Table Of ContentlilIUll__
5 E R I E 5
DOUGLAS
VOLUME 131
I
-
- \
•Vietnam MiG Kills • Battle Damage Photos
• Dive and Torpedo Versions • Gun and Ordnance Loadings
...----
•Tech Manual Drawings • Coc~pits and Crew Stations
WARBIRDTECH
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5 E R I E 5
VOLUME 13
DOUGLAS
-
By
KRIS HUGHES AND WALTER DRANEM
Copyright© 7997Kris Hughes andWalterDranem
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE DOUGLAS A-l SKYRAIDER
f»FtI5F~C:1E •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ~
THETHANKS GoTO
INTRODUCTION ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 5
THE XSB2D-1
CHAPTER 1:DAUNTLESS II •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 7
THE XBT2D-1 DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 2: IMPROVED FIREPOWER •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 27
THE AD-4 SERIES
CHAPTER 3: SIDE BY SIDE•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 53
THEAD 5
SPECIAL FULL COLOR SECTION:THE SKYRAIDER'S COLORS •••••••••••••••••• 65
FROM BLUETO GRAYTO GREEN-AND-BROWN
CHAPTER ~: SKYRAIDERS IN FOREIGN SERVICE•••••••••••••••• ~ ••••••••••• 91
THE AEW IAND VNAF
SIGNIFICANT DATES ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 100
KEY DATES IN THE HISTORY OFTHE A-1 SKYRAIDER
..
.W.ARBIRDTECH
I .
PREFACE
THETHANKS GoTO
T
hisbookisthe result ofthe On the Air Force side, a great deal Our grateful thanks go to Mr. Bob
combined effortsofalarge of help was provided by several Mikesh,ex ofthe Smithsonian Air &
and varied group of peo individuals who worked on or Space Museum, for his help in
ple. Being Air Force oriented, we beside the A-1soperating in Viet keeping the Vietnamese Air Force
were somewhat at a loss regarding nam. Mr.Terry Love and Mr. Larry storyaccurate.And toall ofthe staff
the history ofthe Skyraider in Navy Sutherland provided many person of the U.S. Air Force Museum for
and Marine service, let alone the al photos and color slidesthatwere their continuing help.They are an
use of the A-1 by foreign nations. taken in-country between 1965 incredible group of people, very
But agroup ofoutstanding histori and 1968. David Menard, then a knowledgeable, and most impor
u.s.
ans gave us their blessing and their Staff Sergeant in the Air Force tantly,verywilling to help.
help.Seems like everyone liked the and an A-1 mechanic,reached deep
old SPAD,and wanted to make sure into his personal slide collection of To the dozens of others who sent
the story of a propeller-driven air A-1Es, which he worked on during photos, information, criticisms, and
craft operating in two different jet 1965 to '66 in Vietnam. His collec just plain supportforthis project
wars wastold accurately. tion of early Air Force Farm Gate thanks!
A-1 operations was crucial to the
Therefore,specialthanks mustgo to completion ofthe Air Force side of Most of all, our heartfelt thanks go
our Navy-oriented friends, includ theA-1 story. to all the air and ground crews
ing Mr. Jim Sullivan and Mr. Dick aboard the aircraft carriers in the
Starinchak.These two gentlemen Mr. Larry Davis and Mr. Mick Roth Yellow Sea and on the Korean air
supplied a very large amount of delved intotheirconsiderabletech fields,as well asto the aircraft carri
Navy and Marine Corps photos, nical resources to providethe prop er crews (again) who performed
squadron information, and details er designations for the many sys almost flawlessly on Yankee and
found only on Navy and Marine tems and weapons used by the Dixie stations during the Vietnam
ADs.Likewise,Mr.Walt Finkcame to A-1sin both Korea andVietnam.Mr. War.Finalthanks goto the Air Force
our aid with the loan of Navy flight Larry"Mac" McMillen, a long-time crews who took a World War Two
manuals and information on friend, loaned a complete A-1 E propeller-driver dive bomber and
Skyraider flight characteristics and "FlightManual"that provided many pitted it against the most sophisti
Navy armament details. And Walt details not found anywhere else. cated air defense system in air
should know these things-he was (Air Force A-1swere a breed unto warfare history so "that others
aSPADdriverinthe mid-1960s. themselves!) maylive."
Wesaluteyou!
KRIS HUGHESANDWALTER DRANEM
1997
AVA-775AD-6Skyraiderassignedto
USS KittyHawkin 7967.The
DouglasSkyraider,designedduring \
WorldWarTwo,flewcountless
missionsinAmerica'snexttwowars
inKoreaandVietnam,withallthree
services,theNavy,MarinesandAir
Force.(JeffEthell)
..
WARBIRDTECH
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INTRODUCTION
THE XSB2D-1
t has been called many things The SB2C could carry the same basic engine that was under
over the years, some official, amount of ordnance, but it had a developmentforthe B-29.With the
some not-and most names much greater range and flew high-speed laminar flow wing and
were notcomplimentary. almost 50 MPHfasterthan the"Slow the 2,300 horsepower R-3350-14
But Deadly" SBD. Douglas needed engine,the XSB2D-1 was projected
In the beginning it was the an entirely new design to meetthe to have atop speed exceeding 325
Dauntless II.Then it became the newNavyrequirements. MPH.
Skyraider.To the crews,the A-1 was
known as the Able Dog, Spad, Douglas' answer to this dilemma The prototype XSB2D-1 came off
Guppy, Queen, Big Iron Bird, Flying was the XSB2D-1 scout and the Douglas Aircraft Co. assembly
Dump Truck, or simply the AD.The torpedo bomber.The new design line at EI Segundo, California, on
missions that the crews of the A-1 was revolutionary in many ways, March 17, 1943,and it flew its first
have flown run the entire military including the tricycle landing gear flight on April 8. Flight tests
spectrum, from dive and torpedo that replaced the tail-wheel revealed that the top speed was
bomber, to airborne early warning designs common to all other Navy actually faster than 345 MPH,which
aircraft, to flying ambulance, to aircraft. The XSB2D-1 was also was 20 MPH faster than projected
aerial tanker.The A-1 performed all equipped with a pair of remote and awhopping 64 MPH faster than
ofthese missionswith distinction. control gun turrets,each mounting the SB2C Helldiver.
a pair of .50-caliber machine guns
Several A-1 s during the Vietnam fordefensive purposes. Enthusiastically, the Navy
War even played the role offighter Department awarded Douglas a
aircraft with the air superiority Offensively,each wing had a single contract to build 13 service test
mission. Victories scored over 20MM cannon. Ordnance could be SB2D-1s, quickly revising the order
North Vietnamese MiG aircraft carried internally in an enclosed to 345 SB2D production aircraft on
prove that they could fulfill even weapons bay, or externally under August 31, 1943. That order,
that mission-and in ajet war.The the wings and fuselage. The unfortunately, was short-lived. In
Douglas A-1 Skyraider has certainly maximum ordnance load was early fall 1943,the Navy Bureau of
proven itselfto be one ofthe most morethan 4,200-pounds-a pairof Aeronautics (BuAer) revised the
versatile aircraft of the 20th l,600-pound bombs internally,plus requirements for future dive and
Century. a pair of 500-pound bombs under torpedo bombers.
its wings. For the torpedo bomber
As its original name implies,the A mission, the XSB2D-1 could also According to BuAer, defensive
1hasan ancestrythatgoes backall carry a pair of 2,1OO-pound Mk. 13 armament was no longer needed
the way to the incomparable aerial torpedos on special pylons due to the air superiority gains the
Douglas SBD Dauntless.The "Hero under itsfuselage. Navy andMarine pilots had won
of Midway" was designed and during the war. Hellcats and
developed in the pre-World War The XSB2D-1 had a mid-fuselage Corsairs could handle any
Two era, serving as both a scout mounted laminar flow, inverted Japanese aircraft attempting to
and a dive bomber with the U.S. gull wing, similar to the type seen intercept the fleet and its strike
Navy and Marine Corps, beginning on the renowned F4U Corsair, and forces. BuAer informed all the
in 1940. But even at the height of it had it for the same reason competing manufacturers that all
its greatestachievements,the SBDs clearance. Power for the XSB2D-1 new dive and torpedo designs
were made obsolete by newer was to be the at that time new should be developed around a
designs, such as the Curtis SB2C Wright R-3350, 18-cylinder air single pilotwith no reargunners.
Helldiver. cooled radial engine, the same
DOUGLAS
A-I SKYRAIDER 5
The Navy asked Douglas if it was which rose from 550 gallons to 640 On March 5, 1944,the BTD-1 took
feasible for them to modify the gallons, bringing about a slight to the air for the first time. The
XSB2D-1 into a single-seat design increasein range. BTD-1 was an impressively
to meet the new requirements.The performing airplane, with a top
Douglas engineers set about the The rest of the basic design, speed of 345 MPH, a 1,650 feet per
task of converting the three-place including offensive armament, minute rate of climb, and a
XSB2D-1 to a single-seat aircraft ordnance load, and the gull-wing, maximum range of 2,140 miles.
with relative ease. remained essentially the same.The Although it weighed almost 500
designation was changed from pounds more than the XSB2D-1,
The dual cockpits were replaced XSB2D-1 (Experimental Scout the performance of the two
with a single-seat design. Both Bomber, type 2, from Douglas) to prototype aircraft was virtually the
defensive turrets and all the BTD-1 (Bomber/Torpedo aircraft same. This performance wasn't
remote fire control systems were from Douglas), and nicknamed the impressive enough.
removed. A single sliding canopy Destroyer.
was installed over a new The competing aircraft (XBTC-1,
streamlined rear fuselage fairing The first BTD-1 (Bu. No. 04960) XBTK-1, and XBTM-1) all had equal
that covered the area of the came off the assembly line on or greater performance, and they
gunner's cockpit.The large vertical February 15, 1944. In actuality, this were already in the flight test
fin fillet was extended through the first aircraftwas the second SB2D-1 stage. In July 1944, the Navy
area once occupied by the upper service test aircraft that had been cancelled the BTD-1 contract.
gun turret. The weight savings modified to meet the new Navy Douglas Aircraft Co.would soon be
garnered by removal of the gun specifications for a single-seat relegated to subcontract work on
turret systems was eaten up by an bomber. other manufacturers' aircraft
increase in internal fuel tankage, designs iftheydidn'tactfast.
The BTD-1 Destroyerwas to bethe follow-on aircraftto theSBD Dauntless.The BTD-1 hada tricyclelandinggear,
an internal weapons bay,andan invertedgullwing. Firstflying on March 5, 1944,the BTD-1 was cancelledin July
1944.(Douglas)
.. ..
WARBIRDTECH
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II
DAUN ESS
THE XBT2D-l DEVELOPMENT
ith the cancellation of contracts at all, moved the Douglas through the night, the Douglas
the BTD-1 contract in engineeringteamto newheights. team made an appointment to
July 1944, Douglas meet with the same BuAer officials
Aircraft Co. had lost a contract to In early July 1944,following on the who had cancelled the BTD-1.Walk
build 623 aircraft.The Douglas heels of the Navy cancellation of ing into the BuAer offices at the
engineering team ofChiefEngineer the BTD-1 contract, the Douglas Pentagon, the Douglas team car
Ed Heinemann, Chief Designer Leo team went backto theirhotel room ried preliminary sketches and pro
Devlin, and Chief Aerodynamicist in Washington, D.C. Instead of jected performance figures for an
Gene Root had to come up with bemoaning the Navy decision entirely new divebomberdesign.
something quickly or the company about the BTD-1, the team set
would not have a major aircraft in down and began work on an all The Navy officers were so
the Navy inventory. Army Air Force new design. Heinemann, Devlin, impressed with the overnight
contracts for the A-20 Havoc series and Root used all the latest infor efforts that they offered Douglas a
and A-26 Invader would keep the mation from manufacturers, plus contract tobuild 15 ofthe new air
company financially sound, but the wind tunnel results, aerodynamic craft.The Navy actually just modi
pride having built the foremost and flight test results, and pilot fied the existing remnants of the
dive bomber aircraft in Navy histo reports from the combat arenas BTD-1 contract to cover the cost of
ry, and now not building any Navy during the war. After working the new design.The contract did
TheXBT2D-l DauntlessIIwasof
thestandarddivebomber
configuration,i.e.externalweapons
carriage,straightwing,andatail
draggerdesign.Itwasjustbigger!
Rolledoutresplendentinshiny
naturalmetal,theXBT2D-l madeits
firstflightonMarch 18, 1945.The
emblem on thecowlingis the
DouglasAircraftCo.TestDivision
logo.(DepartmentofDefense)
ProductionXBT2D-l aircraftwere
deliveredin thestandardNavyGloss
}
SeaBluepaintscheme.Thefirstunit
I
I
'I' to takedeliveryoftheDauntlessII
wasVA-19A, theunitchargedwith
servicetestsofthenewairplane,at
NASAlameda.In February 1946,the
aircraftwasre-namedDouglas
Skyraider.(Jim Sullivan Collection)
DOUGLAS
A-I SKYRAIDER 7
OneoftheXBT2D-1 aircraft(BuAer
09109) wasmodifiedtocarryan
electroniccountermeasuresopera
tor,with addedwindows,in itsrear
fuselage.Re-designatedXBT2D-10,
theaircraftalsohadadditional
AN/APA-69ECMradomes onitsrear
fuselage.Onproductionaircraft,the
divebrakesweredeletedtocreate
room fortheoperator.(U.s.Navy)
have one new provision:The new
aircraft had to be readyto compete
against the other manufacturer's
dive bomber designs in an upcom
ing competition, and the other
manufacturers had up to six
monthshead start!
The new aircraft was designated
XBT2D-1. It was a straightforward
design, with none of the radical
developmentsthat had highlighted
the XSB2D-1/BTD-1 design. Gone
was the inverted laminar flow gull
wing.The XBT2D-1 was a standard
low wing monoplane with a
straightwing.Gone too was the tri
cycle landing gear as the XBT2D-1
would be a standard tail dragger.
A Marine pilot from VMFT-10 taxis an XBT2D-1 assigned to the training These changes alone were enough
squadron at MCAS EI Toro, California, in 1949. Marine Skyraiders were to make the projected rollout dale
identical to Navy aircraft, including carrying all Navy carrier launch and realistic to both the engineers and
recoveryequipment.(Jim Sullivan Collection) the production crews.
On August 14, 1944,slightly over a
month after the fateful Washington
night session,the XBT2D-1 mockup
was ready for inspection. It was
quite large for a single-seat, single
engine aircraft.The XBT2D-1 was
TheAD-1 madeitsfirstflighton
November5, 1946.TheAD~1wasthe
firsttrueproduction variant,
differingfrom theXBT2D-1 onlyin
theadditionalinternal
strengtheningofits wingandtheR
3350-24Wengine.Thedesignation
changedtoAD-1 inApril 1946.
(Douglas)
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WARBIRDTECH
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eo
1
~~
J7.
t-----T--+--T-19FT 10IN•.
o
WINGFLAPA_NDAILERONHINGE t
J-~------,,=-=r---:==-] ~~====="F::::.r/-/---
oa
,J
~,....
I
--v--+-.--""i\:---,)
•
• y
6°SWEEPBACKJ FRONTSPARPLANE
WINGREFERENCEPLANE
I.
1--------------
50FT 1/4IN.------------~
-z::::.:-.--........
-,----MAXIMUMHEIGHTDURINGFOLDING
-----~7"':~}
-,-----FOLDEDHEIGHT
_.'----.~
19FT 4 7/8IN.
16FT 7518IN.
15FT BIN.
12FT3/8IN.
---- 22FT23/4IN.----
1_---------
39FT 55/8IN. ---------~ P-3800-1B
This three-viewdrawing ofthe basicAD (A-l) Skyraidersingle-seat variantclearlyshows the immense size ofthe
aircraft.AlltheADvariantshadbasicallythesamemeasurementswith theexceptionofthemulti-placeAD-5types.
(Larry Davis)
DOUGLAS
A-I SKYRAIDER 9
