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Douglas AD-5W Skyraider 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 frontline service today. It carried various nicknames including: "Spad" (a bi-winged airplane flown in World War I), "Able Dog" (phonetic AD). 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 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). 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. The low-wing monoplane design started with a Wright R-3350 radial engine, later upgraded several times. Its distinctive feature was the presence of seven hardpoints on each wing. The large straight wings give it excellent low speed maneuverability, and enable 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 armoured 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 US 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. 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 Korean War, with the first ADs going into action from the USS Valley Forge with VA-55 on 3 July 1950. Its weapons load and ten-hour flying time far surpassed the jets that were available at the time. 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. 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. Although the carrier air wing was rapidly transitioning to jet aircraft, the A-1 Skyraider was still the medium attack aircraft in many air wings in 1965 with the A-6A Intruder slated to replace it. Skyraiders participated in the first strikes against North Vietnam, but were eventually replaced by Intruders. US Navy Skyraiders shot down two Soviet-built Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 jet fighters during the war on 20 June 1965 by LT Clinton B. Johnson and LTJG Charles W. Hartman III (shared victory) of VA-25, and on 9 October 1966 by LTJG William T. Patton of VA-176. 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. Crew: One Length: 38 ft 10 in (11.84 m) Wingspan: 50 ft 0 in (15.25 m) Height: 15 ft 8 in (4.78 m) Wing area: 400.31 ft² (37.19 m²) Empty weight: 11,970 lb (5,430 kg) Loaded weight: 13,925 lb as scout; 18,030 lb as bomber (6,315 kg as scout; 8,180 kg as bomber) Max takeoff weight: 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) Powerplant: 1× Wright R-3350-26WA radial engine, 2,700 hp (2,000 kW) Maximum speed: 320 mph (280 knots, 520 km/h) Cruise speed: 295 mph (256 knots, 475 km/h) Range: 1,315 mi (1,142 NM, 2,115 km) Service ceiling: 28,500 ft (8,660 m) Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s) Wing loading: 45 lb/ft² (220 kg/m²) Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (250 W/kg) Guns: 4 × 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon Other: Up to 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) of ordnance on 15 external hardpoints including bombs, torpedoes, mine dispensers, unguided rockets, or gun pods USN 82 René Hieronymus Scale 1:72 Building time 32 hrs. |