Part 2 DOUGLAS SKYRAIDER: The MASSIVE Single-Engine Heavy Recip 

The Douglas … a true legend of work horse of the sky’s!!

My Uncle was a Skyraider pilot off the USS Ranger during Vietnam. He was the most awesome man I ever met. He made a real impression on me. A true American hero! I will see him again in heaven.

Excellent documentary series on the A-1. The A-1 is such an underrated aircraft. Thanks for giving it the credit it deserves.

I served at NKP from Oct. '68-Nov. '69 as an Air Traffic Controller working both Tower and GC tA. With 4 squadrons A-1 s , it was always a remarkable event to watch those guys rotate loaded with everything you could imagine . We were probably the closet 'friendly" base coming back across the fence . SARs were a major focus . Although we were a base of 'slow-movers' , many jets found NKP returning with battle damage, etc. the quickest way to get back to safety.

Thank you John A Reed. Former Vietnam era US Navy. Aviation Ordinanceman. The old joke about those Skyraiders was that if that R 3350 W26 Wright Cyclone wasn’t blowing oil all over the place something was wrong with it! She sure was a good airplane and one heck of a bomb truck.

I was a recip, mechanic trained on A-1s at Hurlburt before a Nov. '69 change of station to Udorn RTAFB. The last A-1s at Udorn had moved to NKP six months earlier, so I was assigned to the 432 ARR Halfmoon RC-47s (radio relay) at Udorn. They flew the trail at night, 2 missions, one after the other, and talked to friendly "road watch" Laos (Hmong usually) on the ground, sometimes US special forces. The radios from our planes were placed on Alley Cat and Moonbeam 130s about September '69, and our 3 Halfmoon aircraft were given to the Thai military. We had a low standing for parts because of the AC-47s, so one of my Udorn jobs, assigned by my E-8 supervisor, was to borrow as many parts from the crippled A-1s that made emergency landings at Udorn during my stay. It usually took 2 or 3 days for a NKP crew to come and pull the engine from the wreck, and sling the airframe and engine back to NKP under a sky crane. The A-1s starter was twice the size of a 47s starter, but our supply just checked the paperwork, and we always had rebuilt parts on hand!

Thank you so very, very much for this video. In my family we have pilots that flew in WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Kosovo and Iraq. Thank God they all came home with one exception, my 1st cousin. He was lost in action in Vietnam while flying a mission and I am fairly certain it was in a Skyraider? He would always tell everyone his plane was a "flying dump truck" at the family reunions and this plane fits that description. Thank you again!

my cousin the late Ted Bronsan flew one of these from texas to buffalo ny for "lunch" , he had the clearance. he was a top gun, in this plane and jets he flew over 1000 missions mainly from the big E. RIP Ted, 2021.

It's amazing how much ordnance those aircraft could carry.

Fabulous effort, fabulous men, harrowing history.

i worked on that acft in 1969 at pleiku with the 6 sos. my friend guzman was the crew chief. i was an a-1 mechanic with the ar team. happy to see it flying again.

Thanks so much for these two impressive videos on the Skyraider. Outfits like AeroDinosaur keep my aviation juices flowing!

My dad/USAF was stationed at NKP ("Naked Fanny") in the late 60's; flew A1-E's w/ the SOS; Sandy, close air support, rescues, etc. High loss rate in squadron; they got shot up pretty good. Dad volunteered, couldn't get a (jet) fighter, but was psyched to be flying a piston again. He LOVED the A1..."the original A-10 Hog"!

What a great video!!! That authentic Skyraider that was in action in Vietnam was a real joy to see it flying again... It is so sad to hear about the owner/pilot of this plane, dieing in another aircraft, coming in for a landing... Hopefully, this plane will remind everybody of the people who paid the ultimate sacrifice in combat, and of Dr. Schloss , Who was instrumental in bringing this amazing part of history back to life...

I was at NKP from May '68 to May '69. I was in RED HORSE (556th CES). We built the first asphalt that the USAF ever built for itself, by itself! It was an experience I would trade for anything. That A1-E with the BLU-76 was also known as the "Pave Pat".

My favorite recip aircraft. These were being sent to Davis-Monthan when I joined the Navy. Another one of Ed Heinemans great designs.

Thanks for covering the Skyraider.

I got to see Mike's A-1H a couple weeks ago in Duluth, MN. Beautiful bird. Pictures never do justice to the sheer size of these planes.

An extraordinary service of historical précision and cinematic évocation. As an 0-3 2nd. Battn Force Recon off the Ranger, call signs and Tail designation/ data were as shockingly impactful as the day they were shot into memory 54 years ago. I had supposed we were all fully forgotten in the prop backwash of history for "inconvenient times". Wonderful sounds to again hear.

Great research and presentation. Thanks, John.

I was stationed in Udorn in 1969. It was a primary recovery base for damaged aircraft and we would go out to watch them land (or crash land). We were watching one day an A1 come in with landing gear that wouldn't come down. SOP was to foam the runway, The Vietnamese pilot apparently didn't know what the white stuff was , flew by it and made a perfect belly landing just past the foam. They also sent in planes with Hung ordinance which probably wasn't smart to watch. A K-9 troop came into the barracks white as a sheet. He was guarding some parked Spookies and a plane came in with a stuck 250lb bomb that broke loose and bounced down the runway and stuck itself in the dirt about 20 ft away. No boom. He said his dog looked at him unconcerned with a whatever look on his face. Ah, ignorance is bliss. Air American had a stable of all the planes you mentioned plus Beavers and Pilatus, short takeoff for Laos and points unk.

We worked with A1E type out of Saigon, very cool aircraft we had usaf and vnaf planes . We had a bunch of old aircraft still in service ac 47s ac 119s rb 57s

Good Video/Info !!!!!......BEAUTIFUL PLANE!!!!!!

I gave up on this video. He talked about every aircraft BUT the Skyraider. I have a special affinity for this plane and for the A-20. My dad worked at Douglas during the war and specifically helped build those two planes. I remember them being flight tested in early mornings just after the fog lifted. Yup, I'm that old.

I thought this was a great overview of the disparate aircraft types that ate their lunch with the A-1; the brief descriptions of the functionality of each craft really helps with building a mind map of the Spad and its many friends. It helps when the author makes the time to construct a little mental ecosystem to see how all the pieces and functionality interrelate. Describing a particular topic as a standalone entity has its place, but a documentary that can tie discrete elements together in order to give context is much richer.

Thank You for producing this historic acknowledgement of the men , who flew, and the air craft types chief among them the SKYRAIDER in Vietnam War. I have seen the SKYRAIDER that is on display in HUE , Vietnam in the PALACE compound. 2016.

I was stationed at NKP from Jun 72 - Sep 73, working in the communications centers. Thank you for bringing attention to NKP and those of us that served there. I used to watch those A-1s taking off on SAR missions and wondering how they got airborne because of all the ordnance they carried. I loved my 3 1/2 years in Thailand (also Udorn and Don Muang) and have the best memories of NKP.

That beautiful bird was engineering to the finest

My dad was a radio maintenance troop that worked on the Skyraider at NKP AB in Thailand. I say troop, but he was the NCOIC. He loved that bird.

I have watched these strafing while we patrolled the hills between Dong Ha and Camp Carroll. I was a 2531 MOS Marine field radioman E-3 Lance with 12th Marine Arty. The noise they made was a hell-of-racket because they were so close. They flew in pairs and were painted camouflage. I don't recall if they were Viet or USA. I'm glad I just ran into this video. Thanks So Very Much, Mike Vallee in Montana

I was surprised to learn recently the the A1 Skyraider was powered by the same engine as the B29 super fortress..

What an Aircraft

Thanks for the video John. Well done. I was stationed at NKP (56 SOW) from April 1968 to May 1969 working in operational intelligence. Briefed & debriefed many air crews during my tour. And sadly, many paid the ultimate price.

I enjoyed that Sir, great photos and info.

And , I am still in contact with one of my hootch mates ,and a couple of other controllers from there. I also volunteer at Cavanaugh Flight Museum - Addison Airport .We have several air-worthy vintage aircraft. A little over 2 years ago, I treated myself to a ride in the A1 -E. What a great experince. A Harley on steroids, as one of the Sandy pilot put it.

Great production John, many memories...I was at NKP 68-69 as Nail FaC, Nail13...O-2. Worked with Sandy, nimrod, misty and more

Amazing how small the 20mm guns look compared to overall plane size depicted at 3:52!

My goodness. Even 2003 seems like a long time ago. Someone needs to tie old father Time's shoelaces together. As always, without exception, your uploads are soaked with authenticity and character. I spend so much of the short time left to me watching your creations.

Very interesting.... Thank you.

In 1967 I made my first (of three) West pack cruise aboard the USS Kitty Hawk CVA 63. There was a squadron aboard and I was too young to know the differences of the various models. I remember going up to vulture row to watch flight landings. Here comes a "Spad". It was a two person model and the guy in the back seat saw someone on deck. Since the cockpit canopy was slid back he waved to the guy on deck. Just out for a joy ride! The A-1s were replaced the next cruise by the A-4 Skyhawk. Fun to watch tho!

Thank you John for an extremely interesting video on the A-1 .... Also really appreciate that TWA B-707-331 on the shelf behind you.

Skyraiders , prop planes at their finest. The Wright R3350 was a very versatile engine used also in DC7 4 engine commercial passenger service aircraft good for up to 3600hp in some applications.

C130, that was a Marine KC130J from VMGR252 tail code QB, air refuel squadron.

Magnificent plane.Lots of fire power⚜⚔

Sandy is a beautiful plane

I walked around the VNAF A1H at Ton Son Nhut in '66/'67. Never got to see them in action but loved to look at them. 377th Security Police Sqd., "C" shift, Delta Sector, main flight line.

Heard a few battlefield commander's say the A-1 is what they wanted inbound , not fast movers.

The A1 Sky raider says I'm big and I'm bad and I will take you out! The men and women who flew them had nerves of steel.

Thank you for sharing this 👍🇺🇸 (former USAF Sgt at Takhli)

The Best $ 300 I ever spent was a half hour Joy ride in the Co pilot seat at a local Aitshow in a four seater . I was offered stick time and took lots of pictures. My Uncle John worked on them from a Aircraft Carrier in the 1960's. The Owner took us on a mole steighfing dive on a Barn yard . I figured the Chickens stopped laying and or fell dead of the perch 😁

Great video on the A-1's. Check out Skyraider Stories and the story "Belly Landing at Ubon," by Jon Ewing," to see A-1H 577's last flight with the 602nd SOS and the Vietnam War December 20th, 1968. I was the crew chief for a short time before it was damaged. I met Jon Ewing in October of 2019 at the Skyraider Association Reunion at Fort Walton Beach, Florida. God Bless Tommy

Current low intensity conflicts could still be well served by piston aircraft. It doesn't take too much a stretch of imagination to visualize a Skyraider loitering over firefights in Afghanistan bringing destruction to the enemy.

You can switch your audio time line in your video editor from stereo to mono and have audio on both channels... :)

One hellava fine old bird for its day.

1:40 Left hand side: that's a Bristol Britannia model. I still have one, after some 65 years.

Post the fall of SVN, the "new management" looked at integrating a lot of resources into their own forces. It worked for a lot of gear, but the Skyraiders, though highly appreciated for their capability, did not feature prominently. Apparently, from conversations with ex PAVN aviation types, they "bent a lot during flight training, losing instructors and trainees alike. The story goes that most of this happened on take-off and the problem eventually turned out to teh failure to correctly compensate for engine torque at "rotation. Wings would suddenly clip the ground, sending the aircraft and pilot cart-wheeling down the strip. NOT a good look. They had a LOT more success with the cute little Cessna "Tweets" and these were kept i operation until spares ran out. As an aside, what was the story with the Douglas "Skyshark", a turbo-prop Skyraider with a long nose and a contra-rotating prop with a huge, streamlined spinner

Can tell how massive the Skyraider is when you see the pilot in it looks so tiny. I imagine the Skyraider didn't have too much trouble with rifle fire where the Helicopters were easier targets for the B-40 rockets.

I remember seeing those at Udorn in Thailand.

The Spade or Sandy was a hell of a bird got closer air support from them several times during my 18 month tour in SEA

Our UK fleet Air arm flew them too in AEW role off carriers,wonderful video,,,,,

An A-26 video would be very cool, too. Excellent work sir!

I was an air force a1 crew chief stationed at NKP. NKP was pronounce " naa kom phanom".

I worked on that acft. at Pleiku Vietnam with the 6th SOS. I should have mentioned that the Crew Chief then was A1C Gutierrez; not Guzman. Sorry.

There's some good Skyraider footage in the film Rescue Dawn .. It's not the main focus of the film, but it's a good watch!

Very nice job as usual. Thanks.

Restored one,That 3350 is held on by a Aluminum motor mount.

I was the only ADR to fire up a big ol Spad in "A" school at Millington Tenn....in the late 60's...yep it bakfired but only a small one instructor said don't worry bout fire it on up...

The invader with 8 cal 50 in the nose lol thats a wall of hot lead

Would be perfect air support for ground troops in Afghanistan today !

I fly RC planes I bought a version of this that was flown off of the old Oriskiny carrier. I was doing set up to fly. As I was prepping to fly, an older gent rolls up on me, he was on that carrier in Korea and tells me the error on the squadron markings IT WAS EPIC COOL

Pure close air support

i love your videos i find them very informative, my dad flew in the back seat of an aero dinosaur, the grumman af2s guardian with vs 27 with jim stockdale

The sound of the A1 engine running idling is like a Diesel engine. This aircraft is so good that even the AF wanted to fly them. Defence companies should develop a modern day A1 with advance optics as a lower cost aircraft for CAS missions.

I remember reading somewhere that the Air Force had A-1s had wiring for which the documentation had been lost over the years making maintenance a nightmare.

I was stationed at NKP Thailand 70-71.

Good ground attack aircraft

Fantastic content as always

Love the shitter on a starboard wing mount ! How precious

Been there done that NKP Danang 69-70

I flew A1E out of Bien Hoa in 1968 and out of Bangkok as well as spotter planes.

The best plane i flew,at least my favorite.i am probably the last to have fire live ordnances in combat mission,as the other pilot of the pair die 2 years ago,Chad 1979

those 1st few super fortress engines during ww2 were built by General Motors and had a very high failure rate until Chrysler took over the manufacturing duties, they had come up with a special manufacturing process just for those engines that vastly improved reliability and subsequently fewer losses of super fortresses from engine failures

Hi my Father was an A-1E pilot in Vietnam. Won the silver star but I can’t find any information on the award and the story or circumstances regarding that award. I was hoping you could help me find out what happened? Thanks

Awesome video and information. Could you do one on the Grumman C-1a trader?

Nice Ozark F-27 Friendship on the Shell Back behind you. My Dad worked "OZ" from 1960-1986 before going with TWA after the merger. Where did you Find "Gear Down" Model? I could only find a 1/48 Scale Die Cast in "Chicago Air colors which I repainted with the Ozark Airlines Livery and I got it from Fokker Aircraft in New York back in 1985 for $100

I too was stationed at NKP in 1968, I was sent there to get their ground radio equipment back up to standard condition. I could be wrong but I don't remember them being called spads I remember them being called Sandys. Is my memory just wrong?

Flying Sopwith Camels in the Jet Age

Would the sky raider support weight of real ordinance in folded wing position?

I agree Great Video Sadly I can't spend much time watching it. If I may Please ask for permission to say with deep respect. I have a issue with my Hearing so when a Video Content provider makes a video with the Talking sound tranck on only one channel right or left I myself can not get a quality amount of hearing from the given content. It would be a good approach to use bothe tracks for voice tracks in a sterio or mono but both ears enviornment. Thank You hope I was not unkind in any way. Please forgive me if I was.

The music is unnecessary. It interferes with the narration. Great aircraft,,.

Never before have I heard someone pronounce the "dash" in A-6 or E-2.

I wonder what the Germans would have made of this in 1944?

If Ukraine had a few hundred of these and fifty A-10's with some high air cover this would be over quick!

They should just have converted the Thunderbolt, it was bloody big enough 😉😁

Was initially interested in the video until you began talking and your background music was louder than you and it never stopped.

This looks to be a great video but it is unwatchable because the music louder than the narration. My suggestion: loose the music and turn up the sound level on your mic.

56th FMS NKP '67 to '70. "Bubblechaser."

um from the navy purchasing dep,,. we;ll take a thousand,, can ya mount 2 300 rds/min 30cals on the wings? and a saw in the hub? 2 500 LB bomb racks too,

27:18 is there a more beautiful makeup than the exhaust soot smeared down the fuselage on a big ol radial? Just thought of a great warbird name "Mommie Dearest"....catchy, dated and a bit of an inside joke. I may have build a model just to do that nose art !!

Your content and editing are fine, but I would suggest getting rid of the music. It isn't needed and only distracts from your narration. Also, listening on my computer headphones, I was getting narration on the left side, and music on the other... very irksome. Thanks for the videos and keep up the good work.