- 4 weeks ago
For educational purposes
The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly designated AD before the 1962 unification of Navy and Air Force designations) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s, which served during the Korean War and Vietnam War.
The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in frontline service well into the Jet Age (when most piston-engine attack or fighter aircraft were replaced by jet aircraft); thus becoming known by some as "anachronism".
The aircraft was nicknamed "Spad", after the French World War I fighter.
The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly designated AD before the 1962 unification of Navy and Air Force designations) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s, which served during the Korean War and Vietnam War.
The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in frontline service well into the Jet Age (when most piston-engine attack or fighter aircraft were replaced by jet aircraft); thus becoming known by some as "anachronism".
The aircraft was nicknamed "Spad", after the French World War I fighter.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:30Some planes have short lifetimes, generally because they reflect the needs of their era.
00:45A very few remain in service for so long that they seem permanent.
00:51This plane stayed around long enough to be three planes.
00:54It was initially the BT2D, then it was the AD, and then it was the A1.
01:05It was such a success that the only major criticism leveled at it was that not enough were built.
01:24The first Douglas Sky Raider, known then as the Destroyer II, took off in March 1945,
01:34beginning a service career that was to stretch, unbroken, to Vietnam.
01:40After the last U.S. Navy A1 combat missions were flown,
01:44the plane was still being used ashore by the United States and South Vietnamese Air Forces.
01:49Where or when the last Sky Raider in combat service flew a mission is somewhat of a mystery.
01:57It's probable that they were in use in the African state of Chad as recently as 1979.
02:05Even as the Sky Raider was in development, it was already widely believed to be obsolete.
02:11After all, it was designed and constructed at the same time as the development of jet engine aircraft,
02:18in an era that was obsessed with speed.
02:22While other designers were scratching their heads about the best way to get around the sound barrier,
02:28Douglas engineers were wrestling old-fashioned problems with propellers and radial engines.
02:33Nobody questioned that the design was a pinnacle of piston-powered aviation.
02:39But many questioned the need for climbing that pinnacle.
02:43In hindsight, it can be seen that the Sky Raider was the sum of an enormous bank of knowledge built up over time.
02:50In 1925, just 20 years before the first flight of the Sky Raider,
03:05the U.S. Navy had one aircraft carrier.
03:08By 1935, this figure had only increased to four.
03:13Naval aviation was an experimental area.
03:16There was no debate about the use and worth of these big ships.
03:19But the navies of the world still assessed each other's strength
03:23in the number and caliber of battleship guns deployed.
03:49Through the 20s and 30s, the numbers of ships and planes slowly increased.
03:58Experimentation and testing went a long way toward sorting out the systems, methods, and value of naval aviation.
04:07The increasing sophistication and expertise of the crews soon demonstrated telling points
04:13in the debate about the function and worth of carriers.
04:17It became evident to many that the future of naval conflict would be dominated by air power.
04:23Pearl Harbor
04:27Pearl Harbor
04:40Pearl Harbor not only settled all arguments from the die-hard battleship supporters.
04:45In the Pacific,
04:46it also settled the matter in a practical way.
04:49For the moment,
04:51for the moment, the only American force of real power capable of action was the carriers.
04:57At the outbreak of war, the carrier complements were, as usual, in transition.
05:03It was a major turning point in aviation, with monoplanes taking over from the trusty biplanes.
05:09As war started, the planes in use were quickly shown to have major flaws.
05:16War demanded different specifications.
05:19Fortunately, the conflict in Europe gave a short but significant lead time to aircraft designers,
05:26and production was already underway on new, more effective planes.
05:30purpose.
05:49Curtis Helldivers and Grumman Avengers were to carry the bulk of the weight of war for the US ships.
05:56These followed the established pattern of two-seat dive bombers and three-seat torpedo bombers.
06:02The Hell Diver, ordered in 1939 and first flown in 1940,
06:07became the standard Navy dive bomber of the last two years of the war.
06:11But throughout its career, it was troublesome and displayed several flaws.
06:16Among these were instability, an operational range of only 250 miles, and poor maintenance access.
06:24The plane had not lived up to expectation as a load carrier or for its short take-off ability.
06:31But the Hell Divers were the best planes available for the job, and they were used to good effect.
06:54On the other hand, the Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers were a great success.
07:02The planes they were to replace, the aging Douglas Devastators,
07:06were so outdated that the Avengers were ordered to full production even before the prototype flew.
07:12The gamble paid off.
07:15With a 2,000-pound bomb or torpedo load, the Avengers, when they went into service, were invaluable,
07:22and they were to stay with the fleet until 1954.
07:25Another message was also loud and clear.
07:36The layout of attack and bomber aircraft had become outdated.
07:41The speed and firepower of fighters was such that there was no way for bombers to protect themselves.
07:48Their gunners were no deterrent to fighter attack.
07:50They needed to depend on their own fighter escorts for control of the sky.
07:56This meant there was no real point in the wasted weight of revolving gun turrets.
08:00The load would be better carried as fuel and bombs.
08:04Despite casualties, there is no doubt that America's naval strength, based on her carriers,
08:23dominated the vast Pacific battlefield.
08:26Japan lost 39 battleships and cruisers during the war,
08:30and only four of these were sunk by American surface ships.
08:34Eight more were dealt with by submarines,
08:37and the rest, 27, were dispatched by carrier-based planes.
08:54Naval aviation was clearly one of the most powerful weapons at America's disposal,
08:59and plans were developing to meet needs far beyond the war's end.
09:04New, reliable, and powerful engines were available.
09:08Experience made it possible to predict accurately the behavior of the design shape.
09:13Combat indicated that the gunner was a redundant concept,
09:17and, in the same way, the observer or bombardier was wasted in a specialized airframe.
09:23The next specification for a Navy attack plane to be issued was for a single-seat aircraft.
09:30Douglas had been working on their submission, the BTD-1, from 1942.
09:52But it was clear that the plane, essentially a pre-war design, was no match for its competitors,
09:59including the formidable Martin AM-1.
10:03While war went on, the situation came to a head on the 16th of June, 1944,
10:09at a meeting between the heads of the Douglas team and Navy representatives.
10:13The chief designer of the Douglas Navy plant, Ed Heinemann, asked for permission to cancel the plane
10:20and use the contract's unexpended funds on a new aircraft.
10:25In their hotel, overnight, he and two assistants,
10:29working on the basis of the knowledge they had gained in the years since designing the BTD,
10:34came up with the outlines for a new plane.
10:36The sketches they presented the next morning, accompanied by their technical explanation,
10:56intrigued and impressed the Navy's representatives.
11:00Douglas was, in effect, allowed to re-enter the competition.
11:03They had only nine months to get their plane into the air,
11:08and it had to comply with very tight and unforgiving specifications.
11:21It was, in fact, nine months and one day, one day late to its first flight.
11:27About an hour after takeoff, the test pilot was back on the ground,
11:32enthusiastic about the plane.
11:35It had exceeded his expectation,
11:37as it was to exceed the expectations of many people during its lifetime.
11:42But the war was drawing to a conclusion.
11:45Douglas, having produced the goods,
11:47faced the prospect of the market disappearing.
11:50Wartime contracts for 548 planes were canceled.
12:06Three were delivered in 1945,
12:08and only another 22 in 1946.
12:12But this minimal production saved the Skyrader.
12:15Though the future of a piston-engine aircraft seemed questionable,
12:20this plane was clearly something to be reckoned with.
12:23And in 1947, the Navy purchased 239 in three different versions.
12:30In time, the new plane would operate in many other roles.
12:42Ambulance, ECM platform,
12:44RPV or drone director,
12:47target tow,
12:48anti-submarine warfare aircraft,
12:50night fighter plane,
12:52rescue helicopter escort,
12:53early warning radar platform,
12:55and even as a transport seating 12 passengers.
12:58In all, there were to be around 30 major types,
13:03and about the same number of subtypes.
13:06The Skyrader never ran out of uses.
13:09The 82 was a very stable aircraft.
13:13It was not difficult to fly.
13:15In fact, to check out,
13:17from going from one plane to another,
13:19going from training command,
13:20where I flew Corsairs,
13:21to the A-2,
13:25I merely read the handbook
13:26and took an open-book test
13:28and sat in a cockpit
13:30and learned the location of everything.
13:32And then it was time to go.
13:35It was very quick and a lot of fun.
13:40The 82 was a good plane to land on a carrier.
13:43I went on one full cruise of six months
13:46and never got a wave off.
13:48And I was not, you know,
13:49I was not the exception.
13:50It was just a neat plane on the carrier.
13:51When I was a young pilot,
13:54I even took off with flaps up by mistake.
13:57Still got airborne.
13:59And it was just fine.
14:05Korea saw Skyraders thrown into conflict,
14:08where they played a major part in that war.
14:14Korea brought the world's remaining ideological camps
14:17into conflict.
14:19Remnants of the 1930s school of dictators
14:21would be swept under the skirts
14:23of one camp or the other
14:24for the next 40 years.
14:26And history would come to see the Cold War
14:29as a continuation of the Second World War.
14:32On the ground,
14:34there were times when battles
14:35resembled World War I,
14:37with the new American technologies of war
14:39pitted against infantry
14:41armed with rifles and trenches.
14:44The helicopter became a major weapon.
14:46United Nations air domination
14:49was, for most of the war, complete.
14:52The services of Korea's giant neighbor, China,
14:55effectively replaced North Korean forces
14:58because these had been destroyed.
15:01China is still coy about what it cost
15:03to maintain the line near the 38th parallel.
15:06But that line would hold,
15:08and the war would be settled with pens.
15:16The aerial war was shared between generations.
15:36Jets were deployed,
15:38but their need for long, straight runways
15:40hampered their effectiveness,
15:41especially in the frantic early days of the war
15:44as the North Koreans swept the peninsula
15:47and captured all but the tiny pocket around Pusan.
15:57The Air Force was hampered
15:59by having to fly from Japan
16:00with relatively short-range jets.
16:02The Navy's carriers were called on
16:05for a high proportion of support
16:07for the soldiers fighting desperately to hang on.
16:20Sky Raiders are essentially a big fighter plane.
16:23They don't have an internal bomb bay.
16:26This was not included for two reasons.
16:29One, additional weight in hydraulics
16:31and hinges for the doors.
16:33And two, it restricted the nature of the load.
16:37It was reasoned that strengthened wings
16:39with multiple mounts
16:40would accommodate a greater range of stores packages.
16:44In fact, the Sky Raiders would carry,
16:46at one time or another,
16:47the whole inventory,
16:49including weapons that were rumors
16:51or theories in 1944
16:53when the plane was first drawn up.
16:56During the Korean War,
16:58Sky Raiders took part
16:59in highly secret experiments
17:01carrying nuclear weapons.
17:03And later, in 1953,
17:05the AD-4D variant would be developed
17:08specifically for that purpose.
17:10But it would never be called on
17:12to deliver these weapons.
17:14It would make and polish
17:15its enduring reputation
17:16with a range of conventional stores.
17:21In the desperate days early in the Korean War
17:33and later as the fighting dragged on,
17:36the Sky Raiders were increasingly accepted
17:38as being the Navy's big punch.
17:41Their varied loads were delivered
17:42precisely and effectively
17:44and could include rockets and napalm
17:47and a range of small and large bombs
17:49to suit particular targets.
17:52Their loads had one other outstanding feature.
17:55They were enormous.
18:03On several occasions,
18:05a Sky Raider would deliver
18:06a weight of bombs
18:08that was greater than its own weight.
18:10Loads of up to 14,000 pounds
18:13were carried in a plane
18:14that weighed only 11,000 pounds.
18:17This was well outside the parameters
18:19of what could be expected
18:20from most other aircraft in service.
18:23And the longer the war went on,
18:25the more additional orders
18:27flowed into the Douglas factory.
18:28The orders had in fact been stockpiling
18:39due to delays in delivery.
18:42There was a series of problems
18:43with the new engine.
18:45There had also been problems
18:46with the introduction
18:47of the plane into service.
18:49The design team had expended
18:50a great deal of energy
18:52on minimizing weight.
18:54This led to some modifications
18:55to cure stress problems
18:57which had developed
18:58in the initial carrier trials
19:00of the plane.
19:01These problems were partly
19:03the result of poor landing technique.
19:05In response,
19:07pilots were given
19:07additional practice
19:08while the Sky Raider
19:10was also strengthened
19:11to withstand heavier impacts.
19:22Most of the planes
19:23they served with in Korea
19:25were to be phased out rapidly.
19:27the jets because of the rapid
19:28developments in technology
19:30and the piston planes
19:31because of their age.
19:34The Sky Raiders' future
19:35was also already being scrutinized
19:37in order to develop specifications
19:39for a replacement aircraft.
19:41The conclusion was a tribute
19:43to the Big Douglas aircraft
19:44because the Navy decided
19:46to buy three aircraft
19:48splitting the roles performed
19:50by the Sky Raider
19:51to a range of airframes.
19:59In 1949,
20:01the future of the 80s
20:02could at best
20:03have been described
20:04as uncertain.
20:05Very few could have predicted
20:07they would endure
20:08long into the jet era.
20:10But orders continued
20:11and when production
20:12eventually ceased
20:14on the 18th of February, 1957,
20:163,180 Sky Raiders
20:19had been built.
20:21It would be many more years
20:23before they would be found
20:24in museums.
20:27When we would get back
20:29to Japan on rest
20:31and recreation,
20:33if we ever met army people
20:34or marines that had been
20:37on the ground
20:37up in the front lines
20:39and told them
20:40what we flew,
20:42they always said,
20:43well, you guys
20:44are the ones
20:44that saved our lives
20:46and we wouldn't have
20:47your job for anything.
20:50Oftentimes,
20:51we'd find,
20:51particularly a Vietnamese pilot
20:53who was rather short,
20:54that we'd have to put
20:55a seat cushion
20:57or a pillow behind them
20:58so we could move
20:59the Vietnamese pilot forward
21:02so that he could get
21:02full right rudder,
21:04particularly with a heavy load
21:05on a short runway
21:06where he needed
21:07full power instantly.
21:08In September 1960,
21:11the first Sky Raiders
21:12arrived in a new theater
21:13of conflict,
21:14in a new role,
21:15as fighters
21:16to join the Vietnamese Air Force.
21:19In May,
21:20a further 25 arrived,
21:22where they became
21:22a major factor
21:23in the air war
21:24over Vietnam.
21:34United States' involvement
21:35with the Vietnamese Air Force
21:37grew,
21:37not only in supplying aircraft,
21:40but helping in many ways
21:41to tune the Vietnamese
21:42into a combat-ready force.
21:45In 1962,
21:47pilot training
21:47was transferred
21:48to the United States.
21:51Coincidentally,
21:52military aviation experimentation
21:54was being directed
21:55toward the question,
21:57what type of aircraft
21:58would best answer
21:59the tactical requirements
22:00in counterinsurgency operations?
22:02The answer was,
22:07an aircraft with the attributes
22:09of the Douglas Sky Raider.
22:11U.S. involvement
22:24with the Vietnamese Air Force
22:26had formally started
22:27in 1955,
22:28but it was not until the early 60s
22:31that U.S. advisors
22:32were sent to Vietnam
22:33in noticeable numbers.
22:35American pilots
22:37supplemented the locals.
22:39American administrators,
22:41ground crew,
22:42and trainers
22:42also multiplied,
22:44and the flow
22:44of aircraft
22:45continued.
22:46Also increasing
23:00through this time
23:01was the level
23:01of insurgent activity.
23:03The Saigon regime,
23:05riddled with corruption
23:06and badly out of touch
23:07with the population,
23:09was tottering along
23:10under Diem.
23:11The country was a breeding ground
23:13for civil discontent.
23:15Leaflet drops
23:16and aerial propaganda
23:17broadcasting
23:18were no answer
23:19to the situation.
23:28The flow of arms
23:29and then troops
23:30from the north
23:31made the situation
23:32in much of the south
23:33untenable.
23:35For military efforts
23:36to work,
23:37the nature of the regime
23:38would have to change,
23:39giving some recognition
23:41to the interests
23:42of the people.
23:44Sadly,
23:44southern politics
23:45would be limited
23:46to a series of presidents.
23:48The system persisted.
23:50The only movement
23:51was a gradual decay
23:52that eventually
23:53became defeat.
24:03When they received
24:04their first Sky Raiders,
24:06the Vietnamese
24:06were disappointed.
24:08They had been expecting
24:09jets.
24:10However,
24:11the Geneva Agreement
24:12outlawed the introduction
24:13of such advanced weapons
24:14into the conflict.
24:16The Vietnamese Air Force
24:17would not get
24:18its first jets,
24:19Northrop F-5s,
24:21until 1967.
24:23In the interim,
24:24they used a variety
24:25of aircraft
24:26in well-organized
24:27and effective operations
24:28against the guerrilla forces.
24:30Spotters and attack aircraft
24:39worked together closely
24:40to provide powerful
24:41and precise support
24:42to ground operations.
24:45Under the close
24:45and often hands-on guidance
24:47of the U.S. Air Force advisors,
24:50the VNAF
24:51developed tactical responses
24:52to guerrilla operations
24:54that were to remain models
24:56for much of the war.
24:57smoke markers
25:00fired by Cessna bird dogs
25:02operating as forward air controllers
25:04would indicate targets
25:05for the Sky Raiders.
25:06In 1962,
25:24the name of the Sky Raider
25:26changed again
25:27with a revision
25:28of Navy nomenclature
25:29to the A-1.
25:31The Sky Raider's
25:32third official designation
25:33actually suited
25:34the plane perfectly.
25:35A-1 was certainly
25:37an accurate description.
25:46Over the skies in Vietnam,
25:49Sky Raiders performed
25:50an outstanding role
25:51in counterinsurgency,
25:53and another customer,
25:54the United States Air Force,
25:56was soon to be flying them
25:57alongside the Vietnamese.
25:58My fellow Americans,
26:23as President and Commander-in-Chief,
26:28it is my duty
26:29to the American people
26:30to report
26:32that renewed hostile actions
26:36against United States ships
26:39on the high seas
26:40and the Gulf...
26:40President Johnson's announcement
26:42after the Gulf of Tonkin incident
26:44was not actually
26:46the first American involvement
26:47in the Vietnam conflict.
26:49President Kennedy
26:50had promoted
26:51counterinsurgency
26:52as essential,
26:53and Air Force units
26:55had grown up
26:55around this specialty.
26:57Nor had they taken long
26:59to arrive in Vietnam
27:00with its long-running
27:01guerrilla war.
27:03Now they were joined
27:04by the full weight
27:05of the military,
27:06and the lessons
27:07they had learned
27:08were passed into operations
27:09on a far grander scale.
27:11with the formal commitment
27:24of United States forces
27:25came a transformation
27:27of the conflict.
27:29The entire conventional weight
27:30of the U.S.
27:31was committed
27:32in a guerrilla war.
27:34Helicopters would be
27:35the enduring image
27:36of Vietnam
27:36as gunships,
27:38as troop carriers,
27:39and as rescue
27:41for downed pilots.
27:42This is Bravo 8-1.
27:44Airborne at the flight of 16.
27:46Event 101-4, over.
27:49Bravo 8-1,
27:50this is Clearwater.
27:51Roger.
27:52Your pigeons
27:52to Point Cairo 28014, over.
27:56Now this is 8-1.
27:57The helicopters
27:57provided a focus
27:59for forces on the ground
28:00and became
28:01a persisting symbol
28:03of the conflict.
28:09The increasing weight
28:19of war machinery
28:20and new methods
28:21of employing it
28:22developed along
28:23with a bewildering series
28:24of political skirmishes.
28:26Together,
28:27these military
28:28and political developments
28:30gave new meaning
28:31to the expression
28:32the futility of war.
28:34U.S. Air Force Sky Raiders
28:45had started
28:45Vietnam operations
28:46in May 1964
28:48with Vietnamese observers
28:50who were nominally
28:51in charge of activity.
28:53The twin-seat A-1Es
28:55they used
28:55were to be the first
28:56of many U.S. Air Force
28:58Sky Raiders
28:58to serve in the theater.
29:00By the time
29:01the Es began
29:02to run out,
29:03the U.S. was
29:04fully involved
29:05and they could be
29:06replaced with the
29:07still numerous
29:07single-seaters.
29:09The use of these planes
29:10alongside Mach 2 jets
29:12was not incongruous.
29:14It was a result
29:15of specialization.
29:32Sky Raiders
29:39had exceptional attributes.
29:41The ground troops
29:42appreciated
29:42their heavy load
29:43of ordnance
29:44and the fact
29:45that they could loiter
29:45waiting for work.
29:47Their pilots
29:48loved the accuracy
29:49that could be achieved
29:50when flying something
29:51as stable,
29:52slow,
29:53and maneuverable
29:54as their A-1Es.
29:55They were also grateful
29:57for the armored toughness
29:58of the planes
29:59which could absorb
30:00tremendous battle damage.
30:02In their long career,
30:24the Sky Raiders
30:24earned several nicknames.
30:26There was a drive
30:27to have them known
30:28as the Pulverizer,
30:29which never took.
30:30They were known
30:31after their callsign
30:32in Korea
30:33as A-Ds,
30:35which were able dogs.
30:37They also had other names.
30:38They were Spads,
30:40and in their rescue work,
30:41they were Sandy.
30:42Their activity
30:54in close support
30:55was unmatchable.
30:56They pounded away
30:58with an accuracy
30:58impossible
30:59with supersonic aircraft.
31:01They provided this service
31:03in virtually all weather.
31:05When the jets
31:06were grounded,
31:07the Sky Raiders
31:08were out there working.
31:09admittedly,
31:10they offered
31:11a pretty good target.
31:12Someone who had been
31:13trying to hit
31:14a Mach 2 jet
31:15with the rifle
31:15would have welcomed
31:16the sight of a Spad
31:18to shoot at.
31:19But the Spad
31:20soaked up damage
31:21and kept on going,
31:22at least to the extent
31:23of getting home,
31:25even if they wouldn't
31:26fly again.
31:27The U.S. Air Force
31:49lost 153 Sky Raiders
31:51in combat in Vietnam
31:52between 1962 and 1973.
31:55A further 41
31:57were listed
31:58as operational losses.
32:00Considering the job
32:01they did,
32:02this is a testimony
32:03to the aircraft.
32:06146 of the U.S. Air Force
32:08losses were caused
32:09by ground fire.
32:11Only three were lost
32:12to SAMs,
32:13two to MiGs,
32:15and two in attacks
32:15on airfields.
32:17This reflects the way
32:18they were used,
32:20in close support
32:21wherever the troops
32:22happened to be that day,
32:23or as escorts
32:25for rescue helicopters.
32:27Incredibly dangerous roles,
32:29day after day.
32:31Whereas the overall
32:32U.S. average of losses
32:34due to ground fire
32:35was 57%,
32:36for the Sky Raiders,
32:38the figure was 75%.
32:40On one occasion,
32:43we had a four-ship
32:44of A-1Es land
32:46at Nacomphanam,
32:47and between us,
32:49four A-1s,
32:51and the two helicopters,
32:53there were 619 holes
32:55in our aircraft.
32:56That's exciting.
32:58And it was immediate,
33:00and oftentimes
33:01it was dramatic,
33:02high drama
33:03over a long period of time.
33:05Now we continue
33:10with Wings
33:11on the Discovery Channel.
33:17The twin-seat A-1E models
33:19that the Air Force
33:20had first taken out
33:21of Navy mothballs
33:22simply wore out.
33:24There comes a time
33:25in the life of an aircraft
33:26when the next rebuild
33:28cannot be justified,
33:29and the E-models
33:30had come to that point.
33:32The U.S. Air Force
33:34would continue
33:34to use Sky Raiders,
33:36replacing the aging E's
33:38with the single-seat H model.
33:40The last E model
33:42flew its final mission
33:43on the 10th of April, 1967,
33:45and was hoisted aboard ship
33:47for its journey
33:48back to the USA.
33:50There was quite a bit
33:51of history in that moment.
34:00The nickname Spad
34:01referred to a
34:02first World War biplane.
34:04At first,
34:05it expressed the scorn
34:07of the jet pilots
34:07for the lumbering
34:08old war horses
34:09that cluttered
34:10their airfields.
34:12However,
34:12the Spads in Vietnam
34:13changed that scorn
34:15into grudging respect
34:16and then into awe.
34:19In time,
34:20many of the jet jockeys
34:21would owe a great deal
34:22to the Spads
34:23because Vietnam
34:25had given the Sky Raiders
34:26a new task.
34:28Many knowledgeable people
34:29maintain that the Spads
34:31found their finest hour
34:32in this new role,
34:34Rescue Helicopter Escort.
34:36The rescue parties
34:53involved a variety
34:54of aircraft,
34:55control aircraft,
34:57spotters,
34:58the rescue choppers,
34:59and the pugnacious
35:00A-1s as escorts.
35:02The control aircraft
35:03would patrol at height,
35:05listening for the radio beacon
35:06of a downed pilot.
35:08After establishing
35:09the pilot's whereabouts,
35:11a rescue team
35:12would be directed
35:12to the area.
35:14Strike aircraft
35:14would also be involved
35:16in covering the operation,
35:17especially when the rescue
35:19was conducted
35:19deep inside
35:20North Vietnam.
35:22The work of these crews,
35:24in the helicopters,
35:25and the other aircraft,
35:26required great courage.
35:28Despite the danger,
35:29the units pressed
35:31each mission
35:32as hard as possible,
35:33and in the course
35:34of the war,
35:35were credited
35:35with an amazing
35:363,833 rescues.
35:40Rooster lead,
35:49Rooster lead,
35:49this is the Crown 1.
35:50We're verified
35:50at your identity.
35:51Sandys are en route.
35:53We'll arrive
35:53in your area
35:54in 8 minutes.
35:54Jolly Green's
35:55in 19 minutes.
35:56We have called
35:57MCCAP for you.
35:58It should be
35:59in your area by now.
36:00Roger.
36:01I have Tally Ho
36:01to the MCCAP.
36:03Stay in orbit
36:04over Red Rooster 2
36:05until Sandys arrive.
36:06Roger, Crown.
36:08Roger, Crown.
36:09This is Sandy 1.
36:09Go ahead.
36:10Red Rooster lead
36:11is still orbiting
36:12over downed pilot
36:13at coordinates
36:1410, 20 north,
36:15105, 50 east.
36:18He has reported
36:19enemy automatic weapon
36:20fire one mile
36:21north of downed pilot.
36:22There may be
36:23a lot more
36:23around the pilot himself.
36:25Sandy 1,
36:26this is Crown.
36:26I am designating
36:27you on the scene,
36:28Commander.
36:28Take over.
36:29Roger, Crown.
36:30I've got it.
36:37Sky Raiders
36:38filled the role
36:39of escort well.
36:40They had the endurance
36:41to stay aloft
36:42for hours.
36:43They could quite happily
36:44hover along
36:45with the slow helicopters.
36:47At the location
36:48of a rescue,
36:49they could bring
36:49their firepower
36:50into play
36:51to suppress
36:51any hostile activity
36:53in the area,
36:54allowing the Jolly Greens
36:55to go about
36:56their business
36:56with little interference.
36:58For these missions,
37:00the Sky Raiders
37:00were fully loaded
37:01with ordnance
37:02and ammunition.
37:04Because of the vulnerability
37:05of the helicopters
37:06to ground fire,
37:07it was essential
37:08that enemy activity
37:09be suppressed
37:10before the choppers
37:11presented themselves
37:12as stationary targets
37:13hovering above
37:14the downed crew.
37:16As a result,
37:17the A-1s would engage
37:19in what was referred
37:20to as trolling
37:21for fire.
37:22This consisted
37:23of flying low
37:24and deliberately
37:25drawing fire
37:26from enemy guns
37:27near the scene.
37:28When these guns
37:29had been located
37:30and silenced,
37:32the air would be safer
37:33for helicopters.
37:34It did, however,
37:35make a Sky Raider
37:36a dangerous place to be.
37:38The rescue team's motto was
38:04that others may live.
38:07To that end,
38:08they were prepared
38:09to risk their lives.
38:18The para-jumpers,
38:20the men who went
38:20down the wire
38:21to the pilot,
38:22were trained scuba divers
38:24in case the rescue
38:25took place over water.
38:26They were qualified parachutists
38:28and experts
38:29with small arms
38:30and hand-to-hand combat.
38:31They were also
38:32fully trained
38:33in first aid.
38:34With the rest
38:35of the crew,
38:36they faced the danger
38:37of flying low
38:38and slow
38:38in their chopper
38:39to the rescue site,
38:40often under intense fire.
38:42Then,
38:43they left even
38:43the aircraft's
38:44limited safety
38:45to become dangling targets
38:47that others may live.
38:52The tremendous
38:54personal satisfaction
38:55they had
38:56out of seeing a guy
38:57step out
38:58of that helicopter
38:59was,
39:00it was tremendous.
39:01It was a very exciting
39:02experience
39:03from a tactical standpoint.
39:04A beautiful thing
39:05about the A-1
39:06is that it could
39:07stay over the guy
39:08for hours on time.
39:10It had a versatile load
39:13with 15 external stations.
39:14You could put
39:15a wide variety
39:16of ordnance
39:17on the aircraft.
39:18So it meant
39:19that when you got airborne,
39:20you could be applied
39:20to a wide variety
39:21of targets
39:22in situations.
39:25The disadvantage
39:26to the A-1
39:26is obvious
39:27because while
39:28it was an airplane
39:29with tremendous
39:30staying power
39:31and time in the air,
39:33it was very slow.
39:34And as a result,
39:35it was a fairly easy target
39:37for less sophisticated
39:39automatic weapons
39:40and anti-air.
39:43The Navy
39:44had apparently
39:45replaced the Sky Raider
39:46when it split
39:47the roles of the plane
39:48among three airframes.
39:50The Grumman Tracker
39:51was to take over
39:52anti-submarine missions
39:53and went into service
39:54in 1954.
39:57The 1952
39:58Douglas Sky Warrior
39:59was to carry out
40:00long-range bombing,
40:01including nuclear bombing.
40:03And the Douglas Sky Hawk,
40:05the superb A-4,
40:06was to do everything else.
40:08But no one
40:09had told the Sky Raiders.
40:11They were still there
40:12in 1964
40:13when the carriers
40:15found themselves
40:16in Vietnam,
40:17still a standard
40:18medium attack plane.
40:24certainly the other types
40:32were there as well.
40:34But mingling
40:35with the screaming jets
40:36of the Phantoms,
40:37Sky Hawks,
40:38and Vigilantes
40:38was the throbbing
40:40piston engine roar
40:41of the Sky Raiders.
40:43They were an important part
40:44of the striking power
40:45of the carriers
40:46in the early years
40:47of Navy involvement.
40:49And their slow
40:50and accurate attacks
40:51brought huge bomb loads
40:53to targets
40:53with deadly effect.
40:55In contrast
40:56to their jet-powered comrades,
40:58they were likely
40:59to be found
41:00on their way back
41:00to the ship,
41:01quietly looking
41:02for targets
41:03of opportunity.
41:04Their accuracy,
41:06huge loads,
41:07and long range
41:08made them
41:08uniquely valuable.
41:23But all good things
41:30come to an end.
41:32If the production lines
41:33were not to be reopened
41:34for further construction,
41:36there were only
41:37the existing Sky Raiders.
41:39They were getting old,
41:40not just because
41:41of their date
41:42of manufacture,
41:43but because they were
41:44being worked so hard.
41:46What happens
41:46to a plane in combat
41:48is extraordinary,
41:49and the Sky Raiders
41:50were in the process
41:51of being replaced
41:52by a fourth aircraft,
41:53the Grumman A-6 Intruder.
41:56Although some
41:57were taken out
41:58of mothballs
41:58to be revitalized
42:00by the U.S. Air Force,
42:01the A-1s were being
42:03phased out of service,
42:04this time for real.
42:06On Sunday,
42:29the 20th of February,
42:301968,
42:32Lieutenant Theodore Hill
42:33landed his Sky Raider
42:34on the USS Coral Sea
42:36after completing
42:37a combat mission
42:38over Vietnam.
42:40He was 23 years old,
42:42and the Sky Raider
42:42had been in service
42:43for 23 years.
42:45He had just completed
42:46the last combat mission
42:48of U.S. Navy Sky Raiders.
42:51That was it.
42:52The old planes
42:53had finished
42:53their Navy service.
42:54No amount of polishing
43:05could extend
43:05their lifespan.
43:07They could still
43:08have been loaded
43:08with arms
43:09and sent on more missions,
43:11but it was time
43:12to call it a day.
43:14After a career
43:15as a full-time
43:15anachronism,
43:17the Sky Raider
43:17had finally earned
43:19a long-overdue retirement.
43:20Their replacements
43:22were already in service.
43:25Indeed,
43:25some of their replacements
43:26were due
43:27for replacement
43:27themselves.
43:28Pilots had a love affair
43:49with their A-1s.
43:51They were disappointed
43:51that they had to
43:52give up the spans.
43:54This was no reflection
43:55on their new planes,
43:57but there was simply
43:58no replacement
43:59for the seat
43:59of your pants flying.
44:01The ponderous
44:02but dynamic control,
44:03the stability,
44:04the leisure,
44:06the intensity of action,
44:07the accuracy
44:08and power
44:09of the Sky Raiders.
44:11They flew such
44:12long missions
44:13that the pilots
44:13often took their lunch
44:15with them.
44:16Substitutions
44:17were made
44:18for the Sky Raider,
44:19but there was never
44:20a real replacement.
44:28The Mewis
44:42of the Sky Raider.
44:43The Mewis
44:43of the Sky Raider
Be the first to comment