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a n ...
-based air wings; however Skyraiders continued to operate from the smaller
Essex-class aircraft carrier The ''Essex'' class was a class of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. The 20th century's most numerous class of capital ship, the class consisted of 24 vessels, which came in "short-hull" and "long-hull" versions. Thirty-two ships wer ...
s. The Skyraider went through seven versions, starting with the ''AD-1'', then ''AD-2'' and ''AD-3'' with various minor improvements, then the ''AD-4'' with a more powerful ''R-3350-26WA'' engine. The ''AD-5'' was significantly widened, allowing two crew to sit side-by-side (this was not the first multiple-crew variant, the ''AD-1Q'' being a two-seater and the ''AD-3N'' a three-seater); it also came in a four-seat night-attack version, the ''AD-5N''. The ''AD-6'' was an improved AD-4B with improved low-level bombing equipment, and the final production version ''AD-7'' was upgraded to an ''R-3350-26WB'' engine. For service in Vietnam, USAF Skyraiders were fitted with the Stanley Yankee extraction system, which acted in a similar manner to an ejection seat, though with twin rockets extracting the pilot from the cockpit. In addition to serving during Korea and Vietnam as an attack aircraft, the Skyraider was modified to serve as a carrier-based airborne early warning aircraft, replacing the
Grumman TBM-3W Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...
. It fulfilled this function in the USN and
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, being replaced by the
Grumman E-1 Tracer The Grumman E-1 Tracer was the first purpose-built airborne early warning aircraft used by the United States Navy. It was a derivative of the Grumman C-1 Trader and entered service in 1958. It was replaced by the more modern Grumman E-2 Hawke ...
and
Fairey Gannet The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed for the Royal Navy, being the first fixed-wing aircraft to combine both the search an ...
, respectively, in those services. Skyraider production ended in 1957 with a total of 3,180 having been built. In 1962, the existing Skyraiders were redesignated ''A-1D'' through ''A-1J'' and later used by both the
USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
and the
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
in the Vietnam War.


Operational history


Korean War

The Skyraider was produced too late for use in World War II, but became the backbone of United States Navy aircraft carrier and United States Marine Corps strike aircraft sorties in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
(1950–1953), with the first ADs going into action from with VA-55 on 3 July 1950. Its weapons load and 10-hour flying time far surpassed the jets that were available at the time.Johnson, E.R. "Able Dog." ''Aviation History'', September 2008. On 2 May 1951, Skyraiders made the only aerial torpedo attack of the war, hitting the
Hwacheon Dam Hwacheon Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the North Han (Pukhan) River in Hwacheon County, Gangwon-do Province, South Korea. The dam was completed in 1944 as a primary source of electricity in southern Korea. It was the focal point of a raid d ...
, then controlled by North Korea. On 16 June 1953, a USMC AD-4 from VMC-1 piloted by Major George H. Linnemeier and CWO Vernon S. Kramer shot down a Soviet-built
Polikarpov Po-2 The Polikarpov Po-2 (also U-2, for its initial ''uchebnyy'', 'training', role as a flight instruction aircraft) served as an all-weather multirole Soviet biplane, nicknamed ''Kukuruznik'' (russian: Кукурузник,Gunston 1995, p. 292. NA ...
biplane, the only documented Skyraider air victory of the war.Grossnick and Armstrong 1997 AD-3N and -4N aircraft carrying bombs and flares, flew night-attack sorties, and radar-equipped ADs carried out radar-jamming missions from carriers and land bases. During the Korean War, AD Skyraiders were flown by only the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, and were normally painted in dark navy blue. It was called the "Blue Plane" by enemy troops. Marine Corps Skyraiders suffered heavy losses when used in low-level close-support missions. To allow low-level operations to continue without unacceptable losses, a package of additional armor was fitted, consisting of thick external aluminum armor plates fitted to the underside and sides of the aircraft's fuselage. The armor package weighed a total of and had little effect on performance or handling. A total of 128 Navy and Marine AD Skyraiders were lost in the Korean War – 101 in combat and 27 to operational causes. Most operational losses were due to the tremendous power of the AD: ADs that were "waved-off" during carrier recovery operations were prone to performing a fatal torque roll into the sea or the deck of the aircraft carrier if the pilot mistakenly gave the AD too much throttle. The torque of the engine was so great that it would cause the aircraft to rotate about the propeller and slam into the sea or the carrier.


Cathay Pacific VR-HEU incident

On 26 July 1954, two Douglas Skyraiders from the aircraft carriers and shot down two
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
PLAAF The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the P ...
Lavochkin fighters off the coast of
Hainan Island Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly ...
while searching for survivors after the shooting down of a Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 Skymaster airliner three days previously.


Vietnam War

As American involvement in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
began, the A-1 Skyraider was still the medium attack aircraft in many
carrier air wing A carrier air wing (abbreviated CVW) is an operational naval aviation organization composed of several aircraft squadrons and detachments of various types of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. Organized, equipped and trained to conduct mo ...
s, although it was planned to be replaced by the A-6A Intruder as part of the general switch to jet aircraft. Skyraiders from and participated in the first U.S. Navy strikes against
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
on 5 August 1964 as part of Operation Pierce Arrow in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, striking against fuel depots at
Vinh Vinh () is the biggest city and economic and cultural center of north-central Vietnam. Vinh is the capital of Nghệ An Province, and is a key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The city is ...
, with one Skyraider from ''Ticonderoga'' damaged by anti-aircraft fire, and a second from ''Constellation'' shot down, killing its pilot, Lieutenant Richard Sather.Dorr ''Air Enthusiast'' 1988, p. 3.Dorr and Bishop 1996, pp. 34–35.


Shoot-downs

During the war, U.S. Navy Skyraiders used their cannon to shoot down two
Vietnam People's Air Force The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF, ), formally refers itself as the Air Defence - Air Force (ADAF, ) or the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF, ), is the aerial warfare service branch of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese ...
(VPAF)
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 ...
jet fighters. The first, on 20 June 1965 by
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
Clinton B. Johnson and
LTJG Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...
Charles W. Hartman III of VA-25, was the first gun kill of the Vietnam War. The other was on 9 October 1966 by LTJG William T. Patton of VA-176.


Tactical operators

As they were released from U.S. Navy service, Skyraiders were introduced into the
Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...
(RVNAF). Skyraiders were also used by the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
, specifically Special Operations elements of the Tactical Air Command, for search and rescue air cover. They were also used by the USAF to perform one of the Skyraider's most famous roles — the "Sandy" helicopter escort on combat rescues."Douglas A-1H and A-1J"
, National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 30 December 2007.
"Rescue in Vietnam."
''National Museum of the United States Air Force.'' Retrieved: 30 December 2007.
On 10 March 1966, USAF Major Bernard F. Fisher flew an A-1E mission and was awarded the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
for rescuing Major "Jump" Myers at A Shau Special Forces Camp."Medal of Honor Citations: Vietnam War Medal of Honor Recipients (A-L)."
''U.S. Army Center of Military History'', 16 July 2007. Retrieved: 23 December 2007.
USAF
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
William A. Jones III piloted an A-1H on 1 September 1968 mission for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. In that mission, despite damage to his aircraft and suffering serious burns, he returned to his base and reported the position of a downed U.S. airman. After November 1972, all A-1s in U.S. service in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
were transferred to the RVNAF. The Skyraider in Vietnam pioneered the concept of tough, survivable aircraft with long loiter times and large ordnance loads. The USAF lost 201 Skyraiders to all causes in Southeast Asia, while the Navy lost 65 to all causes. Of the 266 lost A-1s, five were shot down by Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs), and three were shot down in air-to-air combat; two by VPAF MiG-17s.


Losses

On 5 August 1964, the first A-1E Skyraider was shot down during Operation Pierce Arrow. The pilot, Lt. (jg) Richard Sather, was the first Navy pilot killed in the war. On the night of 29 August 1964, the second A-1E Skyraider was shot down and the pilot killed near Bien Hoa Air Base; it was flown by Capt. Richard D. Goss from the 1st Air Commando Squadron, 34th Tactical Group. The third A-1 was shot down on 31 March 1965 piloted by Lt. (jg) Gerald W. McKinley from the on a bombing run over North Vietnam. He was reported missing, presumed dead. While on his first mission, Navy pilot Lt. (jg) Dieter Dengler took damage to his A-1H over Vietnam on 1 February 1966, and crash-landed in Laos.Dengler 1979
Col. Oscar Mauterer ejected from his A-1 after taking heavy enemy fire while providing cover for a damaged friendly aircraft on February 15, 1966. Radio reports confirmed Mauterer had a good chute, but was captured by enemy forces. Mauterer is still POW/MIA status.
The next A-1 was shot down on 29 April 1966, and Pilot Capt. Grant N. Tabor, was lost on 19 April 1967; both were from the 602 Air Commando Squadron. A Skyraider from Navy Squadron VA-25 on a ferry flight from
Naval Air Station Cubi Point U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point was a United States Navy aerial facility located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay and abutting the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. When the base closed, the air station became the Subic Bay International ...
(Philippines) to was lost to two Chinese MiG-17s on 14 February 1968: Lieutenant (j.g.) Joseph P. Dunn, USN flew too close to the Chinese island of
Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
and was intercepted. Lieutenant Dunn's A-1H Skyraider 134499 (Canasta 404) was the last Navy A-1 lost in the war. He was observed to survive the ejection and deploy his raft, but was never found. Initially listed as missing in action, he is now listed as killed in action and posthumously promoted to the rank of Commander. Shortly thereafter, A-1 Skyraider naval squadrons transitioned to the A-6 Intruder,
A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design w ...
or
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed a ...
. The U.S. Air Force used the naval A-1 Skyraider for the first time in Vietnam. As the Vietnam War progressed, USAF A-1s were painted in
camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
, while USN A-1 Skyraiders were gray/white in color in contrast to the Korean War, when A-1s were painted dark blue. In October 1965, to highlight the dropping of the six millionth pound of ordnance, Commander Clarence J. Stoddard of VA-25, flying an A-1H, dropped a special, one-time-only object in addition to his other munitions – a toilet.Johnson, Captain Clint
"VA-25's Toilet Bomb."
''USS Midway.'' Retrieved: 24 March 2011.


Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...

The A-1 Skyraider was the close air support workhorse of the RVNAF for much of the Vietnam War. The U.S. Navy began to transfer some of its Skyraiders to the RVNAF in September 1960, replacing the RVNAF's older Grumman F8F Bearcats. By 1962 the RVNAF had 22 of the aircraft in its inventory, and by 1968 an additional 131 aircraft had been received. Initially Navy aviators and crews were responsible for training their South Vietnamese counterparts on the aircraft, but over time responsibility was gradually transferred to the USAF. The initial trainees were selected from among RVNAF Bearcat pilots who had accumulated 800 to 1200 hours flying time. They were trained at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and then sent to
NAS Lemoore Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore is a United States Navy base, located in Kings County and Fresno County, California, United States. Lemoore Station, a census-designated place, is located inside the base's borders. NAS Lemoore is the Na ...
, California for further training. Navy pilots and crews in Vietnam checked out the Skyraiders that were being transferred to the RVNAF, and conducted courses for RVNAF ground crews. Over the course of the war, the RVNAF acquired a total of 308 Skyraiders, and was operating six A-1 squadrons by the end of 1965. These were reduced during the period of
Vietnamization Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same t ...
from 1968 to 1972, as the U.S. began to supply the South Vietnamese with more modern close air support aircraft, such as the
A-37 Dragonfly The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, or Super Tweet, is an American light attack aircraft developed from the T-37 Tweet basic trainer in the 1960s and 1970s by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. The A-37 was introduced during the Vietnam War and remained in pe ...
and
Northrop F-5 The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and t ...
, and at the beginning of 1968, only three of its squadrons were flying A-1s. As the U.S. ended its direct involvement in the war, it transferred the remainder of its Skyraiders to the South Vietnamese, and by 1973, all remaining Skyraiders in U.S. inventories had been turned over to the RVNAF. Unlike their American counterparts, whose combat tours were generally limited to 12 months, individual South Vietnamese Skyraider pilots ran up many thousands of combat hours in the A-1, and many senior RVNAF pilots were extremely skilled in the operation of the aircraft.


United Kingdom

The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
acquired 50 AD-4W early warning aircraft in 1951 through the
Military Assistance Program The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Eu ...
. All Skyraider AEW.1s were operated by
849 Naval Air Squadron 849 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the Fleet Air Arm, the Air Arm of the British Royal Navy. It was formed during the Second World War as a carrier based torpedo-bomber, unit, flying missions against Japanese targets in the Far East. Its ...
, which provided four-plane detachments for the British carriers. Flights from and took part in the Suez Crisis in 1956.
778 Naval Air Squadron 778 Naval Air Squadron (778 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. History During the Second World War the squadron was a Service Trials Unit (STU) initially based at RNAS Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, England before movin ...
was responsible for the training of the Skyraider crews at
RNAS Culdrose Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS ''Seahawk''; ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall UK, and is one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe. Its main role is serv ...
until July 1952.Baugher. Joe
"Service of AD Skyraider with Fleet Air Arm."
''Douglas AD/A-1 Skyraider'', 18 October 2001. Retrieved: 7 October 2009.
In 1960, the Fairey Gannet AEW.3 replaced the Skyraiders, using the
AN/APS-20 The AN/APS-20 was an airborne early warning, anti-submarine, maritime surveillance and weather radar developed in the United States in the 1940s. Entering service in 1945, it served for nearly half a century, finally being retired in 1991. Initi ...
radar of the Douglas aircraft. The last British Skyraiders were retired in 1962. In the late 1960s, the AN/APS-20 radars from the Skyraiders were installed in Avro Shackleton AEW.2s of the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
which were finally retired in 1991.


Sweden

Fourteen ex-British AEW.1 Skyraiders were sold to Sweden to be used by Svensk Flygtjänst AB between 1962 and 1976. All military equipment was removed and the aircraft were used as
target tug A target tug is an aircraft which tows an unmanned drone, a fabric drogue or other kind of target, for the purposes of gun or missile target practice. Target tugs are often conversions of transport and utility aircraft, as well as obsolescent com ...
s supporting the
Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...
.


France

The French Air Force bought 20 ex-USN AD-4s as well as 88 ex-USN AD-4Ns and five ex-USN AD-4NAs with the former three-seaters modified as single-seat aircraft with removal of the radar equipment and the two operator stations from the rear fuselage. The AD-4N/NAs were initially acquired in 1956 to replace aging Republic P-47 Thunderbolts in Algeria.Francillon 1979, p. 403. The Skyraiders were first ordered in 1956 and the first was handed over to the French Air Force on 6 February 1958 after being overhauled and fitted with some French equipment by Sud-Aviation. The aircraft were used until the end of the Algerian war. The aircraft were used by the 20e ''Escadre de Chasse'' (EC 1/20 "Aures Nementcha", EC 2/20 "Ouarsenis" and EC 3/20 "Oranie") and EC 21 in the close air support role armed with rockets, bombs and
napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated alu ...
. The Skyraiders had only a short career in Algeria, but they nonetheless proved to be the most successful of all the ad hoc
counter-insurgency aircraft Counter-insurgency aircraft or COIN aircraft are a specialized variety of military light attack aircraft, designed for counter-insurgency operations, armed reconnaissance, air escort of ground forces, and ground support against "low-intensity en ...
deployed by the French. The Skyraider remained in limited French service until the 1970s. They were heavily involved in the civil war in Chad, at first with the ''Armée de l'Air'', and later with a nominally independent Chadian Air Force staffed by French mercenaries. The aircraft also operated under the French flag in Djibouti and on the island of Madagascar. When France at last relinquished the Skyraiders it passed the survivors on to allied states, including Gabon, Chad,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
and the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
.Francillon 1979, pp. 403–404. (Several aircraft from Gabon and Chad were recovered by French warbird enthusiasts and entered on the French civil register.) The French frequently used the aft station to carry maintenance personnel, spare parts and supplies to forward bases. In Chad they even used the aft station for a "bombardier" and his "special stores" – empty beer bottles – as these were considered as
non-lethal weapon Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventiona ...
s, thus not breaking the government-imposed rules of engagement, during operations against Libyan-supported rebels in the late 1960s and early 1970s.


Variants

;XBT2D-1: Single-seat dive-bomber, torpedo-bomber prototype for the U.S. Navy ;XBT2D-1N: Three-seat night attack prototypes; only three aircraft built ;XBT2D-1P: Photographic reconnaissance prototype; only one built ;XBT2D-1Q: Two-seat electronics countermeasures prototype; one aircraft only ;BT2D-2 (XAD-2): Upgraded attack aircraft; one prototype only ;AD-1: The first production model; 242 built ;AD-1Q: Two-seat electronic countermeasures version of the AD-1; 35 built ;AD-1U: AD-1 with radar countermeasures and tow target equipment, no armament and no water injection equipment ;XAD-1W: Three-seat airborne early warning prototype. AD-3W prototype; one aircraft only. ;AD-2: Improved model, powered by Wright R-3350-26W engine; 156 built ;AD-2D: Unofficial designation for AD-2s used as remote-control aircraft, to collect and gather radioactive material in the air after nuclear tests ;AD-2Q: Two-seat electronics countermeasures version of the AD-2; 21 built ;AD-2QU: AD-2 with radar countermeasures and target towing equipment, no armament and no water injection equipment; one aircraft only ;XAD-2: Similar to XBT2D-1 except engine, increased fuel capacity ;AD-3: Proposed turboprop version, initial designation of A2D Skyshark ;AD-3: Stronger fuselage, improved landing gear, new canopy design; 125 built ;AD-3S: Anti-submarine warfare model; only two prototypes were built ;AD-3N: Three-seat night attack version; 15 built ;AD-3Q: Electronics countermeasures version, countermeasures equipment relocated for better crew comfort; 23 built ;AD-3QU: Target towing aircraft, but most were delivered as AD-3Qs ;AD-3W: Airborne early warning version; 31 built ;XAD-3E: AD-3W modified for ASW with Aeroproducts propeller ;AD-4: Strengthened landing gear, improved radar, G-2 compass, anti-G suit provisions, four cannon and 14 Aero rocket launchers; 372 built ;AD-4B: Specialized version designed to carry nuclear weapons, also armed with four cannon; 165 built plus 28 conversions ;AD-4L: Equipped for winter operations in Korea; 63 conversions ;AD-4N (A-1D): Three-seat night attack version; 307 built ;AD-4NA: Designation of 100 AD-4Ns without their night-attack equipment, but fitted with four 20 mm cannon, for service in Korea as ground-attack aircraft ;AD-4NL: Winterized version of the AD-4N; 36 conversions ;AD-4Q: Two-seat electronic countermeasures version of the AD-4; 39 built ;AD-4W: Three-seat airborne early warning version; 168 built. A total of 50 AD-4Ws were transferred to the Royal Navy as ''Skyraider AEW Mk 1s''. ;AD-5 (A-1E): Side-by-side seating for pilot and co-pilot, without dive brakes; 212 built ;AD-5N (A-1G): Four-seat night attack version, with radar countermeasures; 239 built ;AD-5Q (EA-1F): Four-seat electronics countermeasures version; 54 conversions ;AD-5S: One prototype to test
magnetic anomaly detector A magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) is an instrument used to detect minute variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The term refers specifically to magnetometers used by military forces to detect submarines (a mass of ferromagnetic material c ...
(MAD) anti-submarine equipment ;AD-5U: The AD-5 when modified for target towing became the UA-1E in 1962. The same model converted as a transport was sometimes referred to as the AD-5R. ;AD-5W (EA-1E): Three-seat airborne early warning version with an
AN/APS-20 The AN/APS-20 was an airborne early warning, anti-submarine, maritime surveillance and weather radar developed in the United States in the 1940s. Entering service in 1945, it served for nearly half a century, finally being retired in 1991. Initi ...
radar installed; 218 were built ;UA-1E: Utility version of the AD-5 ;AD-6 (A-1H): Single-seat attack aircraft with three dive brakes, centerline station stressed for of ordnance, in diameter, combination and bomb ejector and low/high altitude bomb director; 713 built ;AD-7 (A-1J): The final production model, powered by a R-3350-26WB engine, with structural improvements to increase wing fatigue life; 72 built


Operators

* * * * * * * * * *


Surviving aircraft


Specifications (AD-6 / A-1H Skyraider)


Naming

The A-1 Skyraider received various nicknames including: "Spad" and "Super Spad" (derived from the aircraft's AD designation, its relative longevity in service and an allusion to the " Spad" aircraft of World War I), "Able Dog" (phonetic AD), "the Destroyer", "Hobo" (radio call sign of the US Air Force's 1st Air Commando/1st Special Operations Squadron), "Firefly" (a call sign of the 602nd ACS/SOS), "Zorro" (the call sign of the 22nd SOS), "The Big Gun", "Old Faithful", "Old Miscellaneous", "Fat Face" (AD-5/A-1E version, side-by-side seating), "Guppy" (AD-5W version), "Q-Bird" or "Queer Bird" (AD-1Q/AD-5Q versions), "Flying Dumptruck" (A-1E), "Sandy" (the 602nd ACS/SOS call sign for Combat Search And Rescue helicopter escort), and "Crazy Water Buffalo" (South Vietnamese nickname)."The Sandy Spad"
, Robert S. DeGroat, story appeared in the Feb 1996 issue of EAA Warbirds magazine. Retrieved: 25 March 2017.


Notable appearances in media


See also


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Andrade, John M. ''U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Midland Counties Publications, 1979. . * Ballance Theo with Lee Howard and Ray Sturtivant. ''The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm''. Staplefield, England:Air-Britain, 2016. . * Burgess, Richard R. and Rosario M. Rausa. ''US Navy A-1 Skyraider Units of the Vietnam War'' (Osprey Combat Aircraft #77). Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Limited, 2009. . * Bridgeman, William and Jacqueline Hazard. ''The Lonely Sky''. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1955. . * Chinnery, Philip D. ''Air Commando: Inside The Air Force Special Operations Command''. London: St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1997. . * Denehan, William, Major, USAF. ''From Crickets To Dragonflies: Training And Equipping The Republic of Vietnam Air Force 1955-1972''. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air Command and Staff College, Air University, 1997. * Dengler, Dieter. ''Escape from Laos''. New York: Presidio Press, 1979. . * Dorr, Robert F. "Southeast Asian "Spad" ... The Skyraider's War". ''
Air Enthusiast ''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' maga ...
'', Thirty-six, May–August 1988. Bromley, UK:FineScroll. pp. 1–11, 73–77. . * Dorr, Robert F. and Chris Bishop. ''Vietnam Air War Debrief''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1996. . * Drury, Richard S. ''My Secret War''. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishing Inc., 1979. . * Faltum, Andrew. ''The Essex Aircraft Carriers''. Baltimore, Maryland: The Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1996. . * Francillon, René J. ''McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920''. London: Putnam, 1979. . * Grossnick, Roy A. and William J. Armstrong. ''United States Naval Aviation, 1910–1995''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Historical Center, 1997. . * Hobson, Chris. ''Vietnam Air Losses, USAF/USN/USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2001. . * Johnson E.R. ''American Attack Aircraft since 1926''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. 2008. . * McCarthy, Donald J. Jr. ''MiG Killers: A Chronology of US Air Victories in Vietnam 1965–1973.'' North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2009. . * Mersky, Peter B. ''U.S. Marine Corps Aviation: 1912 to the Present''. Annapolis, Maryland: The Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1983. . * * "Skyraider". '' Model Airplane News'', September 2008, Volume 136, Number 9; Cover and p. 38. * Smith, Peter C., ''Douglas AD Skyraider – Crowood Aviation Series''. Marlborough Great Britain: Crowood Press, 1999, . * Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Navy Aircraft since 1911''. London: Putnam, Second edition 1976. . * ''United States Air Force Museum Guidebook''. Wright-Patterson AFB Ohio: Air Force Museum Association, 1975.


External links


Skyraider.org

Air Force Fact sheet on the Douglas A-1E Skyraider flown by Major Fisher
*
The A-1 in Airpower Classics
from ''Air Force'' Magazine
Douglas A-1 Skyraider articles and publications



Heritage Flight Museum: A-1 Skyraider “The Proud American”
* {{Authority control Carrier-based aircraft 1940s United States attack aircraft A-01 Skyraider Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1945