A-1 Skyraider

AD / A-1 Skyraider
Skyraider va-15.jpg
U.S. Navy AD-6 Skyraider from Attack Squadron VA-15 catches a wire on the USS Forrestal (CVA-59).
Role Attack aircraft
Manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Company
Designed by Ed Heinemann
First flight 18 March 1945
Introduced 1950s
Retired 1970s
Primary users United States Navy
United States Air Force
Produced 1945–1957
Number built 3,180
Variants A2D Skyshark

The Douglas A-1 (formerly AD) Skyraider was a U.S. single-seat attack bomber of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. A propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, the Skyraider had a remarkably long and successful career well into the space age, and inspired a straight-winged, slow-flying, jet-powered successor which is still in front line service today, the A-10 Warthog.

It carried various nicknames including: "Spad" (a biplane aircraft of World War I), "Able Dog" (phonetic AD), the "Destroyer," "Hobo" (radio call sign of the USAF 1st Air Commando/Special operations Squadron), "Firefly" (602nd ACS/SOS), "Zorro" (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" (AD-1Q/AD-5Q versions), "Flying Dumptruck" (A-1E), "Sandy" (Combat Search And Rescue helicopter escort) and "Crazy Water Buffalo" (South Vietnamese nickname).

Contents

Design and development

Douglas XBT2D-1 Skyraider prototype.

The A-1 was originally designed to meet World War II requirements for a carrier-based, single-place, long-range, high performance dive-/torpedo bomber. Designed by Ed Heinemann of the Douglas Aircraft Company, the Skyraider was ordered in 6 July 1944 as the XBT2D-1. In April 1945, one month after its first flight on 18 March 1945, it was evaluated at the Naval Air Test Center (NATC).[1] 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.[2]

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 hardpoints apiece. These gave the plane excellent low-speed maneuverability, and enabled it to carry a tremendous amount of ordnance over a considerable combat radius and loiter time for its size, comparable to much heavier subsonic or supersonic jets. The aircraft is optimized for the ground-attack mission, and is armored against ground fire in key locations, unlike faster fighters adapted to carry bombs such as the F4U Corsair or P-51 Mustang, which would be retired by U.S. forces long before the 1960s.

The piston-engined, prop-driven Skyraider was a postwar follow-on to World War II dive bombers and torpedo bombers such as the Helldiver and Avenger. It was replaced in the 1960s by the A-4 Skyhawk as the Navy's primary light attack plane. Used over Korea and briefly over North Vietnam, it was adopted as the primary ground support attack for the U.S. Air Force and South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) during the Vietnam War, before being supplanted by the jet-powered A-37 Dragonfly in USAF and VNAF and the A-7 Corsair II in US Navy service.

Operational history

Korea

Workhorse of the U.S. Navy in Korea: the Able Dog.

Though the Skyraider was produced too late to take part in World War II, it became the backbone of U.S. 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 USS Valley Forge with VA-55 on 3 July 1950.[3] Its weapons load and 10-hour flying time far surpassed the jets that were available at the time.[4] 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.[5] 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.[4] 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 USS Philippine Sea and Hornet successfully shot down 2 PLAAF La-7s 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.[6]

Vietnam

A-1E Skyraiders fly in formation over South Vietnam on way to target on 25 June 1965. The aircraft are assigned to the 34th Tactical Group, based at Bien Hoa, South Vietnam.

In 1965, the A-1 Skyraider was still the medium attack aircraft in many carrier air wings, although it was slated to be replaced by the A-6A Intruder as part of the general switch to jet aircraft. Skyraiders participated in the first strikes against North Vietnam before they were replaced. 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 LT Clinton B. Johnson and LTJG Charles W. Hartman III of VA-25;[7] and one on 9 October 1966 by LTJG William T. Patton of VA-176.[5] While on his very first mission, Navy pilot LTJG Dieter Dengler took damage to his A-1H over Vietnam on 1 February 1966, and crash-landed in Laos.[8]

As they were released from Navy service, Skyraiders were introduced into the Vietnam 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.[9] 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.[10] 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 flight crew member.[10]

VA-115 A-1H loaded with ordnance for a mission in Vietnam

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.[11] 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. LTJG 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 A-4 Skyhawks.

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; CDR Clarence J. Stoddard, flying an A-1H, dropped a special, one-time only, object in addition to his other munitions – a toilet.[12]

Algeria

The French Air Force, the Armée de l'Air, bought 113 ex-U.S. Navy AD-4s and AD-4NAs in 1958 to replace aging F-47 Thunderbolts in Algeria. The aircraft were used from December 1959 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. After the end of the war, the remaining aircraft were passed along to Gabon and Chad.

Adaptability

In addition to serving during Korea and Vietnam as an attack aircraft, it 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.[4]

Variants

Four AD-6s over Subic Bay in the Philippines in 1955
AD-4W AEW-aircraft landing on the USS Leyte
Douglas A-1E (AD-5N) (USAF S/N 52-135206/ former USN BuNo 135206) in flight
EA-1F (AD-5Q) ECM-aircraft, BuNo 135010, of CVW-9 in 1966
Douglas AD-6s (A-1H) from VA-215 on the USS Hancock(CVA 19)

Production ended in 1957 with a total of 3,180 built. However, 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.

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.

Survivors

Operators

Thunder Over Michigan Air show, 2006.
See also: List of A-1 Skyraider operators

Popular culture

Douglas Skyraider parked at airport ramp.

While the Skyraider is not as iconic as some other aircraft, it has been featured in some Vietnam-era films such as The Green Berets (1968), Flight of the Intruder (1991) flying as Sandy escort, and in We Were Soldiers (2002) in the ground support role. The Skyraider also played a leading computer generated role in Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn (2007), retelling the story of Navy LT Dieter Dengler's escape from Laos. Skyraiders are also featured in the classic Korean war movie The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1953).

Specifications (A-1H Skyraider)

Douglas Skyraider - Landing Gear detail.

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Related development

Comparable aircraft

Related lists

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p.176.
  2. ↑ Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p.177.
  3. ↑ Mersky 1983, p. 144.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Johnson, E.R. (2008), "Able Dog", Aviation History (Sept 2008) 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Grossnick and Armstrong 1997
  6. ↑ Air Clash off Hainan - South China Morning Post, 27 July 1954.
  7. ↑ Clinton Johnson. Skyraider vs Mig-17
  8. ↑ Dengler, Escape from Laos
  9. ↑ "Douglas A-1H and A-1J", National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 30 December 2007.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 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.
  11. ↑ "Rescue in Vietnam", National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 30 December 2007.
  12. ↑ USS Midway
  13. ↑ United States Air Force Museum (1975 edition)

Bibliography

  • Dengler, Dieter. Escape from Laos. New York: Presidio Press, 1979. ISBN 0-89141-076-7.
  • Grossnick, Roy A. and William J. Armstrong. United States Naval Aviation, 1910–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Historical Center, 1997. ISBN 0-16049-124-X.
  • Hobson, Chris. Vietnam Air Losses, USAF/USN/USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2001. ISBN 1-85780-1156.
  • Mersky, Peter B. U.S. Marine Corps Aviation: 1912 to the Present. Annapolis, Maryland: The Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1983. ISBN 0-933852-39-8.
  • Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. United States Navy Aircraft since 1911. London: Putnam, Second edition 1976. ISBN 0-370-10054-9.
  • United States Air Force Museum (1975 edition)

External links

Sister project Wikisource has several original texts related to: Audio recordings and transcripts with comments of actual Wild Weasel missions flown during the Vietnam War, including Sandy-assisted rescue.
Douglas military aircraft

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Naval Attack: DT · T2D · XT3D · BT · TBD · SBD · XBTD · XTB2D · AD · XA2D · A3D · A4D

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Naval Transports: RD · R2D · R3D · R4D · R5D · JD · R6D - Experimental: DWC · D-558-1 · D-558-2 · X-3
United States tri-service attack aircraft designations post-1962

A-1 • A-2 • A-3 • A-4 • A-5 • A-6 • A-7 • (A-8 not assigned) • YA-9 • A-10 • (A-11 not assigned) • A-12

See also: A-26 (redesignated from B-26) • A-37 (redesignated from AT-37) •

AV-8A/AV-8B (attack aircraft designated under the "V" for V/STOL sequence)
USN/USMC attack aircraft designations 1946-1962

Douglas: AD  • A2D  • A3D  • A4D

Grumman: AF  • A2F

McDonnell Douglas: AH

North American: AJ  • A2J  • A3J

Martin: AM

Vought: AU  • A2U
USN/USMC bomber designations 1931-1962
Bomber

Douglas: BD

Great Lakes: BG  • B2G

Martin: BM

Naval Aircraft Factory: BN

Northrop: BT  • B2T

Consolidated: BY  • B2Y
Bomber Drone

Interstate: BDR
Bomber Fighter

Boeing: BFB

Curtiss: BFC  • BF2C
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Curtiss: BTC  • BT2C

Douglas: BTD  • BT2D

Kaiser-Fleetwings: BTK

Martin: BTM
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