A-1H Skyraider "Spad Dad" flown by the 6th Special Operations
Squadron in Vietnam
AD-4 Skyraider flown by VA-195 commanding officer Harold "Swede"
Carlson when he led the "Tigers" on the only aerial torpedo attack of the Korean
War (the successful May 1, 1951, torpedo attack on the heavily-defended,
250-foot-tall Hwachon Dam - an action that earned the group a new nickname, the
"Dambusters")
The tough and versatile Skyraider was among the final piston-powered,
prop-driven attack planes produced before the dawn of the "jet age."
Forrestal operating with the 6th Fleet in the 1950s and features Skyraiders, Demons and Skyhawks
AD Skyraider, which was the workhorse of the U.S. Navy during the Korean
War
A-1H Skyraider flown off the USS Midway (CVA-41) by Lt. Clint
Johnson of VA-25, "The Fist of the Fleet" (the U.S. Navy's last operational
Skyraider attack squadron) when he shot down a MiG-17 over North Vietnam on June
20, 1965
A-1J Skyraider flown by Lt. (jg) Dieter Dengler of the U.S.
Navy's VA-145 "Swordsmen" when he was shot down over Laos during his first
combat mission on February 1, 1966 (he was captured by Pathet Lao forces and
later became one of only a handful of Vietnam War POWs to escape from
captivity)
To commemorate the 6 millionth pound of U.S. ordnance dropped during the Vietnam
War, the A-1H Skyraider "Paper Tiger II" - flown by Commander Clarence W.
Stoddard, Jr., the executive officer of the VA-25 "Fist of the Fleet" - carried
a special bomb to the North Vietnamese: a large ceramic toilet. Talk about
giving new meaning to the phrase, "bombs away!"
In 1965, when U.S. air operations in Vietnam became more aggressive, more than
300 Skyraiders were employed on Close Air Support and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)
missions. Replicating an A-1J Skyraider flown by the commander of the 602nd
Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing, when it flew out of
Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai AFB, Thailand, in the late 1960s
Col. Bernie Fisher was awarded the Medal of Honor for this rescue
mission in the A Shau Valley in March 1966, where he landed his Skyraider on the
heavily damaged field to rescue a squadron-mate.
With A-1 Skyraiders and A-4 Skyhawks providing close air support, Lt. Hal
Moore and the troopers of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st
Cavalry Division stand their ground during the battle of the la Drang
Valley, Vietnam, 1965.
The Skyraider was one of the U.S. Navy's most successful and
versatile aircraft ever - and it was also its last piston-engined
fighter-bomber.
A-1 Skyraider Specifications. The A-1E Skyraider was 40' 1" long, 15' 10" high and had a wingspan
of 50' 9". The Skyraider had an empty weight of 12,313 lbs and a maximum
weight of 25,000 lbs. It used 1 Wright R-3350-26WA 2700 hp radial
engine giving it a cruise speed of 200 mph and a maximum speed of 311 mph
with a climb rate of 2,300 ft/min and a service ceiling of only 26,000 feet.
The A-1E had a maximum range of 1,202 miles. Later
versions the A-1J used a Wright R-3350-26W engine with 3020 hp with a
maximum speed of 322mph and range of 1,316 miles.
Mutza. Thanks to its remarkable service during the war in Southeast Asia, the
Skyraider became legendary. Serving with distinction with both U.S. and South
Vietnamese forces, the Skyraider took the war to the enemy, often at low
altitude and in the face of devastating losses from anti-aircraft fire.
Skyraider missions covered the spectrum, from dive and torpedo
bomber, to airborne early warning aircraft, to flying ambulance, to aerial
tanker, to fighter. The A-1 performed all of these rolls with
distinction.
