The Douglas A-1 (formerly AD) Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the 1950s and early 1970s. It became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad ", after a French World War 1 fighter. The Skyraider had a remarkably long and successful career and inspired a straight-winged, slow-flying, jet-powered successor, the A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog).

It was operated by the United States Navy (USN), the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and the United States Air Force (USAF), and also saw service with the British Royal Navy, the French Air Force, the Air Force of the Republic of Vietnam (VNAF), and others.

Design and development

The piston-engined AD Skyraider was designed during World War II to meet requirements for a carrier-based, single-seat, long-range, high performance dive /torpedo bomber, and was a follow-on to earlier dive bombers and torpedo bombers used by the Navy such as the Helldiver and Avenger. Designed by Ed Heinemann 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 in April 1945, the USN began evaluation of the aircraft at the Naval Air Test Center (NATC). 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.

The AD-1 was built at Douglas' El Segundo plant in Southern California. In his memoir ''The Lonely Sky '', test pilot Bill Bridgeman describes the routine yet sometimes hazardous work of certifying AD-1s fresh off the assembly line (quoting a production 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 radial engine, later upgraded several times. Its distinctive feature was large straight wings with seven hard points apiece. These gave the aircraft excellent low-speed maneuverability, and enabled it to carry a tremendous amount of ordnance (more than its own weight in weapons ) over a considerable combat radius and loiter time for its size, comparable to much heavier subsonic or supersonic jets. The aircraft was optimized for the ground-attack mission and was armored against ground fire in key locations. This was unlike faster fighters adapted to carry bombs such as the Vought F4U Corsair or North American P-51 Mustang, which would be retired by U.S. forces long before the 1960s.

Navy AD series were initially painted in Midnight blue, but during the 1950s following the Korean War, the color scheme was changed to gray and white. Initially using the gray and white Navy pattern, 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 USN over Korea and Vietnam, the A-1 was a primary close air support aircraft for the USAF and VNAF during the Vietnam War. The A-1 was famous for being able to take hits and keep flying. Battle damage images from the Korean and Vietnam wars speak for themselves. There was added armor plating around the cockpit area for added pilot protection. It was replaced in the early 1970s by the A-4 Skyhawk as the Navy's primary light attack plane.

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 a R-3350-26WB engine.

In addition to serving during Korea and Vietnam as an attack aircraft, the Skyraider was modified into a carrier-based airborne early warning aircraft, replacing the Grumman TBM-3W Avenger. It served in this function in the USN and Royal Navy, being replaced by the E-1 Tracer and Fairey Gannet respectively in those services.

Skyraider production ended in 1957 with a total of 3,180 built. In 1962, the existing Skyraiders were redesignated A-1D through A-1J and later used by both the USAF and the Navy in the Vietnam War.

Operational history

Korean War

Though the Skyraider was produced too late to take part in World War II, it became the backbone of United States Navy aircraft carrier and United States Marine Corps (USMC) strike aircraft sorties in the Korean War, with the first ADs going into action from the 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. On 2 May 1951, Skyraiders made the only aerial torpedo attack of the war—successfully hitting the Communist-controlled Hwacheon Dam.

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 biplane, the only documented Skyraider air victory of the war. 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 (1950–1953) A-1 Skyraiders were flown only by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, and were normally painted in dark navy blue. A total of 101 Navy and Marine AD Skyraiders were lost in combat during the Korean War, and 27 were lost to operational causes, for a total loss of 128 Skyraiders in the Korean War.

Communist China

On 26 July 1954, two Douglas Skyraiders from the aircraft carriers and successfully shot down two PLAAF La-7 s off the coast of Hainan Island while searching for survivors after the shooting down of a Cathay Pacific Skymaster airliner 3 days previously, also by La-7s.

Vietnam

As American involvement in the conflict in Vietnam began, the A-1 Skyraider was still the medium attack aircraft in many carrier air wing s, although it was planned to be replaced by the A-6A Intruder as part of the general switch to jet aircraft. Skyraiders from the carriers USS ''Constellation'' and ''Ticonderoga'' participated in the first US Navy strikes against North Vietnam on 5 August 1964 as part of Operation Pierce Arrow in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, striking against fuel depots at Vinh, with one Skyraider from ''Ticonderoga'' damaged by anti-aircraft fire, and a second from ''Constellation'' shot down, killing its pilot. During the war, U.S. Navy Skyraiders shot down two Soviet-built Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 jet fighters: one on 20 June 1965, a victory shared by Lieutenant Clinton B. Johnson and Lieutenant, junior grade Charles W. Hartman III of VA-25 ; and one on 9 October 1966 by LTJG William T. Patton of VA-176. While on his very first mission, Navy pilot Lieutenant (j.g.) Dieter Dengler took damage to his A-1H over Vietnam on 1 February 1966, and crash-landed in Laos.

As they were released from Navy service, Skyraiders were introduced into the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF). They were also used by the USAF to perform one of the Skyraider's most famous roles: the "Sandy" helicopter escort on combat rescues.USAF Major Bernard F. Fisher piloted an A-1E on the 10 March 1966 mission for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor for rescuing Major "Jump" Myers at A Shau Special Forces Camp. USAF Colonel William A. Jones, III piloted an A-1H on the September 1, 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 US airman.

After November 1972, all A-1s in U.S. service in Southeast Asia were transferred to the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) and their former roles were taken over by the subsonic A-7 Corsair II. 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 North Vietnamese MiG-17s. The first A-1 was shot down on 29 April 1966, and the second A-1 was lost on 19 April 1967; both were from the 602 Air Commando Squadron (ACS). The third A-1 Skyraider was from Squadron VA-35 and was lost to a Red Chinese MiG-19 (J-6) on 14 February 1968. Lieutenant (j.g.) Joseph P. Dunn, USN, had flown too close to the Communist Chinese held island of Hainan, and had been intercepted. Lieutenant Dunn's A-1 Skyraider was the last U.S. Navy A-1 lost in the war, and he did not survive. Shortly thereafter, A-1 Skyraider naval squadrons transitioned to the A-6 Intruder, A-7 Corsair II or A-4 Skyhawk.

In contrast to the Korean War, fought a decade earlier, the US Air Force, in Vietnam, utilized the naval A-1 Skyraider for the first time. As the Vietnam war progressed, USAF A-1s were painted in camouflage, while USN A-1 Skyraiders were gray/white in color; again, in contrast to the Korean War, when A-1s were painted dark blue.

In 1965, to highlight the dropping of the six millionth pound of ordnance; Commander Clarence J. Stoddard, flying an A-1H, dropped a special, one-time only, object in addition to his other munitions – a toilet.

South Vietnamese Air Force

The A-1 Skyraider was the close air support workhorse of the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) for much of the Vietnam War. The US Navy began to transfer some of its Skyraiders to the VNAF in September 1960, replacing the VNAF’s older Grumman F8F Bearcats. By 1962 the VNAF 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 VNAF Bearcat pilots who had accumulated 800 to 1200 hours flying time. They were trained at Corpus Christi, Texas., and then sent to LeMoore, California for further training. Navy pilots and crews in Vietnam checked out the Skyraiders that were being transferred to the VNAF, and conducted courses for VNAF ground crews.

Over the course of the war, the VNAF 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 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 and F-5, 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 VNAF. 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 VNAF pilots were extremely skilled in the operation of the aircraft.

Fleet Air Arm use

The Royal Navy acquired 50 AD-4W early warning planes in 1951 though the Military Assistance Program. All Skyraider AEW.1s were operated by 849 Naval Air Squadron, which provided four-plane detachments for the British carriers. One flight took part in the Suez Crisis in 1956 aboard the carrier HMS ''Bulwark''. 778 Naval Air Squadron was responsible for the training of the Skyraider crews at RNAS Culdrose. In 1960 the Fairey Gannet AEW.3 replaced the Skyraiders, using the APS-20 radar of the Douglas planes. The last British Skyraiders were retired in 1962. In the late 1960s the APS-20 radars from the Skyraiders were installed in Avro Shackleton AEW.2s of the Royal Air Force which were finally retired in 1991.

Swedish use

Twelve British Skyraiders were supplied to Sweden. All military equipment was removed and the aircraft were used as target tugs until the early 1970s.

French use

The French Air Force bought 20 ex-USN AD-4s as well as 88 ex-USN AD-4Ns and 5 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 P-47 Thunderbolts in Algeria. 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.

The Skyraiders had only a short career in Algeria. But they nonetheless proved to be the most successful of all the ad hoc COIN aircraft 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 local 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 client states, including Gabon, Chad, Cambodia and the Central African Republic.(several aircraft from Gabon and Chad have been recovered recently 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 weapons, 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 2,700 hp (2,000 kW) 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 the AD-3Q.

AD-3W

Airborne early warning version, 31 built.

XAD-3E

AD-3W modified for ASW with Aeroproducts propellor

AD-4

Strengthened landing gear, improved radar, G-2 compass, anti-G suit provisions, four 20 mm (.79 in) cannon and 14 Aero rocket launchers, capable of carrying up to 50 lb (23 kg) of bombs. 372 built.

AD-4B

Specialized version designed to carry nuclear weapons, also armed with four 20 mm cannon. 165 built plus 28 conversions.

AD-4L

Equipped for winter operations in Korea, 63 conversions.

AD-4N

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 (0.79 in) cannon, for service in Korea as ground-attack aircraft.

AD-4NL

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. 50 AD-4Ws were transferred to the Royal Navy as Skyraider AEW Mk 1.

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 (MAD) anti-submarine equipment.

AD-5W

(EA-1E): Three-seat airborne early warning version. 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 3,500 lb (1,600 kg) of ordinance, 30 in (760 mm) in diameter, combination 14/30 in (360/760 mm) bomb ejector and low/high altitude bomb director, 713 built.

AD-7

(A-1J): The final production model, powered by a R3350-26WB engine, with structural improvements to increase wing fatigue life, 72 built.

Survivors

*XBT2D-1 (BuNo 109103) Located in the aircraft collection of Walter Soplata in Newbury, Ohio. Like most aircraft on this famous farm the aircraft appears complete, though it is exposed to the elements and unrestored.

*A-1E (AF Serial No. 52-132649) is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. This aircraft was originally a US Navy aircraft assigned Bureau Number (BuNo) 132649. Transferred to USAF, it was flown by then-Major Bernard Francis Fisher (Colonel, USAF Retired) on 10 March 1966 when he rescued a fellow A-1E pilot shot down over South Vietnam in the midst of enemy troops, a deed for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The aircraft was severely damaged in combat in South Vietnam and was returned in 1967 for preservation by the Air Force Museum. It is the only surviving Air Force Medal of Honor Aircraft.

*A-1G Skyraider (AF Ser. No. 52-132598, former BuNo 132598) is on display at the Memorial Air Park, Hurlburt Field, Florida (USA).

*An A-1H, BuNo 135300, is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola, Florida. This aircraft is painted in the markings of Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25 ).

*An A-1H, BuNo 137602, is on display on a pylon near the near base headquarters and the base chapel at NAS Lemoore, California. This aircraft is also painted in the same markings as the NAS Pensacola museum aircraft, i.e., Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25 ) and a "false" BuNo of 135300.

*An A-1H, 14-072 / FR (cn 9701) (BuNo 134472) is on display at Royal Thai Air Force Museum, Don Muang RTAFB, Thailand.

*An AD-1, BuNo 109102, is on outside display on its landing gear at the NAS Oceana Aviation Park at NAS Oceana, Virginia. This aircraft is painted in the markings of Attack Squadron 15 (VA-15 ).

*An EA-1F (formerly AD-5Q), BuNo 135018, is on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona. The aircraft is painted in the markings of VAW-33 as embarked with Carrier Air Wing 6 (CVW-6) aboard the aircraft carrier USS America (CV 66) in 1967.

*An AD-1, BuNo 126882, is visiting the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, TX. This aircraft is painted in Vietnam colors and is in flying condition. The aircraft survived Hurricane Ike without damage as it was flown out before the storm.

*A vintage Skyraider owned by aircraft collector Claude Hendrickson, III, of Alabama was seized by U.S. officials in May 2009 shortly after the aircraft was imported from France. Officials indicate that Hendrickson had failed to execute certain paperwork during its importation and the Skyraider is currently impounded.

*An airworthy AD-4N resides at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Valle, Arizona.

*A Skyraider (unknown type or serial number) is on display at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam as of May 2010.

*An airworthy AD-4, Mark unknown, is owned by "The Fighter Factory" in Virginia Beach, VA. This was a "hangar queen" that went unflyable while assigned to NAS Atlanta, Georgia at Dobbins AFB around 1958 when NAS Atlanta was flying AD-4NAs and AD-5Qs. It was donated as PDK about 1959, to DeKalb County for static display when the field reverted to civilian control, sold and refurbished to flying status by the new owners, and later acquired by the current owner. The video is of a flight at the current location.

*An AD-4N Skyraider, BuNo 127007, is on display on the hangar deck of the at the Patriot's Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, SC. It wears the markings of Attack Squadron 65 (VA-65), assigned to Carrier Air Group TWO (CVG-2), aboard ''Yorktown'', circa 1953-54.

*An AD-4W, BuNo 127922, is on display on the flight deck of the at the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum, in San Diego, California. According to the curators, the aircraft is actually an AD-4W that was modified to resemble an A-1 for museum purposes.

*An AD-4, seen on February, 2004 on static display in Djibouti french airbase. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/48545521@N06/4581573483/in/set-72157623774135415/]