The A-1 Skyraider in Vietnam

The Douglas Skyraider 

During World War II, in 1943, the U.S. Navy decided to eliminate two place dive bombers and torpedo bombers, so they solicited aircraft manufacturers for a design that would meet this new requirement . A number of manufacturers submitted designs, and in late 1943 the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics placed orders for prototypes of the Curtis XBTC-1, the Kaiser-Fleetwing SBTK-1, and the Martin XBTM-1, each of which was a single pilot aircraft that could both dive bomb and deliver torpedos.

Early in July of 1944, the Douglas Company submitted a proposal for a design that a team of Douglas designers by the names of Heineman (Chief Engineer), Leo Devlin (Chief Designer), and Gene Root (Chief Aerodynamicist), submitted a proposal. The U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics were so impressed they issued them a contract calling upon them to deliver this new design prototype within 6 months. 

On March 18, 1945, four months ahead of schedule, the first Douglas XBT2D-1 made its first flight. On April 7, 1945, the aircraft was sent to the Navy Proving Grounds at Patuxent River, Maryland, where the test pilots found the prototype superior to any other dive bomber/torpedo bomber combination they had evaluated. 

On May 5, 1945, the aircraft was ordered into production, and the Navy designated it as the AD- and named the Skyraider. Subsequently 3,180 Skyraiders were built in eight different model configurations and designated as AD-1s through AD-7s. The Douglas AD served as a dive-bomber and Electronic Warfare Sensor Platform, as an Early Warning Radar System, as a target towing aircraft, a search and rescue aircraft, and as a nuclear delivery platform.

Initially it was placed into service with the U.S. Navy, and later it served in the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force, the Vietnamese Air Force, the French Air Force, the Air Arm of the British Royal Navy, the Kingdom of Cambodia, Chad, and the Central African Rpublic.

During the Korean War both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation squadrons used the Skyraider as close air support for ground troops, as well as for interdiction of North Korean resupply routes. The Skyraiders ability to take off with extremely heavy ordance loads, and it's rugged design (including armor plate), made it the best and most effective close support aircraft in the world. By the time the AD-5 model came into service it had a wide fuselage with side-by-side seating and room for additional crew behind the pilots.

By this time, however, the A-4 Skyhawk had entered service with the U.S Marines, but by 1962 the U.S. Navy was still operating the AD-5, 6, and 7s, and the Department of Defense designated the Skyraiders as A-1s. In that same year the U.S. Air Force acquired 150 A-1Es for their own use. These aircraft provided exceptional fire suppression as escorts for the famous "Jolly Green Giant" H-53 helicopters used to rescure downed aircrews.

The Vietnam War

Despite the fact that by the time of the war in Vietnam the U.S. military had already embraced the use of jet powered aircraft like the F-100 Super Sabre, the F-102 Delta Dagger, the F-105D Thunderchief, the F-4 Phantom II, and the F-8 Crusader, the Douglas A-1 Skyraider became a workhorse of the Vietnam War. 

AD-6/A-1H Skyraider Technical Specifications

• Length: 38 feet 10 inches;
• Wingspan: 50 feet
• Powerplant: Wright R-3350-26-WA Duplex-Cyclone 18-cylinder radial engine;
• Maximum Speed: 322 mph;
• Range: 1,316 miles;
• Armament: 4xAN/Me 20mm cannon with 200 rounds per gun
• Ordnance: 15 external hardpoints with a total capacity of 8,000 pounds

The A-1 Skyraider was powered by the powerful Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial engine, could stay over a battlefield or rescue attempt for hours, longer than most jets of its time. It was very effective as a close air support and rescue escort tool for rescue missions of downed aircrewmen. 

The United States Air Force also adopted the plane during the Vietnam War. The U.S.A.F. frequently used the A-1 in the Sandy role to recover lost pilots.

A-1 Skyraiders at War

The pilots who flew the Skyraider adored the plane for its rugged construction and forgiving flight characteristics. The grunts and downed aviators who were supported by it veritably worshipped the machine. In a world of fast-moving attack jets, it was the lumbering Skyraider that most reliably brought the pain. 

An A-1 Skyraider takes off from Da Nang Air Base on a combat mission, circa 1964.

In the rescue role the Skyraider pilot was required to locate the downed airman and protect him with the A-1's firepower. He became the on-scene commander of the recovery effort, contolling fighter-bomber strikes on hostile positions while escorting helicopters on their way to pick up the downed survivor.

In the close air support missions Skyraider pilots had the ability to attack ground targets with pinpoint precision, which made it a great weapon to support friendly troops in contact with the enemy. In the FAC (Forward Air Controller) role, the A-1 pilot was an aerial observer in constant contact with Army units in his sector. He warned of enemy ambushes and then directed fighters to strike the enemy positions.

While its engine idles, Douglas A-1E Skyraider 52-132649 is rearmed, South Vietnam, 1966

September 1, 1968

An F-4 Phantom pilot was shot down 20 miles northwest of Dong Hoi in North Vietnam and quickly found himself helpless and alone in a rugged karst formation of iconic limestone peaks, extensive cave systems, and numerous sinkholes and valleys. He was also surrounded by North Vietnamese troops equipped with heavy anti-aircraft systems. The pilot prepared himself to die.

Then he heard it.

What this downed American pilot heard was the deep, throaty rumble of a Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial engined aircraft on its way to rescue him. To the downed pilot the growl of the massive piston-engined aircraft it was the sound of angels singing.

A Republic of Vietnam Air Force A-1 Skyraider delivers napalm against North Vietnamese positions

That particular Wright radial engine was perched on the nose of a Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Everyone called the Skyraider after the Spad of famed French fighter aircraft of World War I fame. When assigned to combat search and rescue duties the Skyraider was called Sandy.

And this Sandy was part of a rescue package to try and snatch this downed American pilot out of the jaws of death. The Sandy pilot was in contact with the downed airman, but they had not yet found his exact location. Everything depended upon figuring out that piece of information.

The Sandy pilot dove his heavy strike aircraft down on the deck and began looking for trouble, which he found soon enough. The North Vietnamese opened up on the Sandy with a ZSU-23-2 twin-barrel 23mm antiaircraft gun. The triple AAA anti-aircraft artillery were deadly, and several rounds hit the Skyraider filling the cockpit with smoke.

This is the moment most pilots would hand off the job at hand to his wingman and return to base, but not this pilot! He knew what was riding on this. If the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) got to this downed pilot before the Jolly Green Giant HH-53 helicopter did, the Phantom pilot would spend the rest of the war in a prison camp ... or worse!

With his plane damaged and smoke in the cockpit Lt. Col. Jones wheeled the big airplane around and made yet another pass. This time he found the downed pilot and the ZSU anti-aircraft gun that had shot up his airplane. He armed his weapons, made two more passes at the AAA position, destroying it with 20mm canon and rocket fire.

On his second pass nearby North Vietnames Army guns pounded his big airplane, and one round detonated the Stanley Yankee Extraction System rocket just behind his headrest. The device burned inside the cockpit, filling the space with searing flames. Jones blew the canopy off which made the fire briefly worse before it went out, leaving him with now way for the badly burned pilot to depart the aircraft.

Now desperately burned, Jones wracked his stricken plane over and firewalled the throttle. He successfully landed his big airplane and was rushed to surgery. Before he would allow the surgical team to put him under, Lt. Col. Jones insisted on relating a detailed description of the downed pilot’s location from the operating table. This information was radioed back to the rescue package that was working the area. The downed pilot was successfully recovered later that day.

A more complete account of this heroic pilot will appear in another blog post in the near future, but in the meantime it is clear how valuable the A-1 Skyraider was during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and the incredible strength and power the Skyraider had.

The last Skyraiders were phased out of the active U.S. inventory in 1973. However, their legacy lives on. 

I hope you enjoyed this trip through some of the history of sunglasses. If you enjoyed this trip, and if you are new to this blog, sign up to receive your own weekly blog post here: Subscribe here!

Until next time, keep your eyes safe and focused on what's ahead of you, Hersch!