June 2018 FLYPAST 61

D

ouglas chief engineer Ed

Heinemann was gifted with

incredible foresight. Proof,

if it were needed, came from his

choice of the 18-cylinder, 2,800hp

(2,088kW) Wright R-3350 to

power the XBT2D Dauntless II

attack bomber for the US Navy.

He had created one of the largest

single-seat airframes to enter

production, and to operate

from the decks of carriers as a

dive-bomber it required great

reserves of power.

The prototype flew for

the first time on March 18, 1945,

too late for the Skyraider to take part

in World War Two. Re-designated

AD-1 and renamed Skyraider, despite

appearing anachronistic in the

expanding ‘jet era’, it proved itself

to be one of the most important

and adaptable Cold War warriors

during its 30-year service life.

Notwithstanding its notable

bulk, that big radial bestowed

great performance and surprising

manoeuvrability. Heinemann

designed in robustness and the ability

to take an exceptional payload:

8,000lb (3,629kg) on seven under-

wing hard points. Production ran

from 1945 to 1957, and 3,180 were

built.

The ‘Spad’ – derived from its AD

designation – became a

workhorse of the

US Navy,

serving in

Korea and into the early

phases of the Vietnam War. It also

crossed a divide achieved by only a few

types, joining the USAF for extensive

combat flying in South East Asia from

1967. (For notes on AD designations
      and its nicknames, see page 64.)

GUPPY

Based in Dallas, Texas, the

Cavanaugh Flight Museum glories in

a pair of airworthy Skyraiders. The

two provide a useful comparison, the

single-seat A-1H 139606 (N39606)

with the wide-fuselage EA-1E

135152 (N65164).

Built to give the US Navy an

airborne early warning capability

(AEW), the AD-5W was a major

redesign of the Skyraider, featuring a

widened, deepened and lengthened

fuselage with an APS-20 search radar

under the centre section. The portly

AD-5W – nicknamed Guppy – had

a crew of three, and 218 were built.

Cavanaugh’s 135152 was delivered

to the US Navy in 1955 and between

November 1956 and December

1960 served AEW squadron VAW-

12 ‘Bats’ and from May 1961 to

November 1962 with

VAW-11.

In 1962

the

SPADS

PAIR OF

Luigino Caliaro profiles the Cavanaugh Flight Museum’s Skyraiders and explains how the big

attack bomber became a fighter

Left

The Cavanaugh Flight

Museum’s Skyraiders.

EA-1E 135152 (far left) with

single-seat A-1H 139606.