WOW395 Douglas A1 Skyraider

Out of Stock

Category: mothballed

Description

The Skyraider first flew in 1945 to replace the likes of the Dauntless, Helldiver and Avenger. It was a highly successful design and sold to several countries including the UK and France. It saw active combat service in Korea and later in Vietnam. The Skyraider had 15 hard points for carrying external ordnance such as rockets, bombs and torpedoes. In the Vietnam war in October 1965, to highlight the dropping of the six millionth pound of ordnance, Commander Clarence J. Stoddard of VA-25, flying an A-1H, dropped a special, one-time-only object in addition to his other munitions on the Viet Cong – a toilet!

Its armoured cockpit allowed it to take considerable punishment and it proved popular with its pilots, although its powerful engine had to be harnessed carefully as it was prone to crashing on take off in the hands of an inexperienced pilot. Skyraider production ended in 1957 with a total of 3,180 having been built, the last ones being retired from the USAF in the 1970’s.

Reviews (0)