lilIUll__ 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 n~· -----<r> 5 E R I E 5 VOLUME 13 DOUGLAS - By KRIS HUGHES AND WALTER DRANEM Copyright© 7997Kris Hughes andWalterDranem Publishedby SpecialtyPress Publishers andWholesalers 77487 KostDam Road North Branch,MN 55056 UnitedStatesofAmerica (672) 583-3239 Distributedin the UKandEurope by Air/ifePublishing Ltd. 707 Longden Road Shrewsbury SY39EB England ISBN0-933424-78-7 Allrights reserved.Nopartofthis bookmaybereproduced ortransmittedin anyform orbyanymeans,electronicor mechanicalincludingphotocopying,recording orbyany information storageandretrievalsystem, withoutpermission from the Publisherin writing. Materialcontainedin this bookis intendedforhistoricaland . entertainmentvalueonly,andis notto beconstruedasusable foraircraftorcomponentrestoration maintenanceoruse. DesignedbyGreg Compton Printedin the UnitedStatesofAmerica 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 4 eo 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 6 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) _ WARBIRDTECH 8 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