WARBIRDS SKYRAIDERS
64 FLYPAST June 2018
WARBIRDS SKYRAIDERS
The US Navy introduced a new designation
system in 1946 and the Skyraider was
the fi rst in the ‘Attack’ category, as the
AD - Attack, Douglas. Sub-variants ran from
AD-1 through to -7. There were suffi xes
for changes of role, eg AD-4N was a night
attack version, AD-4Q for electronic
countermeasures (ECM) and AD-4W for airborne early warning (AEW).
In 1962 the Tri-Service (USAF, Navy and Marines) scheme was introduced. The Skyraider
became the A-1 and surviving pre-1962 models were re-designated. For example, the AD-6
became the A-1H while the AEW AD-4Q became the EA-1E.
The AD designation gave rise to the Skyraider’s earliest nicknames: ‘Spad’, after the French
SPAD fi ghters fl own by US pilots in World War One, and the phonetic ‘Able-Dog’. The wide-
fuselage AD-5 was known as ‘Fat Face’, while the AD-5W AEW version was the ‘Guppy’.
ECM-confi gured AD-4Qs and AD-5Qs were named ‘Q-birds’, inspired by the American cotton
swabs, Q-tips. (All ECM types got this moniker, so the Douglas A3D-2Q Skywarrior was also a
Q-bird.)
In Vietnam, the A-1 was nicknamed the ‘Flying Dumptruck’. This was not derogatory, it was
because the Skyraider could be relied on to carry anything and deposit it just where it was
required.SKYRAIDER DESIGNATIONS AND NICKNAMES
Above right
An eye-catching view of
the museum’s Skyraiders
skimming the clouds over
Texas. ALL AUTHORAttempting to get into a position
to strike the slower piston-engined
aircraft, one of the opponents
made the error of slipping into
Johnson’s gunsight. He wasted no
time in unleashing his devastating
20mm cannon. Hartman also came
to his aid; the conflict ended in a
perfect ‘scissors’ that resulted in the
destruction of the MiG.
The second confirmed victory
went to Lt Tom Patton of VA-176
‘Thunderbolts’, embarked in
the USS Intrepid. A quartet of
Skyraiders was sent off on October
9, 1966 on another RECAP, bound
for the hotly contested airspace
south of Hanoi, near the Red River
delta. A Phantom had been brought
down by North Vietnamese anti-
aircraft artillery and the Spads were
to support a rescue helicopter.
Despite the danger from the
alerted anti-aircraft forces and low
cloud and mist, the four Skyraiders
divided into two sections, high
and low, to patrol the rescue
zone. Suddenly one of the pairs
was attacked by two MiG-17s
at tree-top height. Low level was
the domain of the A-1s and with
great flying skill they managed to
extricate themselves from the critical
situation, even managing to obtain
some cannon hits on the attackers.
The second section joined in theaction and Lt Tom Patton, at the
controls of 13543 Papoose 409,
dived at full throttle and got on the
tail of a MiG. As the Vietnamese
pilot tried to disengage he turned
tight left, losing still more energy
and offering his side profile to
Patton.
Opening fire, Patton pumped allhis 20mm shells into the MiG. He
saw it roll violently and disappear
into the murk. Seconds later Patton
observed that the enemy pilot was
hanging from his parachute, and he
saw the Fresco crash into the jungle.
Ed Heinemann’s magnificent Spad
had graduated to the elite MiG-
killer club. http://www.cavflight.org“One of the opponents made the error of slipping into
Johnson’s gunsight. He wasted no time in unleashing his
devastating 20mm cannon”