Warplanes of the USA: Douglas A-1 Skyraider

‍Douglas A-1 Skyraider

(USN Photo)

Douglas AD-6 Skyraider of attack squadron VA-152 Friendlies on the portside elevator on board the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) during the ship's Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI) off Hawaii, 20 December 1961. VA-152 was assigned to Carrier Air Group 15 (CVG-15) aboard the Coral Sea for a deployment to the Western Pacific from 12 December 1961 to 17 July 1962. This AD-6 (A-1H) was later passed on to the South Vietnamese Air Force. Note the landing mirror in the background. U.S. carriers originally operated two landing mirrors on both sides of the flight deck.

(USAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1H Skyraider (Serial No. 52-139738), "The Proud American", of the 1st Special Operations Squadron in flight during a rescue mission, c1972. It was lost on 28 Septermber 1972 during a strike mission in Laos. The pilot ejected and was rescued.

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly designated AD before the 1962 unification of Navy and Air Force designations) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s, which served during the Korean War and Vietnam War. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age (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 First World War fighter. It was operated by the United States Navy (USN), the United States Marine Corps (USMC), and the United States Air Force (USAF), and also saw service with the British Royal Navy, the French Air Force, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF), and others. It remained in U.S. service until the early 1970s. (Wikipedia)

(USN Photo)

The first U.S. Navy Douglas AD-2 Skyraider (BuNo 122210) at the Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, Maryland, 7 May 1948.

(USN Photo)

Fourteen U.S. Navy Douglas AD-2 Skyraiders of Attack Squadron VA-114 in flight over Naval Air Station North Island, California (USA), in 1949. VA-114 had been established as Bombing Squadron VB-11 on 10 October 1942 and was first land-based on Guadalcanal in 1942-43. In 1944-45 it served on the USS Hornet (CV-12), after the Second World War its parent Carrier Air Group 11 (CVG-11) was assigned to the USS Valley Forge (CV-45). The unit received the AD-2 in December 1948 but was already disestablished on 1 December 1949. Note: The Naval Aviation News identifies the squadron as VA-115, but VA-114 had the tail code "V-4XX", VA-115 had "V-5XX".

(NASA Photo)

Douglas XBT2D-1 (Bu. No. 09086) Skyraider prototype.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Douglas AD-1 from USS Boxer, NAS Alameda, June 1947.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Douglas AD-1 Skyraider over Marina SF 6-2-47.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-2 Skyraider attack plane (BuNo. 122330) in flight carrying one Mark XIII torpedo, two bombs, and rockets, in September 1950. This plane is assigned to the Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, Maryland

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Douglas AD-1 Skyraider, NAS Alameda.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

AD-1 from VA-20A, and an F8F-1 from VF-20A, from the USS Boxer (CV-21) flying over the Golden Gate Bridge in June 1947.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-1 Skyraider (BuNo 09283) from Attack Squadron 64 (VA-64) is launched from the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CVB-34) on 14 September 1948. The squadron became an anti-submarine squadron and was re-designated Composite Squadron 24 (VC-24) "Duty Cats" on 8 April 1949.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-1 Skyraider in flight, circa in 1946. It is armed with two Tiny Tim rockets and twelve HVAR rockets. 'Original description:The “Skyraider” (AD) is the U.S. Navy’s first line carrier attack plane and packs and an armament wallop comparable to finding a broadside from a U.S. Navy destroyer. In addition to two 20mm guns, the plane my carry three 2,000 pound bombs and full dozen 6-inch rockets.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-1 Skyraider of Attack Squadron 6B (VA-6B) launching from the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CVB-43). VA-6B was assigned to Carrier Air Group 5 (CVBG-5) aboard the Coral Sea for her shakedown cruise in the Atlantic Ocean from 19 January to 5 April 1948.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-1 Skyraider of Attack Squadron 6B (VA-6B) (un-)folding its wings aboard the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CVB-43). VA-6B was assigned to Carrier Air Group 5 (CVBG-5) aboard the Coral Sea for her shakedown cruise in the Atlantic Ocean from 19 January to 5 April 1948.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-1Q Skyraider electronic countermeasures aircraft (BuNo 09386) of composite squadron VC-35 Night Hecklers, c1950.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Marine Corps Douglas AD-5 (BuNo. 1338?5) of Marine attack squadron VMA-331 Bumblebees. VMA-331 was operating from the aircraft carrier USS Leyte (CVS-32), ca mid-1950s.

(USN Photo)

Douglas AD Skyraider aircraft of Carrier Air Group One (CVG-1) on the bow of the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (CVA-59) during the NATO "Operation Strikeback", some time between August and October 1957. The first seven planes are AD-6 of Attack Squadron 15 (VA-15) "Valions" (tail code AB-4XX). The next plane and the last three are AD-5Q of Attack Squadron (All-Weather) 33 (VA(AW)-33) DET.42 "Night Hawks" (GD-8XX). The fouth plane from the bow is an AD-5W from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 12 (VAW-12) DET.42 "Bats"(GE-7XX). In the foreground is an Douglas A3D-1 Skywarrior of Heavy Attack Squadron 1 (VAH-1) "Smokin' Tigers".

(USN Photo)

Douglas A-1H Skyraider (BuNo 139799) from Attack Squadron 122 (VA-122) "Spad School" landing. This aircraft was later transferred to the U.S. Air Force as 52-139799. It served with the 22nd Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, and was hit by ground fire west of Ban Sephan, Khammouan Province, Laos, on 22 January 1970. The pilot headed back to Nakhon Phanom but the aircraft crashed 30 km north-west of the air base. The pilot was rescued by a USAF helicopter.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-5W Skyraider (BuNo. 132751) of Airborne Early Warning squadron VAW-11 Det.J Early Eleven on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge (CVA-33) in the western Pacific. VAW-11 Det.J was assigned to Air Task Group 3 (ATG-3) aboard the Kearsarge for a deployment to the western Pacific from 9 August 1957 to 2 April 1958.

(USN Photo)

Four U.S. Navy Douglas A-1H Skyraider (BuNos 134472, 135232, 137602, 139689) of Attack Squadron VA-122 Spad School in flight formation. 134472 was later passed on to the South Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) and is today on display at the Royal Thai Air Force Museum. 137602 is on display at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California (USA), marked as 135300. 139689 also went to the VNAF and was probably lost.

(NMUSAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1E Skyraider armed with six LAU-3 rocket launchers in Vietnam. The aircraft probably belonged to the 1st Air Commando Squadron, 14th Air Commando Wing, which operated from Nha Trang Air Base in 1966-1967 (tail code "EC").

(NMUSAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1E Skyraider (USN BuNo 132619, nicknamed "Carolyns Folly") from the 1st Air Commando Squadron (later the 1st Special Operations Squadron) escorting an HH-3C rescue helicopter as it goes to pick up a downed pilot in Vietnam in 1966. Note: Skyraider.org says that this is a 602nd SOS A-1E.

(USAF Photo)

Douglas A-1E with wings folded at McClellan Air Force Base, California, 15 Feb 1968.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Air Force armament technicians (l-r) A2C Michael J. Hall, A1C Robert V. Greer, and A1C John Smith, prepare to load 250 lbs (113 kg) bombs onto the wing pylons of a U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1E Skyraider at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam, c1966.

(NMUSAF Photo)

A hydraulic bomb loader raises a 500 lb (227 kg) bomb into position under the wing of a U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1E Skyraider (s/n 52-132649) of the 1st Air Commando Squadron, circa in 1966. This aircraft is the one Maj Bernard F. Fisher later used to make the daring rescue of Lt.Col. Dafford W. Myers at A Shau on 10 March 1966 for which Maj. Fisher received the U.S. Medal of Honor.

(USAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1E Skyraider (s/n 52-135141) of the 1st Special Operations Squadron at Ubon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, in December 1968. This aircraft was later shot down by a 9K32 Strela (NATO reporting code: SA-7 "Grail") over South Vietnam on 2 May 1972. The pilot was rescued.

(USAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1E (s/n 52-135206) from the 1st Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing, in flight, circa in the late 1960s. This aircraft was a former U.S. Navy EA-1E (before 1962: AD-5W) radar warning aircraft (BuNo 135206) that was converted to an attack plane. It was later transferred to the South Vietnamese Air Force.

(NMUSAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1E Skyraider (s/n 52-133919), probably at McClellan Air Force Base, California (USA), in the late 1960s. This aircraft was later transferred to the South Vietnamese Air Force and was one of eleven Skyraiders to escape to Thailand, in April 1975. McClellan was home to the Sacramento Air Logistics Center, where the former U.S. Navy Skyraiders were retrofitted for USAF/VNAF service in Southeast Asia.

(ZLEA Photo)

Douglas A-1H Skyraider at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The aircraft on display represents Captain Ronald Smith’s A-1H "The Proud American" (Serial Number 52-139738) as it appeared during his SAR mission in June 1972 as part of the 1st Special Operations Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. Captain Smith was awarded the Air Force Cross for the rescue of a downed F-4 Phantom II crewman near a North Vietnamese airfield. "The Proud American" had a long and storied record in Southeast Asia. Although many pilots flew the plane, it is renowned for three separate episodes: Lt Col William Jones’ Medal of Honor mission in 1968, Capt Ronald Smith’s Air Force Cross mission in June 1972, and for being the last US Air Force A-1 lost in combat in Southeast Asia on 28 September 1972. The aircraft on display was delivered to the U.S. Navy (BuNo. 134600) in 1956 and was transferred to the Vietnam Air Force in April 1965. It arrived aboard USNS Core (T-AKV-41) in Saigon on 17 June 1965 and was initially assigned to the 514th FS at Bien Hoa Air Base. It was then transferred to the 520th FS at Binh Thuy Air Base. This aircraft was one of about 40 Skyraiders captured by North Vietnam in 1975. Its whereabouts are unknown until it was bought (?) by the U.S. Army Center Military History in 1997. It was transported from Vietnam to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona (USA), and was relocated to the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in 1999. There, it was resored from 2013 to 2022 and is today on display as A-1H (Serial No. 52-139738) of the 1st Special Operations Squadron.

(NMUSAF Photo)

Douglas A-1E Skyraider (U.S. Navy BuNo. 132649) at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (Dayton, Ohio, USA) is the airplane flown by Maj. Bernard Fisher on 10 March 1966, when he rescued a fellow pilot shot down over South Vietnam in the midst of enemy troops. For this deed he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The airplane, severely damaged in combat in South Vietnam, came to the museum in 1967 for preservation. From July 1965 through June 1966, he flew 200 combat sorties in the A-1E/H as a member of the 1st Air Commando Squadron located at Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam. On March 10, 1966, he led a two-ship of Skyraiders to the A Shau Valley in support of friendly troops in contact with the enemy. A total of six "Spads" were striking numerous emplacements when the A-1 piloted by Major D. W. "Jump" Myers was hit and forced to crash-land on the airstrip of the CIDG-Special Forces camp. Myers bellied in on the 2,500-foot runway and took cover behind an embankment on the edge of the strip while Major Fisher directed the rescue effort. Since the closest helicopter was 30 minutes away and the enemy was only 200 yards from Myers, Fisher quickly decided to land his two-seat A-1E on the strip and pick up his friend. Under the cover provided by the other A-1s, he landed in the valley, taxied to Myer's position, and loaded the downed airman into the empty seat. Dodging shell holes and debris on the steel planked runway, Major Fisher took off safely despite many hits on his aircraft by small arms fire.

(USAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1H Skyraider (Serial No. 52-139608) "Blood, Sweat & Tears" from the 1st Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing in flight. This aircraft was among the last used by the USAF until November 1972 from Nakhon Phamom Air Base, Thailand. The aircraft was later transferred to the South Vietnamese Air Force.

(USAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1H Skyraider (Serial No. 52-135322) of the 4407th Combat Crew Training Squadron, 1st Special Operations Wing, at Hurlburt Field, Florida (USA), in 1971. Note the old U.S. Navy Mark 8 300 US gallon (1136 litre) centerline tank. This aircraft had a colourful career. It was accepted by the U.S. Navy in August 1954 and was in service from 1954-1958 and 1963-1967. In 1964, it was assigned to Attack Squadron 145 (VA-145) and participated in the first "Pierced Arrow" strikes of the Vietnam War. It was transferred to the U.S. Air Force in 1967 and used to train pilots until 1971. It was then shipped to Vietnam and entered service with the Vietnamese Air Force until it was flown to Thailand in late April 1975 to avoid capture. After being flown as a "warbird" it was acquired by the U.S. National Air & Space Museum, Washington D.C., in 1983, where it was stored to await restoration.

(USAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1H Skyraider (Serial No. 52-139778, "Bubbles'n Bust") of the 602nd Special Operations Squadron on final approach before landing at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, 15 March 1970.

(USAF Photo)

Two Douglas A-1H Skyraider (s/n 52-134621 and 52-134628 or 52-137628) take off for a bombing mission, in February 1969. The partly visible tail code "E" would identify these aircraft as from U.S. Air Force 6th Special Operations Squadron (tail code "ET") at Pleiku Air Base, Vietnam. Note the old U.S. Navy Mark 8 300 US gallon (1136 litre) centerline tank under the nearer Skyraider.\

(USAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1H (former U.S. Navy A-1H BuNo. 139609) nicknamed Bad News, in 1969. The "6T"-tailcode was found on 6th Special Operations Squadron Skyraiders at Pleiku in October 1969, the better known tailcode is "ET".[1] The aircraft is armed with six Mk 82 227 kg (500 lb) bombs with "daisy cutter"-fuzes and two Mk 20 "Rockeye" cluster bombs. The A-1H 139609 was later transferred to the South Vietnamese Air Force, [2] 518th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Tactical Wing, at Bien Hoa.[3]. It was lost on 12 November 1972.

(USAF Photo)

USAF Douglas A-1J Skyraider (U.S. Navy BuNo 142016) of the 6th Special Operations Squadron over Vietnam. The 6th SOS operated from Pleiku and Da Nang air bases in 1968 and 1969. It was deactivated on 15 November 1969 and its aircraft were turned over to the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF). The A-1J 142016 was lost on 23 May 1972.

(USMC Photo)

U.S. Marine Corps Douglas AD-2Q Skyraider (BuNo 122387) from Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Group 33 (HEDRON-33) in flight over Korea, c1952.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-2 Skyraider (BuNo 122343), of Attack Squadron 702 (VA-702) over the Japanese islands, after being launched on a routine flight from the aircraft carrier USS Boxer (CV-21) in September 1951. The ship was then en route to the Korean combat area. Boxer, with assigned Carrier Air Group 101 (CVG-101), was deployed to the Western Pacific and Korea from 2 March to 24 October 1951. The AD-2 122343 was later lost over Korea on 6 June 1952 while in service with Marine Attack Squadron 121 (VMA-121). The plane was hit by flak and the pilot bailed out.

(USN Photo)

Two Douglas AD-2 Skyraiders at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida (USA), in 1948. According to the BuNo. of the nearest aircraft (12227?) these Skyraiders are AD-2s. Up to 1957 the tailcode "B" belonged to Carrier Air Group Nineteen (CVG-19).

(USMC Photo)

U.S. Marine Corps Douglas AD-2 Skyraider (BuNo 122224) of Marine Attack Squadron 121 (VMA-121) Wolfraiders in flight, in the early 1950s.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Douglas AD-2Q Skyraider (BuNo. 122366) at San Francisco Airport in October 1949.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-2Q Skyraider of Attack Squadron VA-195 in flight in the western Pacific. VA-195 was assigned to Carrier Air Group 19 (CVG-19) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Boxer (CV-21) in 1949-50.

(USN Photo)

A U.S. Navy Douglas AD-2 Skyraider (BuNo 122218) at the Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, Maryland, 21 June 1949, with three Mk 25 Mod 2 mines. The tail of a Grumman F7F-3 Tigercat (BuNo 80359) is visible at right.

(Alan Wilson Photo)

US Navy Bureau No 09102. This is one of the prototype Skyraiders which were originally designated XBT2D-1 and were given Bureau numbers from a cancelled batch of SB2D-1 Destroyers. Note that the BuNo under the tailplane is painted as ‘109102’ which sounds more realistic for a post-war type, but is actually a cancelled F6F-5N Hellcat serial. Previously part of the gate collection at NAS Oceana, VA, it is now on display, still in VA-15 markings, on the deck of USS Intrepid as part of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Pier 86, New York Harbor, NY.

(USN Photo)

U.S. Navy Douglas AD-2 Skyraider (BuNo. 122226), used as a prototype for the airborne early warning variant. Production AD-3Ws featured the shown APS-20 radar below the fuselage and a longer cabin. 122226 was originally used to demonstrate the improved engine cooling system that was later used on the AD-3.

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